Overview
A Samsung ice maker not working is switched off, short of water, too warm or frozen up in nearly every case. The last of those is the one Samsung French door fridges are known for: frost and ice build up round the ice maker until the tray cannot turn and the bucket cannot be pulled out. It can be cleared at home in an hour or so. Stopping it coming back takes a little more.
This guide is the step-by-step version: what to check first, how to use the test button the way Samsung describes, how to defrost a frozen ice maker without breaking it, and how to tell whether you then need a repair. It covers French door, four-door and side by side models, and fridges with a second ice maker in the freezer. For the repair itself, see Samsung ice maker repair in Dubai.
Samsung ice maker not working: the short answer
If you find frost at step 5, go straight to the defrost section. A frosted ice maker fails every other test, and nothing else is worth trying until it is clear.
Find your ice maker
Samsung puts ice makers in three places. Some fridges have two.
The model code is on a label on the inside left wall of the fresh food section. Write it down. You will need it for the manual and for any parts.
If your fridge has two ice makers, work out which one has stopped. Each has its own on/off control, and the upper one feeds the door while the lower one fills a separate bin. If both have stopped at once, the cause is something they share: the water supply, the filter or the freezer temperature.
Step 1: Ice Off, lock and settings
It may be an icon, a lit word or a line through an ice symbol. If it is on, the ice maker is disabled.
Press the ice maker or ice type button. On many models you press and hold it for three seconds to toggle Ice Off. Each press on others steps through Cubed, Crushed and Ice Off.
If the panel is locked, hold the lock button for three seconds to release it.
The freezer ice maker often has its own entry in the panel's menu or its own switch on the unit.
Check the ice maker setting on the screen or in the app.
The display may show OF OF or similar on some models. In that mode nothing cools. The manual gives the button combination that cancels it.
Ice Off is selected by accident more often than on purpose, usually by pressing the ice button once too often while choosing crushed. It is the first thing to rule out, and the quickest.
Step 2: water supply and filter
Press the water dispenser for ten seconds into a jug. The ice maker and the dispenser share the same supply and filter.
The filter
Small or hollow cubes with a filter that is overdue is the plainest sign there is. More on supply faults in our guide to an ice maker not filling with water.
Step 3: temperature
If the freezer is warm, with soft ice cream or a display flashing a high temperature, the fault is in the fridge's cooling and not the ice maker. See ice maker not freezing or cold.
Step 4: look for frost
Now look at the ice maker itself. On a French door model, try to remove the ice bucket.
Any of the frost signs means the ice room needs a full defrost before anything else. The test button will tell you nothing useful while the tray is iced in.
Step 5: the test button
Samsung's own reset for an ice maker is the test button. It forces one full cycle: the tray turns over to empty, returns and refills. These steps follow Samsung's instructions.
So you can see the ice maker and reach the button.
It is on the ice maker body. On most French door units it is a small rectangular button on the right-hand side, or on the front edge underneath. It may be marked TEST.
This takes a few seconds.
The tray is about to tip, and water will follow.
The cycle takes a few minutes. At the end, one chime means the test passed. A series of chimes means the ice maker has a fault and needs service.
Switch the fridge off at the wall or the breaker for two minutes, switch on, and try once more.
Press the button once. Samsung warns against pressing it repeatedly, because each press calls for a fill, and water added to a tray that is already full spills into the ice room and freezes there. A good share of iced-up ice makers were made worse this way.
How to defrost a frozen Samsung ice maker
A frozen ice maker has to be thawed completely, including the ice you cannot see behind and above it. A partial thaw leaves a core that the frost rebuilds on within days.
Method 1: forced defrost
Many Samsung fridges have a forced defrost mode, shown as Fd on the display, which runs the defrost heaters on demand. It is entered with a button combination that differs by model, typically two buttons on the panel held together for around eight seconds until the display changes, then one of them pressed repeatedly until Fd appears. The fridge beeps while it runs, for about twenty minutes or more, and then returns to normal by itself. Check your manual or Samsung's support page for the exact buttons for your model code before trying it.
Method 2: manual thaw
And move the food on the top shelf out of the way.
Meltwater will run.
For a French door model. Thirty to sixty minutes softens a frozen-in bucket.
A hair dryer on its low setting, held about 20 cm away and kept moving, aimed round the edges of the bucket and the ice room. Never a heat gun.
Do not lever it.
Look up behind the ice maker and into the corners with a torch.
Ice room walls, ice maker, bucket and its seal. Water left behind refreezes.
Method 3: full power-off
If the ice is extensive, empty the fridge into cool boxes, switch it off, and leave the doors open for several hours with towels down. This thaws everything, including the cooling coil behind the back panel.
Why it freezes up, and what stops it
On a French door Samsung, the ice room is a small freezing box inside a compartment kept at 3 or 4 degrees C. It is chilled by a duct of freezer air. Two things turn that arrangement into a block of ice.
What you can do
What a repair does
If the frost returns within a few weeks of a full defrost, the ice room is leaking air or the fill is dripping, and that needs a repair: the ice maker comes out, the ice room joints and the fill tube entry are sealed, flattened gaskets are renewed, the fill is checked and a seeping valve is replaced. That is described on our Samsung ice maker repair page.
After a defrost: what to watch for
A full defrost tells you something whichever way it turns out. Keep a simple record for the next month.
Note the date of the defrost and the date you first notice stiffness or noise. That interval tells a technician how large the leak is.
Ice in the bucket, none at the door
If there is ice and it will not dispense, the ice maker is working and the dispenser is not.
And that cubed or crushed is selected, not Ice Off.
A fused lump round the auger is the usual finding.
Turn the bucket's auger a little by hand if it will not push fully in.
A hum with no ice means still jammed, or a stripped coupling. Silence means a switch, motor or board fault.
The full sequence is in our guide to an ice maker not dispensing or dropping ice.
Side by side models and the freezer ice maker
On side by side Samsungs and on the lower ice maker of French door models, the ice maker is in the freezer, where frost from air leaks is much less of a problem. The usual faults are simpler.
A freezer drawer left slightly open by an overfilled basket is a common reason the lower ice maker stops. Push the drawer shut until it seals.
Noises and other signs
New fridge, new filter, after a power cut
See also our guide to a new or replaced ice maker not working.
What not to do
When to call a technician
Our diagnostic visit is AED 100 plus VAT, with a fixed price before any work. Tell us the model code, whether the bucket comes out, what you saw in the ice room and what the test button did. See Samsung ice maker repair in Dubai.
Keeping a Samsung ice maker working
Frequently asked questions
Why is my Samsung ice maker not working?
Ice Off is selected, the filter or water supply is restricted, the freezer is too warm, or the ice maker has frozen up. Check them in that order.
How do I reset my Samsung ice maker?
Remove the ice bucket, press and hold the test button on the ice maker until it chimes, and refit the bucket at once. One chime at the end means it passed.
Where is the reset or test button on a Samsung ice maker?
On the ice maker body, usually on the right-hand side or the front edge, behind the ice bucket.
What do the chimes mean?
One chime at the end of the test is a pass. A series of chimes means the ice maker needs service.
Why does my Samsung ice maker keep freezing up?
Moist air is leaking into the ice room, or water is dripping or overflowing at the fill. Defrosting clears it for a while. Sealing the leak stops it.
How do I defrost a Samsung ice maker?
Use the forced defrost mode if your model has one, or switch to Ice Off, leave the door open and warm it gently until all the ice has gone. Dry everything before refitting the bucket.
My ice bucket is stuck. How do I get it out?
It is frozen in. Let it thaw or warm the edges gently. Do not pull on it.
How long after a reset will it make ice?
A few hours for the first batch and up to 24 hours for a full bucket.
Why is my Samsung making ice but not dispensing it?
The ice has clumped in the bucket, the panel is locked, or the auger motor or its coupling has failed.
How often should I change the Samsung water filter?
Every six months.
Should I replace my Samsung ice maker?
Only if it fails the test when fully defrosted. Otherwise the cause is frost, water or temperature.
Who repairs Samsung ice makers in Dubai?
One Click Dubai sends a technician the same day. Call or WhatsApp +971 55 209 9785.
A technician can find the cause on site. The diagnostic is AED 100 plus VAT, and repairs carry a 1-month warranty.