Our two year old Samsung fridge has stopped dispensing water and making ice.....need some help,

Model: RF4287HARS/XAA

Appears to be zero ice being manufactured.
Water comes out of the water dispenser for about 3 seconds then comes to a dribbling halt.
Temp is set at -2 (freezer) and 38 (fridge).
Fairly new Samsung filter appears not to be froze or clogged. I pulled it out and dumped water out of it. Re-installed and same problem. Works fine for about 3 seconds then slows to dribble then nothing.

Any help is appreciated!

Refrigerator - No or Slow Water from Dispenser

New installation: Make sure the cradle has been held down 2-3 minutes to allow the reservoir to fill completely. The reservoir is located in the fresh food section. This does not apply to Top Mount models with a water dispenser, because there is no reservoir.
Note: It take approximately 7 seconds to fill an 8 ounce glass.


No lights on the control panel and no water and/or ice situations.

No water: Make sure the water line to refrigerator is turned on. The saddle valve is used to connect the water supply line to the house plumbing and must be fully open for the refrigerator to receive water.


Note: On GE SmartWater filter models, a clogged or partially clogged filter will result in no water or slow running water from dispenser. Please change the filter. Filters should be changed every 6 months. To confirm a clogged filter, please remove the filter and install the supplied filter bypass plug in its place. Try the dispenser, if the water flow improves from the dispenser, the filter is clogged and needs to be replaced.

No water from door, check the water tank behind the vegetable bins to see if it is frozen or cracked. This is hard to do visually, usually a frozen tank will be split and will leak on the fresh food floor. Low food load in the fresh food section can cause the tank to freeze.


The meat pan lever may also be turned to the coldest position and on units that have a low water usage, this will also cause the tank to freeze. You will want to lower the meat drawer setting or use more water from the door. This does not apply to Top Mount water dispenser models, because they do not have a reservoir.

View a short video about troubleshooting water dispenser issues :
Play Video

View a short video about slow water dispensing issues:
Play Video

Dispenser drips water constantly will be a water valve problem, and should be checked by a service technician. If you would like to schedule a service appointment, please contact GE Consumer Service at 1-800-432-2737 or schedule a service appointment on-line.


Dribble as defined as a small amount of water (few drops) that may miss the glass ONLY AFTER USAGE. This is due to a delay in the overall system.

Dribble can be minimized by the following actions:

- Purge the tank, by holding down the dispenser for 2 to 3 minutes, to remove any trapped air that may be building pressure and causing the dribble.
- A few drops is normal, but you can also prevent water from missing the glass and dripping down the cradle area by moving glass slower when removing it from the cradle.
- You may need to periodically empty the recess grill and clean out underneath it to prevent overfilling and water dripping down the front of the refrigerator.


Also, remember the dispenser in the door will not operate unless the door is closed.

Replace the water filter.  

To eliminate the filter as the problem, remove it and see if the water dispenser works. If it does, then you know it is either a clogged/bad filter, or it didn't seat properly when installed. If water still doesn't flow, then you'll eliminate the filter as the culprit and can move on to the next component.

some of the new ones need the dummy filter that came with the fridge to bypass the filter.

Nothing comes out when the filter is out. I don't think we have a dummy plug or whatever

OK, so an issue with the filter has been eliminated.

Some refrigerators have a coil of tubing, usually in the back of the fridge, behind the vegetable bins and shelving. On my fridge, it is white/translucent plastic tubing. Is the tubing kinked or plugged in any way that you can see?

Most fridges use a saddle valve to connect to the water supply pipe. Perhaps this has clogged or there has been a buildup of minerals that has blocked it. Try closing then re-opening the valve. This might break up any buildup.  This might work with a regular valve too. Just be careful with the saddle valve, in my experience they tend to be a little fragile and seem to be more susceptible to leaking.

2 years old no warranty? see below for troubleshooting

Samsung Troubleshooting

sorry, didn't have time to look yours up eariler op.
it does require the dummy plug. if you don't have it, no water will dispense with the filter out.
so it doesn't eliminate the filter being bad. but it doesn't hurt to check the other issues mentioned above.
or if you have another new filter, give that a try first.

mine doesnt work at all without a filter

when was the last time the filter was changed?
I would start there if you havent changed that filter in 6 month or less

our water quality is crappy enough our filters dont even last 4 months

ETA: mine doesn't do it but my parents have a fridge that is newer than mine and when the filter needs changing it will produce the same symptoms

Wife says the filter is fairly new but will replace the filter tonight and update.


Thanks for the replies, will keep updating

Well the emergency turned out to be a non-emergency....


I'm at work and the Wife reports that she changed the filter and "it flows better than it has in months".


Thanks everyone for the replies!!!! The members that make up this site truely are great.