--- title: "Refrigerator making noise" description: "Samsung refrigerator making noise — most refrigerator noises are normal and a few are urgent, and the two are told apart by what the sound is doing rather…" url: "https://samsungmiami.support/symptoms/refrigerator-noisy/" date_modified: "2026-09-04" Appliance type: "Freezers, Refrigerators" --- # Samsung refrigerator making noise ### Record it on your phone Thirty seconds of video with the sound running is worth more than any description, and it lets us tell you on the phone whether it is worth a visit. Note whether it happens continuously, only when the doors have been shut for a while, or only every few hours. ### What it usually means, by the kind of Samsung appliance Samsung sells one appliance in several forms, and the same behavior points at different things on each of them. A built-in side-by-side and an integrated column are not the same service situation, and a dual-fuel range and an induction range fail in different halves. - **French door and side-by-side** — Two fans and a compressor, so there are three candidates and they run at different times. Noting when the sound happens narrows it immediately. - **Family Hub cabinets** — The screen has its own small cooling behavior, and people occasionally report it as a refrigerator noise. - **Cabinets with an in-door ice maker** — The harvest cycle is loud by design, and it happens a few times a day at no particular time. ### What is normal on a Samsung refrigerator Cracking and popping as plastic parts expand and contract through a defrost cycle. A gurgle from refrigerant moving. A whoosh as the doors close. Ice harvesting several times a day. A fan speeding up after the doors have been open. None of those needs a technician, and knowing them saves a visit. ### What is not A tick or a scrape that stops the moment the door opens is a fan blade touching ice, and the ice is the real problem. A buzzing that has grown over weeks, or a click followed by silence and a cabinet that then gets warm, is the compressor circuit, and that one does not improve with time. A fan blade catching ice The classic new noise: a ticking or scraping that changes when the door is opened, because the fan stops. A failing fan motor A drone or a rattle that runs continuously and gets worse over weeks. The ice maker harvesting Cracking and clattering a few times a day. Normal, and louder on some cabinets than others. The compressor A hum that has become a buzz, or a click and then silence. Samsung's 84C belongs here and it is the one worth acting on. Note when it happens Continuously, only after the doors have been closed a while, or in short bursts a few times a day. Open the door and listen A noise that stops when the door opens is a fan, because the door switch stops it. Check the cabinet is level and not touching anything A cabinet resting against a wall transmits ordinary compressor noise into the room. Thirty seconds is enough, and it is the one piece of evidence that survives to the visit. Buzzing, knocking, or a sudden new sound What it usually means A fan ticking against ice is the most common new noise on this make Some sounds are the cabinet working as designed Record it — noises are hard to describe and easy to play back Record it on your phone Thirty seconds of video with the sound running is worth more than any description, and it lets us tell you on the phone whether it is worth a visit. Note whether it happens continuously, only when the doors have been shut for a while, or only every few hours. What it usually means, by the kind of Samsung appliance Samsung sells one appliance in several forms, and the same behavior points at different things on each of them. A built-in side-by-side and an integrated column are not the same service situation, and a dual-fuel range and an induction range fail in different halves. French door and side-by-side — Two fans and a compressor, so there are three candidates and they run at different times. Noting when the sound happens narrows it immediately. Family Hub cabinets — The screen has its own small cooling behavior, and people occasionally report it as a refrigerator noise. Cabinets with an in-door ice maker — The harvest cycle is loud by design, and it happens a few times a day at no particular time. What is normal on a Samsung refrigerator Cracking and popping as plastic parts expand and contract through a defrost cycle. A gurgle from refrigerant moving. A whoosh as the doors close. Ice harvesting several times a day. A fan speeding up after the doors have been open. None of those needs a technician, and knowing them saves a visit. What is not A tick or a scrape that stops the moment the door opens is a fan blade touching ice, and the ice is the real problem. A buzzing that has grown over weeks, or a click followed by silence and a cabinet that then gets warm, is the compressor circuit, and that one does not improve with time. ### It only makes the noise at night. Almost certainly it makes it all day and the house is quieter at night. That is still useful: a noise you can only hear in silence is usually a bearing or a fan rather than anything structural. ### Can a noisy refrigerator be left alone? A fan against ice, no — the ice is a symptom of something else and it is growing. Normal operating sounds, yes. We will tell you which you have from a recording, before anybody drives out. --- **[Read full article: Refrigerator making noise](https://samsungmiami.support/symptoms/refrigerator-noisy/)**