This is my honest overview and review of the Samsung 4-Door Flex fridge. I originally wrote this overview in December 2015. After owning the fridge for 4 years, I’ve posted an update on the fridge at the bottom of this post, so be sure to read that.
Samsung Flex Fridge Triple Cooling System
The Samsung 4-Door 23 cu. ft. Capacity Counter Depth 4-Door FLEX™ Refrigerator with FlexZone™ in black stainless steel has a triple cooling system which features three evaporators and two compressors for ultimate freshness, resulting in food staying fresher longer. Yay for pushing the limits with those expiration dates.
Top of the Fridge
The top portion of the fridge is the refrigerator, which is different from our old standard fridge where the freezer was on the top. I’ll say that it’s a lot nice seeing everything at eye level now instead of having to crouch down.
There’s a lot space in the door compartment on the right side. Plenty of room to hold our collections of butters, salad dressings, coffee creamers, and mammoth-sized bottles of barbecue sauce and ketchup.
The space on the left door compartment isn’t as ample as the right due to the ice and water dispenser, but I can live with it.
The ice maker is pretty streamline. Since there’s not much space directly underneath it, we store yogurt there because it’s the best fit.
The very top shelf with the condiments can flip up for storage of taller items.
There’s also two humidity-controlled crisper drawers for fruits and vegetables. The drawers do a good job because we always have lettuce, and the lettuce is definitely lasting longer in this fridge compared to our old, standard fridge.
One feature I like, is the adjustable shelf on the right side of the fridge.
If we have taller objects that we need to accommodate, we can slide the front part of the shelf back. The shelf also flips up if we need even more vertical space.
That concludes the upstairs portion of the tour.
The Bottom Portion
Moving downstairs, the two bottom compartments are separate. The left side is a freezer. The right side can be either a freezer OR a fridge, with four different cooling settings– fridge at 41°F, chilled at 30°F, soft freeze at 23°F, and frozen at -9° to 1°F.
We currently have the lower right compartment as a freezer, but we’re leaning toward making it a fridge section, especially with Christmas coming up– things are going to get pretty tight in the main fridge area. We have a small deep freeze out in our garage, so we would just move some of the freezer food out there.
Both the right and left compartments are identical. Each features three storage areas in the doors, two drawers, and top shelf.
The shelf also slides out, making it easier to grab things, like Owen’s waffles.
The drawers are really deep. So there’s plenty of space for Brad to store his super gross banana-flavored popsicles.
Annnd I just realized the date on those pecans says 12-12, which means that I probably need to discard them because pecans are only good for 2 years in the freezer.
Samsung Flex Ice Maker
Moving to the outside of the fridge, there’s a fancy touch screen and the water and ice dispenser. I like how the area lights up when you use the water and ice dispenser. This comes in extra handy at night so I can make sure the water is, in fact, making its way into my water bottle.
My only complaint is when the cubed ice comes out, little ice chips tend to scatter everywhere, even when I put my water bottle or cup all the way up in an attempt to catch everything. Buuuut, if Owen is near, he’ll run over and attempt to pick up the tiny pieces of ice and hand them to me, which helps with his fine motor skills/pincer grasp.
Black Stainless Steel
Let me talk about the black stainless steel. Amazing is one word I would use to describe. It has such a cool, sleek look to it, and it’s also better at hiding smudges than regular stainless steel. But I wouldn’t know anything about that because our one year old never touches the fridge nor does he clamors to help us shut the doors every.single.time. we open a door while he’s within eyeshot.
Note: We’ve since sold this home, so I don’t know the size of the fridge opening. But as you can see in the photos, the opening is roughly 3-5 inches wider than the fridge, which is 35 3/4″ wide.
Important Update
January, 2020– In the 4 years that we had the Samsung Flex refrigerator, the ice maker was continually breaking. There was actually a class action lawsuit in regards to Samsung ice makers. The ice maker issues started about a year after owning the fridge. We had it serviced twice but continually had issues with it. The ice maker leaked all the time and would freeze up and not make ice. Then, after less than 4 years of owning the fridge, it died. The fridge wasn’t staying cool like it should and the temperature was rising. In hindsight, the fridge never got as cold as I think it should have. We had a service tech come out (it’s difficult to find a Samsung fridge tech, by the way), and he said it was most likely a freon leak. He said it would be costly and nearly impossible to find the leak so we should just cut our losses and get a new fridge. I do not recommend this fridge. We’ll never own another Samsung kitchen appliance.
And after sharing my experience on Instagram, many people messaged me saying their Samsung fridge has/had tons of problems.
Trina LJBaH blog (@LetsBuildaHouse) says
NOW THIS is a fridge! So beautiful!
Chelsea @ two twenty one says
Right? When Brad got home from work on the day the fridge was delivered he said, “I feel like this is one of those fancy fridges in rich people’s houses who don’t even use the fridge– it’s just there to look good.” Haha!
Christi says
Wow! I have massive fridge envy! I also think we could easily be good friends because of the contents of your fridge! Large selection of salad dressings, condiments, yogurts, cheese and wine! People make fun of my obsession with salad dressings – I seriously have 10 in my fridge!
We also have the smudge proof fridge and love it, the only issue we have is hard water (we live in AZ and even with a water softener its still pretty hard) from the ice maker/water dispenser leaves a line on the front and the ice gets everywhere so we keep a kitchen mat in front in case an ice cube gets away.
Congrats on the fridge!
Chelsea @ two twenty one says
You can never have too many salad dressings. I hear you on the hard water. Ours is terrible and we even have a newish water softener. I’m trying to stay on top of wiping the fridge off when any ice chips fall down.
Brittaney @ Hudson and Co. says
Justin really loves the black stainless too! Are you considering switching out the rest of the appliances to match? I want to come over and pet it. Would that be ok?
Chelsea @ two twenty one says
I don’t blame him, black stainless is so pretty! No, since we don’t plan on staying in this house for more than 2 years we’ll move the old fridge back in before we list the house, and we’ll take this fridge with us. You can come over and pet it anytime!
Olivia says
I know what fridge to get the next time we’re in the market for one. SO BEAUTIFUL!
Chelsea @ two twenty one says
Right? It’s gorgeous in real life!
Rachel says
Oooh, how pretty! I’ve always loved the look of stainless steel, but now that we have a stainless steel fridge for the first time in our rental, I’m realizing how much more work they are to keep looking nice. Nice to know that there is a pretty option that isn’t as smudgy and fingerprinty!
Chelsea @ two twenty one says
Yeah, it still gets smudgy, it’s just harder to see than on traditional stainless. It might also help that it’s not super bright in our kitchen. 😉
[email protected] says
That is one gorgeous fridge!!
~Liz
Chelsea @ two twenty one says
It is! Especially in person!
Dana says
It looks as though it was designed by a family ‘person’ because it has some great features. Maybe I can get one some day 🙂
Chelsea @ two twenty one says
I’m always a fan of products that are designed for real people. 🙂
Kristin says
I am so jealous!! I have a Samsung fridge and I love it, but I wish I’d gone with the four door! The black stainless looks awesome too!!
Chelsea @ two twenty one says
Thanks! Congrats on the new fridge!
Jessica says
I love the review of this fridge! I have a similar layout where my fridge is right up against the wall. Do you find that you lose any access to drawers, or that they the drawers can’t open all the way with the left side against the wall. I switched to eating mostly paleo in the past year and my current fridge is just too small and difficult to get in and out of!
Diana Herron says
My husband and I just bought this exact fridge in December. We love it!
Jenni LuAZ says
Oooh, aaaah! We have all white appliances by choice. But, our microwave died last week (moment of silence, please). We went to Lowe’s to find a replacement microwave in white. We were leaning towards a convection microwave oven, in white … Until I saw the Samsung Black Stainless Steel collection – wow!! And that fridge … TO DIE FOR! We have white Samsung French door fridge now, but the black stainless fridge is s dream! So we are now debating about starting with the black stainless microwave to meet our immediate needs … In a few months get the matching convection range (the kind that is a double oven in the same size as a regular range – an incredible investment for my cookie decorating business!)And eventually upgrade the fridge to black stainless. It is a tough decision: get a basic white microwave to replace a basic white microwave. Or … Start upgrading appliances over time for a fresh look (which would then – naturally – include getting a cool backsplash, and refinishing our outdated orangey cabinets … And just really changing the look of our kitchen (which I desperately want!). Or … Spend $199 and call it good for years. Ha!! Darn you black stainless steel! Why did I have to see you! 😉
Kim says
The dark finish is very sleek and sexy looking. I have the same layout and same question as many others who have asked about the wall on the left side of your beautiful fridge. When designing our kitchen layout, this made the most sense from limited options. We haven’t purchased a new fridge because of this concern and still have our old stainless single door model. We’d love to update the look. It appears by your pictures that you can access the drawers however they don’t extend fully. My guess is to remove the drawers for cleaning, you would have to pull out the fridge so that the door can swing fully open (or just do a wipe down). I think I would be careful not to put anything sticky or drippy in those left side drawers.
Ted says
I’m looking at the same fridge and have the same situation with the wall. How large is your cutout? I’d like to compare so that I know if the door will open far enough.
Charleswesley says
One of the nice blog I have seen. And the details you provided were easy to understand and now I got a clear review about it. Keep sharing this.
Samsung Refrigerator Models
shiva says
Adorable Fridge !!!
Anna says
I have this same fridge. I love the fridge but the ice maker is awful, will not make clear ice and as you mentioned, you get chipped/crushed ice even on the cube setting. The dispenser for ice and water is poorly designed so you have to be very careful not to get water when trying for only ice. The capacity of the ice maker is very small so for a large family be prepared to run out of ice. For the rest of the great features I have just learned to live with the downfall of the ice maker