Tried using a $20 universal fridge door switch on a Samsung RF28 and it actually lasted 3 years.

I was sure it was a waste of money, but the cheap part outlived the original, so now I'm questioning if we always need the OEM part for every single repair, especially on older units where the customer is trying to save cash.

4 comments

4 Comments

stella11122d ago

Three whole YEARS from a twenty dollar part? That's wild. My buddy's OEM Samsung switch died in like 18 months. Makes you wonder what you're really paying for sometimes.

wells.evan22d ago

Wait, was it the whole switch or just the part? Because a switch failing could be the button itself or the board it's on.

the_rose21d ago

It's the whole planned obsolescence playbook. They design these things to be a pain to fix, so you just buy a new one. My old microwave's door switch went, and it was cheaper to replace the entire appliance than find the right part.

the_jessica2d ago

Ugh, totally! It's never just the cheap little button, it's always the whole expensive board it's stuck to. My coffee maker did the exact same thing, the power switch felt mushy. I opened it up hoping to swap a two dollar piece of plastic, but nope, the switch was soldered right onto the main control panel. They wanted eighty bucks for the whole new board, which is basically what I paid for the machine. Such a scam.