Samsung Refrigerator F8 Error Code Fix Guide

by

What This Error Means

F8 on a Samsung refrigerator means a refrigerator evaporator fan error – the fan behind the fresh-food compartment back wall isn’t running correctly.

Cold air isn’t being pushed around the fridge section, usually because the fan is iced over, blocked, or the motor/wiring has failed, so temps climb and the control board throws F8.

Official Fix

Here’s the “by-the-book” path Samsung expects before you call for service:

  • 1. Power reset the fridge.
    Unplug the refrigerator (or switch off the breaker) for 2–3 minutes, then power it back up. If F8 was just a glitch, it won’t come back. If it returns, keep going.
  • 2. Check airflow inside the fridge.
    Open the fresh-food section. Look at the rear inside wall:
    • Make sure food containers aren’t pressed against the rear vents.
    • Look for a thick frost patch or bulge on the back panel – that screams ice around the fan.
    Move anything blocking vents, close doors, and see if F8 clears after a few minutes.
  • 3. Listen for the fan.
    With the fridge running:
    • Open the fresh-food door.
    • Press and hold the door switch (so it thinks the door is closed).
    • Listen at the inside back wall. You should hear a small fan whirring.
    If you don’t hear it, or you hear grinding/scraping, the fan is either iced in place or the motor is dying.
  • 4. Do a full manual defrost.
    This is the official ice-clear method, no tools:
    • Unplug the fridge.
    • Empty food from the fridge section (freezer too if you can).
    • Leave doors open, towels on the floor and in the bottom of the compartments.
    • Let it sit 24 hours to melt all the ice around the evaporator and fan.
    After 24 hours, power it back on. If F8 stays gone and cooling is normal, ice buildup was the culprit.
  • 5. If F8 comes back, inspect/replace the fan.
    If you’re comfortable with basic tools, the official next step is the fan motor:
    • Unplug the fridge.
    • Remove shelves/drawers from the fridge section.
    • Unscrew and pull off the inside rear panel (evaporator cover).
    • Check the fan: spin the blade by hand. It should move freely, no binding.
    • If it’s stiff, wobbly, burnt, or dead when powered, replace the evaporator fan motor (use the exact Samsung part for your model).
    Once replaced, reassemble, power up, and confirm the fan runs and F8 is gone.
  • 6. If the new fan doesn’t fix it, it’s control or wiring.
    At that point, the official answer is: check wiring to the fan for damage, and if it’s good, replace the main control board. Most manuals say to stop here and call Samsung or a certified tech, especially if the unit is under warranty.

The Technician’s Trick

Here’s the kind of shortcut a field tech uses when F8 is from heavy ice, and you don’t want a 24-hour defrost.

  • 1. Use forced defrost instead of a full-day melt.
    On many Samsung models, you can trigger a service defrost from the front panel:
    • With the fridge powered on, press and hold Power Freeze + Fridge together for about 8 seconds until the panel beeps or flashes.
    • Tap the same buttons to cycle modes until you see something like Fd (forced defrost) on the display.
    • Let it run 15–30 minutes. You’ll hear sizzling and dripping – that’s ice melting off the evaporator and fan.
    Note: button combo varies by model. If nothing happens, fall back to the full manual defrost from the Official Fix section.
  • 2. Open it up and fix the root cause while it’s thawed.
    Once most ice is gone:
    • Unplug the fridge. Don’t work on it live.
    • Pull shelves, remove the inside rear panel in the fridge section.
    • Clear any leftover ice around the coil and fan with a hair dryer on low or warm water in a spray bottle – don’t overheat plastic.
    • Find the drain hole under the coil. If there’s a rubber “duckbill” valve plugged with gunk, clean it out or trim a small slit so meltwater can actually drain and not refreeze around the fan.
    This is the real reason these fans ice up over and over.
  • 3. Reassemble and test hard.
    • Put the back panel, shelves, and drawers back.
    • Power the fridge up, hold the door switch, and make sure the fan now runs smooth with no scraping and no F8 on the display.
    • Let it cool for a few hours and verify the fridge section is hitting set temp.
    If F8 returns after this, the fan motor or board really is bad – time for parts.

Is It Worth Fixing? (The Financial Verdict)

  • ✅ Fix: Fridge under ~8–10 years old, cabinet isn’t rusted or damaged, and the issue is clearly ice buildup or a single bad fan motor – parts are cheap compared to a new unit.
  • ⚠️ Debatable: Repeated icing problems even after cleaning the drain and doing a proper defrost, or you’re looking at both a fan motor and a main control board on an older fridge.
  • ❌ Replace: Fridge 10+ years old, multiple failures (fan, board, compressor noise, warm spots), or repair quotes pushing over 40–50% of the cost of a new refrigerator.

Parts You Might Need

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.