It's just my guess that there is a logic board / control board that needs to be replaced. My other guess is there is battery backup on the control board, and the battery needs to be replaced.

Thanks very much Doug. Your solution certainly makes sense. We actually had the logic board replaced the first time this happened. We darn near bought a new fridge not knowing that the fridge could be manually reset. Based on this, I'm ruling out the board. I contacted a samsung rep regarding the issue as well as the possibility of the back up battery being bad. It appears the unit (Model RS2533SW)is not equipped with a battery. Or so I was told. Below is the transcript of my live chat:

Please wait for a Samsung Agent to respond.

You are now chatting with 'Nathan T'

Nathan T: Hello, I am a Samsung Technical Support representative. How may I assist you today?

Jim: I have a samgung frigde model rs2533sw. Whenever we have a power outage, the fridge turns off and we have to manually reset. Need help.

Nathan T: Did you try to adjust the temperature settings and check it?

Jim: That's not the issue. If we have a 5 second power outage, the temperature control panel goes blank and stops cooling. There is a blinking light only. We have to hold the two top buttons for a few seconds to get it to kick back on. We have lost several freezer loads of food. Does this model have a backup battery that may need replacement? Thanks

Nathan T: When returning from a power outage or brownout, the unit may power up properly but the display will show the actual temperature instead of the factory default set temperatures.

Nathan T: In this case, set the refrigerator to Power Cool and Power Freeze modes until the unit returns to the desired operating temperature.

Jim: Unit does not "return" form a power outage. After a power outage there is no display at all.

Nathan T: It appears that something else with the refrigerator might be causing the problem.

Nathan T: Unfortunately the refrigerator needs to be examined by a professional service technician to get it serviced to fix the issue.

Nathan T: Would you like me to send you the link to fill out an online service request?

Jim: No thanks. Can you tell me if this unit has a "back up battery" installed?

Nathan T: No, the unit does not have a back up battery.

Jim: Thanks for your help!

Nathan T: You're welcome. Is there anything else I can assist you with?

I would try doing a google search on "samsung RS2533SW reset"

It appears to me that when the fridge powers up, it does a self diagnostic, and the number of bars (or the n'th) blinking bar - indicates the problem. If there's a problem then it won't start (not too smart).

From doing a google search, it looked like a lot of people had problems with the icemaker, and that was holding the fridge in this 'unready state.'

Check it out!

Thanks Doug that was very informative. Going back to that original thread, I think all the guy had to do was hold the two top buttons for 5 seconds and he could have reset manually, like I can. Anyway, it looks like the ice maker and sensors must be in working order or the frige will not reset itself after a surge or outage.
That thread woke me up. About two years ago, we had trouble with the ice maker and had to turn off the water supply and unhook the wires to the lower unit that hold and dispenses the ice. All that remains is the upper portion of the icemake. Reading the thread and others, it appears that the controls for the whole fridge run through the icemake assembly. I believe my troubles started (auto reset) when I removed and unpluged the lower portion. I tried connecting the two wires but no luck. I unplugged the frige for 15 seconds and plugged back in and it would not reset itself. Had to do the manual thing. Looks like I need to purchase a new Ice maker.

Doug, thanks for all your help!

Jim

I have an idea.

Maybe there are some jumpers on the control board that you can change to disable / unselect the icemaker option.

I have the Samsung RM255LASH. I have had to reboot it a couple of times by flicking the Power switch outside. I called a repair man who told me that little power surges can cause problems like the temp suddenly getting really warm and defrosting everything. He suggested plugging it into a power surge protector.

Do not buy this refrigerator! We had our icemaker replaced under warranty, and now needs to be replaced again (4 years old). It also has now started leaking water onto our wood floor. We are ditching this and looking for another model. This was an expensive purchase, and is a huge disappointment.

I have the same problem with the power going out and you have to reset the fridge to come back on. Called samsung and it is in "demo mode" and there is no way around it. I ve been on vacation several times only to come home to my ice cream melted all over my hard ood floor! Luckily I bought it at Costco (best place ever!) And they are taking it back (4 yrs later).

YES, HERE IS THE ANSWER:

Unplug fridge. Press and hold Power Free and Power Cool at same time (steady now). Plug in the fridge. Keep holding the buttons down until the temps appear (about 5-10 seconds). Your fridge can now operate normally without an ice machine.

Thanks to piece_o_people
We moved the weekend and fridge would not switch on, just one flashing line(had something similar six months ago after a lightning strike, some electronics were fried. The Samsung agent couldn't fix it, got a generic repair agent to sort it out).

Today, the first time I did the reset, I held the buttons too long and it went to flashing and beeping. Re-did it, holding the buttons until numbers came up, working perfectly now.

Utube posts this fix... worked for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwNXdCQCiw0

Here is a link that might be useful: Samsung Refrigerator Troubleshooting - Demo Mode - YouTube

Thank you so much for posting this about your Samsung Refrigerator. I had the same problem and called Samsung, I got the same type of response you did,they sort of skated around my question. I guess they don't know the answer or because it was not under warranty they wanted a service call. Again thanks so much.

hi i have a samsung fridge freezer and for some reason it keeps going off 1 min my fridge works the a few hrs goes off and same with the freezer is it going or will it need resetting i dont want to get rid of it incase its ok if u know what i mean lol

Hi all

My samsung refregerator model RS 363 it 5 yers old , before it knocking sound and couple of days it is not working. I am replace a main board and reset it . About a month and today in frezer side is cooling and in frege side is not cool , i put the thermos. And temp is 65 . Would you tell me what wrong.

Samsung is not very dependable refre ?

My 2yr old samsung side by side refrigerator did not want to turn on after unplugging to defrost, because there was ice built up and could hear fan. When I replugged refrigerator there was only a little blue line blinking on panel. had push both reset button held it down and did not work. Repeated several times and could not get it started. Wanted to say thank you because when I saw your solution, to press power freeze and power cool my whole panel, it up again and started working. Thank you so much. I thought I was going to have to buy another fridge.

After a power bump and surge my Samsung RFG298HDRS Frig control panel was blinking 33. No buttons worked. I have it on an appliance surge protector. I tried the reset by holding the top 2 buttons and after about 8 seconds, it went back to normal. Thank you.

Has anyone come up with a solution for Samsung fridges? I have a Samsung RS2530BSH and everytime the power goes out I have to manually reset the fridge or it will never come back on. For this model you have to hold "Ice Type" and "Filter Reset" for 5-10 seconds. This seems to be a common Samsung problem.

my Samsung RS2577RS Refrigerator went blank (except for a flashing led) on the control panel after a 5 hour power outage. Thanks to the various posts from 2013, i unplugged the unit for about 15 seconds, and after i plugged it back, I pressed the 'power freeze' button and the 'power cool' button at the same time for about 10 seconds and the control panel buzzed back to life. Saved me a tidy sum. Thanks very much.

I Have a Samsung fridge model RS267lbbp and had a power outage yesterday, now my fridge temp says 50 and even after pressing power cool, it still wont go down. What can I do? Do I need to reset it somehow?

I have a Samsung R263TDBP every time the power goes out it will not reset, I get one blue flashing line on the fridge side. I am tired of having to call Samsung to try to reset it. What can I do please and thank you and everything freezes on the fridge side Abs

To reset my side by side Samsung Fridge after power outage, I unplug the power and plug it back after about 30 seconds & then unplug the "Ice Maker" for approximately 30 seconds then plug it back. after a few second the fridge is back on.

DO NOT throw ur ice maker away even if you have given up on it like I did. After a power outage while the lights were still working the freezer and refrigerator stopped and I didn’t notice for about 12 hours. Thanks to this thread and dialogue that had taken place above I hunted down the icemaker in my garage and plugged it back in. Soon as I did that I heard the compressor kicked back on.

I have a Samsung RS267 and overall it's a pretty nice refrig. However, it does exactly the same thing you've described. Requires a manual reset after power outage; and when no one is around all food and frozen goods are lost. I contacted Samsung help support--in what turned out to be a less than fruitful interaction--and they informed that Samsung does not manufacture any refrigerator that will "automatically" resume cooling after loss of power--they ALL require manual intervention. Which I informed them was an idiotic design fail and needed to be fixed. My wife and I are now looking to see if any manufacturer makes a refrig that will auto resume cooling after power outage-- initial research efforts aren't looking very favorable :-(

With all due respect to previous commenters-- your suggestions all pertain to performing a "manual" reset on the refrigerator. That is, as I read the original question, not what the submitter was asking. They wanted to know how to get refrig to restart "without" manual intervention--when no one is at home to perform such a manual action.

I've never had to do anything to my 15yo GE SxS after a power failure (momentary or longer). It's loaded with electronics and takes care of itself. Can't say if that reflects current GE models.

My 22yo KitchenAid in the garage has no electronics so of course doesn't need any help.

I don't believe they make refrigerators "smart" nowadays, they're just made complicated so the manufacturer is able to continue to get $$$ from "dumb" consumers.

My 25 year old Maytag never gave us any problems and didn't need resetting after a power outage. Did only simple mainanence. Moved it 3 times to different locations over those 25 years and it just keeps working without hassles. Wish I still had it. Gave it to another family (still working) thinking we were upgrading. 😒

My Samsung just decided to keep flicking through water ice crush just keeps going any suggestions

We bought a Samsung French Door fridge from Costco 11/2019. So far every time we get a power outage it has to be manually reset. Last week we were out of town for a week during a power outage. fortunately my daughter was home and I walked her through the reset over the phone- it took 4 try before resetting. I agree with the comment earlier- this is the most idiotic problem for a "smart" fridge. We have a 15 yr old Kitchen Aid and a 20 yr old Amana- never this problem with either. We live in a neighborhood in Charlotte with 60+ foot trees and above ground power lines. big storms bring power outages. I never would have bought this dumb thing if I had known of this quirk. Calling Costco today to hopefully replace.

Apparently, the non-recovery from a power outage is the "normal" function of the incompetently engineers Samsung refrigerators - on quite a number of models. This is a widely reporter problem that Samsung has chosen to consistently ignore and not provide any solutions for. The best solution is simply not to buy Samsung products until they can provide more durable and functional designs and offer even the most basic customer service. I've certainly would not consider Samsung after reading how wide spread the non-recovery from power failure problem is among almost all Samsung refrigerator models for over a decade.

I agree every Samsung appliance has been a bad experience.

This is an interesting thread. This is my Samsung side by side fridge/freezer model.

I have not experienced the issues described above with power outages and having to reset, but we do have water leaking out from the bottom at this moment. It's not coming from the water line. Seems to be coming from the front of the freezer. Could it be a defrost issue? Anyone experience this and have a solution? About a month ago, we did have to pull the back panel off and defrost the fan. That was the first time it needed maintenence in 8 years. Thanks!

I have finally discovered the answer to this issue for my Samsung. Take out the ice maker before trying to reset by pushing those energy and lighting buttons. Why hasn’t anyone told us this before? I’ve dealt with this problem for 10 years! I will never buy another Samsung frig

Thanks all!!! mine didn't have both power freeze and cool read a bit more on mine it's the bottom two buttons ice type and filter reset pressed and held both and bam fridge back online!!! Headache over!!!

Hi everybody,

I have a problem with my Samsung fridge-freezer. After turning power on, it works normally for almost 20 hours and then it doesn't work. It should be turned off and on again to repeat this cycle. I have done the reset procedure using power ref and power freeze buttons and it resets the system and shows no errors, but it doesn't start working unless the power turned off and on. Could anybody help me on this issue?

In Reference to my comment 7 months ago about the Samsung Refrigerator not powering back up after a neighborhood power outage- it happened again this weekend while we were out of town- storm apparently came through the area, downed tree limbs knocked out power to the neighborhood on Saturday. We were planning to come home this Monday but after learning about the outage via Facebook came home Sunday and sure enough - 2 year old Samsung -no power, 15 year old Kitchenmaid and 20 year old Amana humming along no problem.

If ANYONE knows of a solution or has been successful dealing with Samsung on this issue please let us know!!! I'm calling again now but not confident- will update blog if any success.

This Samsung fridge takes more than 24 hours to restart when it goes on rest. what can I do to get it operate normal ? Give my your views on my WhatsApp line +27632749927

Thank you Sue Brown for your post of 3 years ago! We had tried everything with no luck. Your suggestion to remove the ice maker before pressing the energy button and freezer buttons! Put the ice maker back in and voila!