LG NeoChef MS4296

I purchased this microwave in hopes that it would last me a long time,

Let me tell you I will have this microwave for the next 10 years ! (according to the 10 year parts warranty)

The microwave itself is a snug fit in my pantry, it fits on the shelving almost perfectly, allowing me to hide it from view, thus giving me more room on my kitchen bench.

It heats cold items extremely fast, my old microwave would take a very long time, where as this one is very zippy.

Its also extremely easy to clean, after putting chickpea soup in the microwave i forgot to cover it, causing it to explode everywhere, I was able to clean the inside with just a paper towel due to the internal ceramic coating.

My only issue is sometimes it wont register the press to start the microwave, meaning you may have to press quite hard to get it going.

Purchased the LG 1200W Stainless Steel 42L Microwave Oven July 2019. It's sleek, stylish and has plenty of room to cook/reheat food. The stainless steel compliments our other stainless steel appliances and is easy to clean. The instructions are fairly easy to follow and has numerous preset menu function. So far we have only used it to heat food and it has done it quickly and evenly. The only negative I find is you can't set the timer less than 30 seconds using the touch pad. You can increase and decrease the timer once it has started by sliding your finger left or right on the - or + control pad. Depending on the amount of time initially selected this can increase or decrease the timer by 10 sec - 1 minute increments. Otherwise for shorter reheating that requires less than 30 seconds you will need to manually stop it before the 30 seconds is up. One other annoying feature I find is it plays a tune instead of a chime once the timer cycle has completed. It also comes with a two year manufacturers Warranty.

This microwave is so easy to operate compared to others we've used. The outside panel lets it start operating for 30 secs with one touch and continues the add 30 second intervals with each touch. The panel inside lets you program any combination of power and time and has a special defrost function. Special programs include Reheat, Soften, Melt, Keep Warm and Make Yoghurt. I haven't used any special programs yet. The outside is very sleek looking with stainless steel and black glass and inside is easy to clean enamel. The time is very easy to set which is important to us since we have frequent power outages.
Best of all is a two year parts and labour warranty and an additional 8 years on all parts of the magnetron.

The microwave is good to live with, however we couldn't find the Timer function. We looked in the instruction manual and Online and yup, you guessed it, no mention of it. So this was disappointing on an appliance that rates itself up there with the best.

Bought this microwave during goodguys ebay sale. Great machine. When finished cooking music is played instead of a ding sound. But easy to leave finger print on the control panel. Because it is piano black

Programming and controls are well designed and intuitive to use. Absolutely love the minimalist and sleek look. The cute tunes and noises are not too loud of offensive either. 10/10

This is a great microwave, it's looks are minimalistic, and it cooks really well. However, the controls are downright stupid. I suggest it has been designed by someone who has never used a microwave oven, or has never actually used this one. It is impossible to select 45 seconds to cook (or anything that ends in a 5). The minimum time selection is 10 seconds, and multiples thereof. Too bad if 40 seconds isn't quite enough, but 50 seconds is too much. Yes, you can stop it manually at 45 seconds, but really? When I bought this one, I didn't really know what to expect - I had read the reviews and thought I could get used to it. However, I find the controls so irritating, that if I had my time again, I would have bought one with conventional controls. As I said, it performs flawlessly as a microwave oven, but the controls are simply ridiculous.

We had a Smeg and I thought I’d was good. But it only lasted a couple of years. I actually came into product review to choose this LG. The ratings were high and the price from good guys was great. So we decided to give it a go. This oven has the inverter defrost and that is excellent. No more cooked edges with frozen centres on defrost. The ability to use the simple glass controls with the door close or the more detailed keypad with the door opened is handy. The oven is powerful with 1200 watts. The only thing I don’t like is the annoying tune it plays when it’s finished. The rest of our devices are pretty much Miele but they don’t make microwaves really which is a shame because I have never had any Miele device die, but this oven holds its own against its German siblings. So both thumbs up so far.

Great little microwave, so much better then the one i replaced it with! works well, easy to use and so quiet! Con is it shows fingerprints easily so i have to wipe it regularly

I bought LG 42L MS4296OBS microwave oven from the Harvey Norman (HN) in Liverpool, NSW on 13th December 2019, on 27th February 2019 it stopped working. It shows all display correctly but does not heat food.

I read couple of similar negative reviews before buying this; thinking those people are unfortunately unlucky ones, to my surprise I became one of them. I called HN store next morning and to add in my surprise they said I have to return it to the store, they will then send it to LG. It will take at least 7-10 days before we will know any kind of outcome. During this time of "assessment" I will not have any replacement from the store or from the LG, and have to live without microwave for at least 7-10 days. It is simply unacceptable. I was under the impression that I will get refund or exchange of microwave oven if I go to store. Apparently LG require store to send all faulty products back for assessment while their customer have to wait. I had K-mart $50 microwave previously worked perfectly fine for >10 years. We gave it away for free when we got this new shiny microwave. Now thinking it was mistake. I can’t believe LG will let customer wait for the answers till they “assess” the produce for fault. I don’t know how this even makes sense economically for LG (considering cost of transportation, repairs, and faulty parts)? Also it does not make sense for their customers to suffer for LG's faulty product? I was told by the HN store that Panasonic have different policy, store can simply replace faulty microwave with the new one on spot. At least I know which oven I will get/refer next.

Apart from above fault, we did not like the glass panel in front. It looks good but not very practical. You will see tones of fingerprints by the end of day.

After 7 days of no contact from LG or HN store I contacted LG service centre. I was told they don’t know which third party service centre has my oven. I then contacted HN store and got the details of third party service centre. I called them and they informed me that my oven is repaired (they have changed PCB and magnetron) and I can “collect” it anytime. I asked them to send it to store instead. I then collected it from the store.

This was a big inconvenience and time consuming process, considering I have to live without oven for >7 days, carry this heavy oven to store and collect it back. I am not sure if Australian consumer law have any protection for this kind of situation. I now essentially have refurbish microwave oven.

The design and colour is very sleek and modern. It heats the food evenly and has good power. Very minimalistic design which I love. It's also very quiet which is a plus. Definitely recommend

Needed a new microwave so we brought this one. Great so far. Heats up real quick, kids love the sounds it makes. When you are busy, the sounds don't let you forget there's something in it. We have brought an LG fridge so this matches perfect!

Its simple and elegant looking with flush flat face that is easy to clean.
Most importantly it cooks and reheats food EVENLY. Love the defrosting function that actually thawls throughout. Only con is the tune it plays when it ends.

Have had this microwave for nearly 2 years and have had no issues. Cooks well and is easy to operate and clean. Looks very good in the kitchen. Grandchildren like the tune it makes when finished though i can take it or leave it. Sliding controls work well. When finished it has a fan cooling down cycle which should help in increasing its life.

Two years and four days after purchase it died. It worked except that it plays a tune when finished and this does get tiresome - what is wrong with a couple of subtle beeps. At a change in time you have to turn the unit off and back on to set the new time - twice a year and when mounted in a cabinet it can be awkward. You can only set in 10 second increments - a common problem with models now. The selection of auto mode requires looking at a table - after a while you get to know to set to 3 for auto cooking vegetables. The display does not assist in selecting modes. The opening and closing the door often causes the whole microwave to slide around. Sometimes the touch sensitive buttons do not work - a problem when you need it to stop in a hurry - you end up opening the door to stop the microwave. To access most of the functions you have to open the door. It does show fingerprints and needs to be wiped often - sometimes triggering the touch buttons. Have now bought a 44L panasonic - so much better - simple beeps - can set the time - we will see how it goes.

Been using this microwave for 15 months now, and I wouldn't be without it. I especially love the sensor feature. It works brilliantly for fresh veggies, and cooks rice perfectly.

A microwave is a microwave. It performs all the task that it is supposed to, but it looks absolutely beautiful. All ugly buttons hidden, very sleek as there is only one door that goes from edge to edge (L to R). All features behind the door are the ones rarely used, so its a great place for it to be. All the everyday used buttons are easily accessed in the front.

I agree closely with Truebleu2 comments.
The programming for defrosting and heating using programs seem to miss the point and prove variable. I weighed up some frozen chicken, defrosted it and was suspicious so I only allowed it to do 2/3 of the time shown. Just as well as this was virtually defrosted and slightly cooked on edges. I returned to practices used with my old Sharp (10 years old). This means I manually defrosted food on reduced times and gave timed breaks before resetting the time expected to complete the defrosting. I also calculated that P70-80 was close to the power input of my old Sharp which was 950watts.
I tried something simple, heating baked beans. The programming based on weight was again over zealous. I returned to manual heating. I will next check the machine for hot spots and overall heat distribution before providing another review. My machine is only 1 month old so I will include reliability in my next review too.
The machine is tidy and very easy to operate. I just hope the programming buttons don’t fail with time given I don’t trust the auto cook timings so manual touch buttons may get overused.

This microwave stopped heating after 12 months. To explain my issue via chat was a nightmare. The LG service centers are inconvenient to get to and only open Monday to Friday. Not really great if you work. Lets hope I don't wait too long for my microwave to be repaired. I hope it lasts longer than 12 months this time! Give me my Panasonic back any day!

I gave this Microwave 3 start based i in fact it is a great MW when it works quite, quick and efficient

Bought 10th Oct 2018, however last night while reheating some rice, I heard a loud snap or crack come from it and then a really bad smell* that was all she wrote :( no longer heats anything