LG NeoChef MS4296OBSS (Black Stainless Steel)

We purchased this microwave 8 months ago to replace an “old faithful”. First impression was good until we discovered that you can only set times off the front panel in 10 second increments. With a 1.2kw output, 5 seconds can make a difference! The REAL issue was when 8 months later, it blew up. That’s when we discovered the debacle that is LG… Read more

“after sales service”. Basically, there isn’t any. After speaking to an off-shore call centre, we were referred to a local repair centre, more than 35 minutes drive from our home. Only 2 in metropolitan Perth, miles from anyone living in the eastern suburbs. Two calls to the centre went unanswered. We then sent a text (on a suggested number) and still nothing. We’ll get it fixed when we have the 1.5 hours spare to drive there - but have bought a replacement (NOT LG!) because we need one urgently.

Following my daughter’s exact same microwave failing after 2 years I was expecting something to go wrong. My microwave rusted out internally and is now too dangerous to use. It’s clear to all that the finish to the inside box is inferior, I would avoid this like the plague there are obviously major quality control issues. Sadly LG suggested it was… Read more

my fault because of lack of maintenance, I can assure you that was not the case, the problem was lack of a quality finish and that is held up by the number of people that have posted with the same issue.

Great microwave - very simple to use, clean design and heats evenly – Bought this based on great reviews and have not looked back. Sits beautifully in our kitchen. Easy to use functions with both access on the outer door as well as inside the door. Heats very evenly which is wonderful especially as a busy mum I am constantly throwing half drunk teas in the microwave for a quick spin. Only thing to note is that it… Read more

does collect more condensation compared to our old non-inverter SMEG so sometimes I need to leave the door open to dry it out.

It's very quiet and makes cute (or annoying depending on your taste) music when it's ready.

Two LGs both dead within 43 months – Second LG to die within four years and this was a costly one for us. Don’t buy LG microwaves. After this last experience I did my own research today after our 22 month old LG microwave (megatron) died. This was our second LG in four years, so really upset. Of course the magnetron if you look in the manual, is under warranty for 8 years but then… Read more

you still have to get it and then pay for someone to put it in. Now, in need of another microwave I rang various retail stores. Various. NONE will recommend LG mics. In fact one stated over 15 had been returned for not heating up. Having said that, apparently the washing machines and fridges are pretty good and are bought without issue, but forget the microwaves. Just wanted to warn anyone out there having had experience with two LG microwaves myself. And forget the service. I myself have experienced that. It’s pretty poor. Last mix we have we were able to get out to a repairer 1.5 hrs away. They weren’t really happy to see us and the thing was under warranty.

2nd one in 3 years - continually gives out with normal usage, great when it works, but just tired of changing it – Purchased 1st one 3 years ago and it gave out just after the 2 years warranty. Couldn't find receipt so gave up and purchased a new one, new one gave out in 9 months. Both have exactly the same issue they turn on but just stopped heating anything, however did notice with the 2nd one since the first time using it that it already made a weird sound… Read more

comparatively to the old one. Getting a refund and going with something else abit more reliable (both time purchased retail from a major brick and mortar store - not some online reseller).

When it works its great, looks sleek, easy to adjust heat, and does the job heating things up.

Going to go back to paying more for Sharp or Panasonic, but unfortunately they do not look as sleek or modern.

Problems from the start – Loved that you could pull the door open as previous microwave press button door release became faulty. That's the only good feature of this microwave. The time slider became non-responsive when trying to slide down within a couple months. After a year the turntable is making horrible clunking noises and I'm currently looking for a replacement. Very disappointed considering all the rave reviews. Show details

Disappointed – Looks great bought it to match my LG fridge & just over a year its stopped heating the food still in great condition minus it doesn't heat food..hubby can't remember where he bought it from we have gone through bank statements etc Can't find proof of purchase anywhere..so can't be fixed under warranty if we can't prove purchase..must have just… Read more

appeared on our bench lol hubby has got a kmart microwave 10 years old that's still going strong For the price of this its really disheartening.

EMC Issues – @LG, Please explain how this microwave is compliant with AU/NZ electromagnetic regulations. Every time this unit comes on, my 2.4Ghz wireless and Bluetooth communications would completely stop. You never mentioned a feature of RF jamming in your fantastic marketing brochures. Having tested in a faraday cage, there's clear evidence that this… Read more

microwave emits a significant amount of radiation mostly through its power cord.

My test showed it peaking at -40 dBm throughout the whole 2.4GHz frequency band. After covering the power cord up in a few ferrites, it came down to -100 dBm. See the photo attached. Red line shows the peaks without ferrite and blue line is with ferrites.

After checking reviews on LG website, your other customers have clearly experienced the same issue, yet it appears that you are not doing anything about it.

I tried to raise this issue with LG by calling the LG support number. It went to Manila. The person did not show any concern about a high powered device radiating electromagnetic energy and interfering with other communications. After long moments of holding for this person to be talking to her technical support colleagues, I was educated by the person about microwave oven's design is to use electromagnetic energy to heat food... Clearly, I needed to talk to LG technical support directly, but no, that's not an option.

LG needs to know that this is not good enough. I submitted a review to your website. Instead of listening to your customers, you decided it's easier to remove my review so no one else would know.

Sorry LG, I expected better from you.

Good till it didn't heat – I brought this in 2017 and it worked till 3 weeks ago. It is a manufacturing issue as it won't heat anymore, as it has a 10 yr manufacturing issue I thought I was covered but LG have been painful to deal with. Basically making it a nightmare to get replace. I have to pay for a call out fee or take it to them to be looked at to see if they will replace it. The Same thing happened to my parents one (exactly the same model).  Show details

Wouldn't buy again! – We bought this microwave, largely because it had great reviews. Three months on, and we still cannot work out how it got such reviews. Hubby hates it. It's difficult to set and you cannot choose a specific time - you need to go through in 10-second jumps. To reset the time, you need to pull the whole thing out at the plug (it's heavy). Its… Read more

programming features are indecipherable. It heats okay, but not better/worse than others. It does have a nice jingle when it finishes cooking. It is slightly larger outside than its Sharp predecessor (but same power/internal literage). We definitely would NOT buy it again.

Works well, when THEY worked – I bought a MS4296 about two months ago. It took some getting used to as far as the touch panel behind the door is concerned, but the end result of the cooking was brilliant (it replaced an old 800W Machine). Three weeks to the day of purchase, the touch panel stopped working. It didn’t matter how you pressed the panel buttons, they just wouldn’t… Read more

register. It was replaced in Store by the same model. 13 days after the replacement was picked up, it started making a loud mechanical noise under the Turn Table. The noise would start before the Turn Table started moving, so I guess it’s in the mechanical setup underneath. Back to the shop it goes where I purchased a different Manufacturers offering. Very disappointed as I really liked the power and design of this product. It just seems to me the Quality has a lot to answer for. On both occasions where I returned the Microwave, there was another identical Unit being exchanged too!

Good looks, worked well....until it died – We bought this microwave in late October 2017 and it has been working well since then. Some people find the 'chime' tune annoying, I actually quite like it! Functions are good, take a little while to get used to programming inside the door - I'd often close the door then remember I need to open it again to program the function. The lack of a timer… Read more

was a little annoying to begin with, as I'd previously often have the timer on my oven going for one thing and the timer on my old 45+ year old microwave for something else. This morning I put my coffee in to heat up, and it turned on, the light went on and it turned, but when it had finished, the coffee was cold. I noticed a ticking sound when it was running but didn't think too much of it. I put the coffee in again and ran the reheat function again, heard the same ticking again, and the coffee again came out cold. Seems it is no longer working.

Called LG customer service and they've logged a job with a local repair store. I'll take the microwave in tomorrow and see what they have to say. Disappointing that it's only been 2.5 years.

Stopped heating – I purchased this microwave exactly 2 years and 1 month ago, and today it has stopped heating. All the buttons and functions work fine, it starts spinning when your food is heating but when you take your food out it is still COLD even after 4 minutes. The heating has completely stopped.  Show details

Cooks beautifully, looks great, BUT – 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… Read more

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.

Update: Multiple elements on the clock display have failed so I cannot tell what the time is, I cannot tell how long I have set it to cook for, and I cannot tell how long it has left to cook. This means I cannot use the slider to set the cooking time, and have to count the number of times I press the Start button so I can set a cooking time, but only in 30 second increments. Would love to ditch this appliance, but it still works so it's a bit stupid to throw it away. Did I mention the controls a really stupid?

Further update: FINALLY it's given up the ghost, (won't heat) which gives me the opportunity to ditch it and buy a new one. I have bought a Sharp with a conventional control panel. SO much happier now.

Worked well but frustrating – 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… Read more

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.

Extremely disappointed – Neo chef 3 years old and badly rusted out. MS42960MBS Do not buy!!