Sharp R395EBS

Had a perfectly working Sharp microwave bought new from Retravision or Archie Martins in around 1982. Yes, that's right it was 40 years old! Never failed, never had to be repaired, never needed any new parts. Used every single day for 40 years straight. On that record, when the steel chassis rust started showing through, decided a new one was a… Read more

sensible upgrade. A better appearance, matching other newer applicances and modernised home decor/wood trim made sense. After previous 40 year experience with Sharp, I never even considered any other brand. Why would you if your only experience of a microwave has been that if you buy Sharp it will last 40 years?

Found this model (which is still current as opposed to this site saying discontinued) on Flybuys as a redemption. It was the right size, the right look and had a reassuringly familiar control layout to the previous 40 year old one, so not scary to have to relearn everything again just to use it. It arrived from Harvey Norman via Flybuys and the difference was immediately obvious. The 40 year old Sharp weighed a tonne and was all steel construction. This new one was all plastic and was feather-light by comparison. Old one would stay put under its own weight and friction with rubber feet, new one would slide all over the place when pushing the door open button, and had hard plastic feet. Had to install a wooden retainer strip in the cupboard alcove installation to prevent the thing sliding everytime it was used.

18 months old exactly (out of warranty) and the display starts dying. Intermittently at first, then permanently one segment of the display numbers is completely dead. Then a second segment dies and now the thing is hard to use because you can't tell the times you're entering. Then a third segment starts dying, going very dim. Microwave is now 29 months old and is basically unusable without a reliable display. My god has Sharp quality gone to the dogs. From 40 years old with no failures of any part, to dead and only good for landfill in under 3 years!

This microwave and probably Sharp more broadly are the absolute embodiment of the terms 'planned product obsolescence' and 'enshitification'. My microwave experience is the perfect example of humankind's devolvement to making things worse. The days of striving for perfection and quality and long-lasting are well and truly dead and buried. All you can buy these days in 2025 is junk. Junk that is only home in landfill.

Edit/Update: Model changed from EST to EBS; Age of unit changed from 20 months to 29 months. I have all the same experiences of every other reviewer in here and confirm they are all being 100% honest in their reviews and photographs. I have the same bubbling stained paint on the inside roof, I have the burn marks on what I assume is the microwave generator, I have the peeling scale on the inner floor, I have the reported grinding and skipping noises of the carousel drive and I have the dying pixels in the digital display as well.

The build quality of this Sharp microwave is quite frankly the worst I have ever seen for any kitchen appliance I've ever encountered. Mine started going wrong in an intermittant way at 18 months old, now another 10 months on, the number of faults are so many and varied that I have to honestly look at it and seriously question whether repair even under warranty for free would be worth the inconvenience of having done. The build quality is simply so bad, that any repair would only be very temporary until the next thing breaks or dies and then you're back to square one again.

Others may say that a clue was in the 1yr warranty offered. It was obvious that Sharp had built something designed to start failing the moment it was plugged in, by the fact they only warrantied it for 1yr, but if you look around at all microwave manufacturers, they all offer only 1yr warranties! This Sharp unit shouldn't have even been let in the country for sale to the public. It really is that bad that it should have been stopped from being imported at the border for not meeting even the most basic expectations of reasonable quality demanded by the ACCC.

To anyone even considering this microwave as a purchase/gift/reward claim or anything else, please read the reviews, believe them and look anywhere else. DO NOT even consider Sharp for a second.

Quick update for new information: Sharp have advised they have no interest in supporting Sharp products anymore in Australia. Warranty claims will basically be ignored or bounced back wherever possible. Similarly Harvey Norman Commercial have advised they have no interest or influence over what products or support Sharp decides to bring in, as they are only a wholesaler and don't make those decisions for manufacturers. Do with that information whatever you wish, but my new strategy for microwaves given their appalling across-the-board reliability and quality is to buy the ANKO ones from K-Mart only and return them under money back replacement every 11 months and then buy another one. This is properly horrific from an environmental sustainability perspective, but what other option is there when no microwave will last under ideal conditions for more than 3 years absolute best case?

Not Quality – We use the microwave everyday for steaming vegetables and re-heating food. The programming options for cooking, reheating, and defrosting are not intuitive at all. Purchased this model 23 months ago and has now stopped heating food and periodically has E-5 on the display. Terrible quality for a $300 microwave. Will be sticking with the Panasonic from now on. Show details

Worked well until it died at 20 months old – Worked well whilst it lasted, but it didn't last long (less than two years). It replaced my cheap Kmart microwave which lasted over 10 years. This more expensive one had peeling paint at 1 year and then just stopped working. Error E5. Thankfully I managed to get a refund due to Australian consumer law even though it was out of warranty. Never buying Sharp again. You clearly don't get what you pay for these days. Show details

Horrible Quality Lasted 12 Months 3 days NO WARRANTY – Had one Previous Lasted 14 Years , as many others say Sharp Quality is not what it used to be . Sharp Australia Phone on website says Disconnected / Google Sharp 1300 Number Rings Out / Facebook page No Response to Message but it was read . Photos show interior coating flaking off , bubbling on interior top surface , rust in the folded seams like… Read more

it was put together and not coated properly , Yesterday my daughter reheated a Pizza Slice and it had an internal Electrical Storm and filled the House with Toxic smelling white smoke . Rang a company called TEMPO who do Sharp Warranty repairs and they could not help because they claimed the serial number was wrong . Added bonus it also ( like some LG reviews ) interferes with Wireless network in the house the past month unless there is some radiation leak that was the case of the fire .

After much Research I am happy, but not completely, with my Purchase!!! – I purchased this Sharp Microwave Oven on 23.2.2022 from Harvey Norman. This purchase was made after much research including reviews, etc. The main reason for purchasing this particular model was how it would look in my kitchen with the other Stainless Steel Appliances. This microwave is in fact Black, but still blends in very well with my existing… Read more

appliances. Packaging was excellent and fully protected the microwave from any damage. I would like to point out though that the use of polystyrene packaging should be halted immediately as the only place you can send it is in to landfill. A substitute, that would enable the packaging to be recycled, should be a no-brainer for any manufacturer who has an interest in the future of our planet. Setup was easy and I was happy with the way that this microwave looked. Easy to set the time - easy to operate - and easy to open the front door. There were a few things that I feel I will not get used to and this could be an issue for me. First, the time display is far too bright. There is no setting to adjust the brightness. At night it looks like a very strong beacon and coupled with this, it is really hard to read due to this brightness. The second is, even after the microwave has completed the cycle you have set -It keeps running?? I have never had a microwave like this before. Very off-putting as you feel that you are getting radiated when you remove your food. Obviously this is not the case but very unsettling none the less. The last is the keypad. When you are looking directly at the keypad it appears that it has not been made very well in that you can see a raised section on the pad rather than conformity all round. Perhaps my OCD is kicking in but I have included a photo so you can make up your own mind about this.

Poor design by a usually good manufacturer – Same comments as many others. Purchased in July 2018 from Domayne, Kotara NSW. Clock races ahead. Needs to be reset after a few weeks. Oven lamp is strobing/flickering. Food will be overcooked unless time or power is reduced below those given in instruction book. Where do I buy replacement oven lamp? Show details