The short answer
On a newly delivered cabinet, most cooling complaints are settling time, loading and setup rather than a fault. Give it a full day empty before judging it, and check the doors close cleanly if they were reversed.
What you actually see and hear
- Not cold after several hours from new — Normal. A warm cabinet takes far longer than most people allow.
- Cools slowly and never quite gets there with a full load — Loading a warm cabinet full from the start doubles the work.
- One compartment cold and the other not on a frost-free cabinet — Airflow between the compartments, often a blocked vent from packing or over-filling.
- Condensation and poor cooling after a door reversal — The seal is not closing cleanly.
- Completely warm and silent — Power or a genuine fault, and on a new appliance that is a seller question.
Causes, most likely first on this machine
- Not enough settling or pull-down time — First on a new cabinet. Stood upright and left to settle before powering, then given a day empty, is what the manufacturer expects.
- Loaded warm and full from the first hour — Second. A cabinet filled with room-temperature food before it has ever reached temperature may take a day or more to catch up.
- Door seal after an owner reversal — Third, and specific to online purchases. A reversal done slightly out of square leaves a gap that never stops costing cold.
- Packing left inside blocking vents — Fourth. Foam and cardboard inside a frost-free cabinet obstruct the very ducts that move the cold air.
- Clearance and ambient at its final position — Fifth. The delivery crew put it where it fitted, not necessarily where it can breathe.
- A genuine fault or transit damage — Last, and if it applies it is the seller's problem rather than yours.
Check in this order, and why
- Check how long it has been running and whether it stood upright first — This alone explains most first-week complaints.
- Run it empty for a full day with a thermometer inside — The only fair test of a new cabinet.
- Check every vent inside is clear of packing and food — Frost-free cabinets depend entirely on those ducts.
- Test the door seals with paper, especially after a reversal — A reversal is the most common owner-side setup error.
What an owner can safely check
- Leave it running empty for a full day with a thermometer inside — Judge it on that reading, not on how it feels after an hour.
Tools: thermometerAbout 1440 min
- Remove all internal packing and check the vents are clear — Foam in a duct stops cooling in a way that looks like a failure.
Tools: torchAbout 15 min
- Test both door seals with paper all round — Pay particular attention if the doors were reversed at home.
Tools: paperAbout 15 min
- Pull the cabinet out to its specified clearance and level it — Where the delivery put it is not always where it can work.
Tools: spirit levelAbout 20 min
- Load it gradually once it is at temperature — Filling a warm cabinet is the commonest reason a healthy one looks slow.
About 15 min
- STOP HERE if it runs constantly after a day empty and sealed — That is a fault, and on a new appliance it is a seller matter.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel - a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. A freight-delivered cabinet should be stood upright and left to settle before it is switched on for the first time. The compressor and relay at the back stay live until the unit is unplugged, and the defrost heater on a frost-free cabinet sits behind the freezer rear panel - never chip ice with anything metal.
When to call a technician
Contact the seller when the cabinet has run empty for a full day, with clear vents, good seals and proper clearance, and still cannot reach forty degrees Fahrenheit. Do that rather than calling an independent technician: on a recently delivered appliance the fault is theirs to resolve and an outside repair can void the cover. Keep a note of when it was delivered, when it was first switched on, and what the thermometer read - that record makes the claim straightforward.
Nearest pages of this class
What this page does not cover
This page is written for the freight-delivered full-size refrigerator class, not for one family or model line. Where a brand- or model-specific page exists for your unit it is the more specific answer and it is linked above, so go there first if your machine is named. What is deliberately not here: compressor and fan part numbers, thermostat ranges, door reversal instructions and shelf dimensions, all of which differ by family and belong on the page for that family.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
