What this LG vs Samsung comparison is based on#
The side-by-side table on this page has two rows. That is not an editing decision — it is how many components appear in both records at all.
LG microwaves account for 70 CPSC SaferProducts incident reports naming a component, filed between 2011 and 2026. Samsung microwaves account for 167 over the same window. LG's record names three components in total; Samsung's names four; and only two of those are common to both, which is why the comparison is as short as it is.
The two shared rows#
The control board is named in 6% of the LG filings, which is 4 reports, and in 9% of the Samsung ones, which is 15. Wiring or the power cord is named in a single LG filing at 1% and in 3% of the Samsung record, which is 5 reports.
Both gaps are small in points and small in counts. Three points on the board is about two Samsung filings' worth or two LG filings' worth, depending which column you measure from. A comparison at that scale is a description of two short lists, not a measurement of a difference.
Why microwave records look like this#
The shares here are far lower than on any [dishwasher](/blog/repair-or-replace-dishwasher) page in this set, and the reason is structural. On a dishwasher record the leading component typically takes a quarter or half of the filings. On these microwave records the leader takes 6% of one and 9% of the other, which means the great majority of reports in both do not resolve to any component this table tracks.
What those reports describe instead is outside what this page holds. The practical consequence is that the component breakdown is a narrow window onto each record rather than a summary of it, and the window is narrower here than anywhere else in the set.
What is left to say#
Two things, both modest. The control board is the most-named component in both records, so an electronics complaint is the single most common thing on file for either brand — within the small slice of filings that name a component at all. And nothing in either record distinguishes the two brands: the largest gap is 3 points, on rows of 4 and 15 filings.
That is a null result, and it should be read as the data declining to separate the brands rather than as evidence that they are equivalent. Both columns count filings, neither counts machines, and no public source states how many microwaves of either brand are in service — so nothing here converts into how often anything fails.
LG vs Samsung microwaves: what the reports mention#
Both columns are shares of their own corpus, and the corpora differ in size. LG: CPSC SaferProducts incident reports for LG microwaves, 2011-2026, n=70. Samsung: CPSC SaferProducts incident reports for Samsung microwaves, 2011-2026, n=167. A difference no larger than one report on either side is marked "within one-report noise".
| Component mentioned | LG | Samsung | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control Board | 6% (4 of 70) | 9% (15 of 167) | 3 points more often for Samsung |
| Wiring or Power Cord | 1% (1 of 70) | 3% (5 of 167) | 2 points more often for Samsung |
About the corpus: these are CPSC SaferProducts reports — incidents someone chose to report, not units sold — so the shares on this page are shares of the reports and never a failure rate. The corpus is weighted toward safety events: 12,007 of its 20,581 records (58%) are fire, smoke, burn or melt reports, which over-represents the components that burn and under-represents the ones that merely stop working.
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LG microwaves: the reported component split#
LG microwaves — every share in this table is a share of: CPSC SaferProducts incident reports for LG microwaves, 2011-2026, n=70.
| Component mentioned | Share of reports | Reports |
|---|---|---|
| Control Board | 6% | 4 of 70 |
| Motor | 1% | 1 of 70 |
| Wiring or Power Cord | 1% | 1 of 70 |
Shares of reports, not failure rates — see the corpus note above.
Samsung microwaves: the reported component split#
Samsung microwaves — every share in this table is a share of: CPSC SaferProducts incident reports for Samsung microwaves, 2011-2026, n=167.
| Component mentioned | Share of reports | Reports |
|---|---|---|
| Control Board | 9% | 15 of 167 |
| Wiring or Power Cord | 3% | 5 of 167 |
| Heating Element | 1% | 2 of 167 |
| Ice Maker | 1% | 1 of 167 |
Shares of reports, not failure rates — see the corpus note above.
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How to use these numbers#
What this comparison can settle: which components the reported incidents of each brand actually concentrate on, for this appliance. What it cannot settle: which brand fails more often. That would need units sold, and no public source states it. Use the component split to plan for the repair each brand is most reported for, not to rank the two.
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