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    Best Refrigerators Without a Water and Ice Dispenser or an Icemaker

    These refrigerator models maximize space and forgo repair-prone features—plus, they work as well as any fridge should

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    LG LRTLS2403S404467, Haier QJS15HYRFS, and Maytag MSS25N4MKZ refrigerators
    To avoid problems with a refrigerator that dispenses water or makes ice, you may want to consider a model that doesn’t offer either feature.
    Photos: LG, Haier, Maytag

    Refrigerators with a water dispenser, a water and ice dispenser, or an icemaker are popular, but those features are also consistently the source of the biggest complaints owners have about their refrigerators, according to Consumer Reports’ member surveys.

    In this article

    In our most recent surveys, covering more than 80,336 refrigerators that members bought new between 2013 and 2023, we learned that 15 percent of models had trouble making ice and 14 percent of models with a dispenser had problems dispensing water or ice.

    More on Refrigerators

    The most obvious way to avoid these pitfalls is to choose a refrigerator without either feature. That can be difficult, though, because most refrigerators on the market, particularly wider ones, have at least an icemaker. But such a move does have another advantage.

    “Icemakers and water dispensers take up a lot of space inside the refrigerator,” says Breann Chai, who oversees CR’s refrigerator testing. “If you get a model without them, you’ll be able to maximize your storage space.”

    CR members can read on for ratings and reviews of the best refrigerators without either a water dispenser or an icemaker from our tests—two top-freezers, two bottom-freezers, two side-by-sides, and two French-doors—from Haier, Ikea, LG, Maytag, Samsung, and Whirlpool. To learn more about different refrigerator configurations, see our refrigerator buying guide. To view our full list of CR-tested fridges, check our complete refrigerator ratings.

    Best Top-Freezers Without a Water/Ice Dispenser or an Icemaker

    Best Bottom-Freezers Without a Water/Ice Dispenser or an Icemaker

    Best Side-by-Sides Without a Water/Ice Dispenser or an Icemaker

    Best French-Doors Without a Water/Ice Dispenser or an Icemaker

    How CR Tests Refrigerators

    In CR’s refrigerator lab, our engineers wire up models with thermocouples and monitor the refrigerators for more than a month in a climate-controlled chamber. They collect more than 5.4 million temperature readings for each model to detect warm and cold spots—for CR’s temperature-uniformity test—and determine which refrigerators keep food fresh longer.

    In addition, Consumer Reports’ member surveys allow us to create predicted reliability and owner satisfaction ratings. All this data informs our overall refrigerator ratings, which include more than 250 models. For more information on CR’s refrigerator tests, see our How We Test Refrigerators page. To learn more about the different types of refrigerator configurations, see our refrigerator buying guide. And for our highest-rated picks across categories—from French-door refrigerators to mini fridges—look at our guide to the best refrigerators of the year


    Daniel Wroclawski

    Daniel Wroclawski

    Dan Wroclawski is a home and appliances writer at Consumer Reports, covering products ranging from refrigerators and coffee makers to cutting-edge smart home devices. Before joining CR in 2017, he was an editor at USA Today’s Reviewed, and launched the site’s smart home section. In his spare time, you can find him tinkering with one of the over 70 connected devices in his house. Follow Dan on Facebook and Twitter @danwroc.