GE Profile Opal | Countertop Nugget Ice Maker with Side Tank | Portable Ice Machine with Bluetooth Connectivity | Smart Home Kitchen Essentials | Stainless Steel Finish | Up to 24 lbs. of Ice Per Day

So I have waited a while to post this review, giving time to see how the machine holds up. I got this unit in June late. It started out working perfectly. Left it on all day, and turned it off at night. There would always be enough ice left over that I would still have probably 30oz of ice left to start my day with. Then in early July, I left it on all night one night, and the next day it sounded like it was struggling. Then the screech of death started (see video). Oh man. I was devastated. I splurged and got this machine for my disabled mom, and certainly didn't have the money for another one, or even to deal with shipping costs to send it back for a replacement. So I let it squeal for about a day, and then it stopped making ice. I tried running an extended cleaning cycle to no avail. Then I decided to take a stab in the dark with it... I ran a cleaning cycle through with a solution of about 20/80 white vinegar and water. The screach got a little quieter. I did the cleaning cycle again. Got a little quieter again. Then started making ice with it. It kept sounding like it was struggling, so I ran another cleaning cycle with 60/40 white vinegar and water solution. Followed some tips I found online about putting a paper towel soaked in vinegar up inside the extruder area. Let it sit for a few hours then started the cleaning cycle again. Ran a bunch of rinse cycles though and BAM! No more sounds of a struggling machine. Since then it has stopped making ice twice. Both times were my fault, as they were well over a month of me not doing a cleaning cycle like suggested (I DO only used filtered water in it, so it might need more cleaning cycles if you use tap water). Each time it stopped making ice, I run a cleaning cycle with a little vinegar and water, and it just starts working fine again when I leave cleaning mode. It's now November, and it works perfectly. No more squealing, only issues if I don't do cleaning cycles on time. And even then, it starts working again just fine once I clean it. I hope this review helps someone make their choice. And hopefully helps a few people out of they do get the squeal of death. This machine has been a wonderful addition to my home. Anyone on the fence about getting it, get off the fence and just do it already!

This icemaker is our absolute favorite in our home. We use it every day. The trick is to use distilled water that keeps it from getting mineral buildup. It does have a self cleaner which is great and works awesome. I love the reserve because that makes it so we don’t have to fill it as often.

Nugget ice is great, I admit it and my wife really wanted this in the house so I finally broke down and bought her this, but its been a bad experience. I’ve never written a product review, but have been so dissatisfied and frustrated with GE / Opal that I felt I needed to write this to vent and in the hope you can make the best decision about whether its worth the hassles for you. First, I knew there would be some noise, but it was annoying enough we needed to move the ice maker from our bar area (preferred location for access for us) to as far around the corner in our kitchen as possible so as not to have to have the TV cranked to hear it over the din of the ice maker. It pretty much runs all day if you use ice and as it regenerates the melting ice in the bin. OK, I expected some noise going in so we accept that. I also knew it would put out heat, it has to in order to make ice. So it warms the room its in, for us thats the kitchen / living room level of our townhouse. Again, we knew that going in and accepted it. I’m not sure what it costs in electricity to run the unit, then for your A/C to further exhaust that heat from your home. We live in Texas and A/C is nearly a year round thing. My guess is you’re looking at $25 - $50/month in additional electricity cost ... but this is just a guess TBH. Then you have the maintenance ... which is where the real nightmares starts. Ice makers are tricky and hard to maintain. First it’s weekly cleaning the involves 5 drain and refill cycles, plus cleaning all the bin(s) and components. If you hurry through it you can do it in under an hour and its possible to multi task with dinner or whatever, but thats best case. Trust me, its an ongoing pain. Never the less, I performed the cleaning religiously not wanting any “slim in the ice machine”. We only used Brita filtered water in the unit. However, what I learned after the unit crapped out in 4 months was that that doing the “demineralization” (which the manual sort of glosses over) may be more important than they lead you to believe in the owner manual. Also, once i got into problems the Opal maintenance people said one should be using distilled water, not just filtered water ... at that point I’m like wait a second here, where was all this advice when I read through the owners manual? In the end it probably wasn’t mineral buildup that caused the unit to fail anyway. Point is if you want it to last you probably should use distilled water. However, in my case there was little/no evidence of mineral buildup and none of the demineralization fix process helped. As mentioned before - a small ice maker (any ice maker) is hard thing to keep running correctly, there’s a lot that can fail. If that was all you’d never have heard from me, but the real nightmare begins with trying to get warranty repairs. If you’re outside the 1 year warranty, I’d for sure just junk it and move on - I would not waste money trying to repair this type appliance. Our ice maker quit making ice about 4 months after we bought it and I called Opal, but no answer “heavier than normal call volume” ... Please companies, quit hiding behind that using the pandemic as an excuse. Since Opal was unavailable I tried GE appliances which is offered as an alternate route. GE customer service was very polite and helpful ... I thought. The nice GE lady took all my information and asked about whether I wanted a GE person to come out and fix it (2 weeks wait) or whether a quicker available local contractor was ok. I said the contractor would be fine and got an appointment time, contractor’s name and contact info etc and thought i was all set for 3 days later. What the nice GE lady didn’t know about her own system/company was they don’t come fix Opal ice makers like they do other GE appliances, you send it back. So unbeknownst to me they just cancelled my ticket about 18 hours later. I was never notified of this due to email address mix up (an honest mistake of a dot left out of the address), but there was no other effort / method of getting me notice than their email attempt and nobody on GE’s end noticing the email got kicked back. So come Monday the repair guy/company never shows up, so I call back to find out what’s up only to learn the ticket was canceled and I need to open a new ticket with Opal which I did. First thing Opal service does is question about the unit and your maintenance - OK i get it and had all along been offering to try any recommended fixes that had. However, the Opal guy came off as condescending like it was my fault their POS failed. We got through that call and then they send you a series of email asking to to do various things; prove your ownership and purchase date, unit ID and finally a multi part troubleshooting which is mostly about masking sure the unit isn’t “mineralized up”. Frankly the web site they have you use, Onpoint, sucks and they don’t even trust it. Best they have I guess. You can’t even register your own unit for instance, they have to do it. Anyway, after working through all the suggested fixes in their email, and re-trying unit to no avail, they will replace your unit. Unfortunately, I had more delays in this process. They won’t resend a new (reconditioned) unit until you check all the boxes, including paying them another $300 which they supposedly will return once you return the old unit. I tried several times over a two week + period to initiate the replacement process to no avail, and each time after a week or so had to call again only to find out it was still pending things on my end. Of course there is no follow-up from Opal or GE to say the process is stuck, its all on you to fight through the process. So as we sit today I’m super frustrated and still wondering when I’ll receive a replacement and how that will go. I’m sorry I ever got into this mess and would just say stick with ice from your refrigerator or go by Sonic or some who has pellet ice and save the headache.

I've only been using the ice maker for two weeks but like it very much so far. It arrived in excellent condition and was easy to get it started. I have not yet hooked up the side reservoir so can't speak to how well that works. I only notice the noise when the machine is actually making ice but it's in a room that's far enough away from the general living area so I am not bothered by it at all. It is a little bit loud but not unbearable but I would not want it making ice in the same room where people are watching tv or having a conversation. Never had Sonic ice to which a lot of people compare the ice from this machine so I can't say if it is similar or not but I do like the ice produced with the Opal. It is light and crunchy making it easy to chew. Ice nuggets that stick together are very easily separated with a gentle scrape of the scoop. I am replacing the scoop that came with the ice maker because it is made of plastic and I do worry that it will chip when scooping out ice. I am replacing it with a small stainless steel scoop. At first I didn't see the point of the drip pan but I tend to make a mess sometimes when scooping ice from the bin and transferring it to a thermos and the drip pan catches some of the ice that misses the mouth of the thermos--my fault, not the machine's. The pan is also good for resting the scoop when not in use. It looks really good and very inviting when the light is on. When it needs more water the circle on the face of the machine turns blue so I never have to worry about running out of ice unless guests are over and using a lot of it. If the bin gets low on ice it automatically starts making more and it takes about 15 minutes. Overall, I like this ice maker a lot. At $500+ I'm not convinced yet that it is worth that amount of money and it will take a while to pay for itself compared to the money saved from not needing to buy bags of ice at the grocery. If the machine lasts that long I will be happy. Best thing about it is that I am drinking a lot more water these days because I like the ice a lot and it is so easy to scoop (grocery ice gets stuck together and requires an ice pick to separate or a hard drop of the bag onto the floor) and always available.

***ONE MONTH UPDATE*** I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! This review is for everyone considering an Opal AND those having issues with their Opal. Please try these steps and see if it resolves the blue light/not making ice issue!! So I received my Opal Saturday (a day earlier than expected). The box nor device were damaged, unlike some buyers, so I guess I was lucky there. It appeared to be completed new, not refurbished. The setup was a bit..... tedious. Running the cleaning cycle a few times took a lot of time but in hindsight, it also helped me understand the mechanics of the ice maker, which came in handy today. (More on that layer) The last 5 days have been crushed ice lovers BLISSSSSS! I swear, it’s been everything I dreamed of. “Sonic ice” available at my will. I almost wrote a glorious review Monday. (Glad I waited) Up until this morning, it was making ice perfectly. When I left this morning, I noticed it wasn’t and tried setting the schedule from my phone on the way out the door, expecting it would be fine when I returned from work. No such luck. I walked in to a completely empty ice bin despite the water being full . SAD-NESS ensued. I immediately began googling the “Opal Ice Make blue light” topic but let me save you a step. The suggestion of running a cleaning cycle didn’t work so I came here for help, only to find a HELLUVA lot of awful reviews (on this listing and some others). Decided to review the Owners Manual for help (thankfully I didn’t trash it), and read the steps about cleaning mineral deposits, something something. Basically, I ran two cleaning cycles with a lot of white vinegar and water and THEN I actually started an ice making cycle with the vinegar water. Wouldn’t you know, the water FINALLY began pumping thru the machine again! GLOORRRRYYY! So yeah, upon getting the water pumping again, I switched it back to cleaning mode, and pumped another two rounds of FILTERED water thru the machine and it’s now happily (and loudly) making ice again. Is it a darn shame it took all this to make it work beyond 6 days?? YES. But am I truly thankful to hear that ice dropping again? HELL YES!! My takeaway here is that I should probably always use filtered water going forward (and not the tap water I was using). I’ll check back in with any updates if things change but for now, it’s working again. And to anyone thinking about getting one of these ice makers, I guess we’ll see if it’s worth the money in the long run. If I could afford the countertop Follett ice maker ($3K+), that would’ve been my first choice. (They have it at my car dealership and the ice is DIVINE but it’s hard connected to your water line so it requires professional installation, too). So for me and my budget this $550 was a stretch, but if you got coins to spend and want the real thing, look into the Follett 7CI100A-IW-NF-ST-00 7 Series Air Cooled Countertop Ice Maker and Water Dispenser. Hope this helps someone craving ice right now! I’m about to go get a cup! ☺️

So a few thoughts. #1 is that this thing is bigger than you would think but it /just/ fits under the counter so cool! #2 when it makes ice is does make noise - not a huge amount but it's not as quiet as a fridge and it's not as noisy as a laundry machine. #3 make sure to have bleach AND buy the filters. It does not come with filters (just a little grid thing to keep large items from getting in the works.) Has a very cool bluetooth app. We used it to set up a daily schedule where it comes on a 6am and shuts off at midnight. There is always still ice in it the next day. UPDATE: Everyone always wants it's ice - so we killed the schedule. It stops running when people leave it alone and will let the ice melt in the bin. Once you re-open the bin it re-starts and re-fills in no time. When it stops working (we got the "no water" indicator") that just means it's time to follow the cleaning procedure. Use vinegar once. Then use the bleach once. Then rinse a few times (I think they say four-five times) and you are back in ice making business. This accessory ice maker is perfect when your fridge ice maker can't keep up when you have small gatherings that need ice. When it starts up in less than 15 minutes it's making ice and I think it can fill a completely empty bin in an hour. The bin is not as deep as it is high or wide - perhaps half the depth as is the width. Which is perfect for light to moderate use - or accompanied by a fridge ice maker perfect for keeping up with modest social gatherings.

We initially ordered the GE Profile Opal because we wanted great Ice for our drinks. Upon receipt, we setup the unit according to the provided instructions and ice was never produced. We returned the initial unit and Amazon replaced within a couple of days with no questions asked. The second unit arrived and we setup according to the instructions. This time, the unit started to make ice within 15 minutes. However, the unit only produced about 3 cups of ice and then kicked into "Defrost" mode and constantly ran water for 30 minutes melting all of the ice. After defrosting, the unit would produce about 3 cups of ice then kick back into "Defrost" mode. This repeated consistently for about 3 cycles. Then the dreaded annoying "Squealing" sound started appearing prior to each "Defrost" cycle. The squeal would disappear during or slightly after the defrost cycle. After reading a review about a solution to the dreaded "Squeal", I noticed that the squeal comes from a rubber gasket/ring located below the Fan Motor that turns when the fan turns. I accessed the motor and lubed the rubber gasket with some white lithium grease. This eliminated the squeal and now the unit produces the full amount of ice with little noise. It has worked ever since. To perform this function, do the following: 1. Unplug the unit and remove the back panel by loosening and removing the screws on the back of the main unit. 2. Locate the White fan in the upper left hand portion of the unit. 3. Below the white fan is the black motor and below the motor is the rubber gasket/ring that turns with the fan. 4. Use a q-tip or some other applicator to place the grease around the entire rubber gasket. 5. Clean off any grease that may have gotten on the motor or surrounding areas. 6. Replace the panel and turn on the ice maker It is pretty annoying that you have to do this, but it is a pretty simple solution if you don't want to deal with the returns and trying to get a new unit. Hopefully this helps.

I initially reviewed this when we had first got it over a YEAR ago and I stand behind my initial 5 star review. We use this multiple times a day and it has faithfully provided enough ice for two adults without fail. I have never gone to get ice and there be none. Quality is consistent and the ice tastes great with minimal maintenance or upkeep other than the occasional cleaning with vinegar water when it gets the squeaks and keeping the water tank filled. I will add that we use spring water in it...Ozarka, actually because I have a water cooler since the municipal water tastes bad to me. Whether water quality/mineral content is a factor or not for this ice maker, I can't definitively say. We love ours and I would buy another...BTW, the app is still crap, so don't bother with it. ###### Came SECURELY packed - top and bottom of box had wood inserts, even. It's a little heavy but arrived safely. Had it set up and making ice in no time. The longer it runs, the cooler it gets and the ice gets even better. It's in the kitchen, so I don't really notice any noise - between the compressor on the water cooler and the fountain pet waterer running in there, it's just not something I notice. It looks GREAT and feels like a quality appliance. As far as the Bluetooth - the GE app is currently garbage. The version on the Google Playstore is version 1.0.0.1 and there's a message that the app needs to be updated to version 5.1.0, but clicking on the update button by the advisory msg does nothing. Contacted GE and waiting for a response from them since it's their app. I scanned for the Bluetooth on the unit and it found it, so the hardware is fine. Tried the FirstBuild app as well, but it says it's not compatible with Android 10. Will update - but nonetheless, I'll be keeping this thing as long as it keeps churning out yummy nummy pebble ice!! (No more keeping cooler bags in the freezer to dash to Sonic just for ice and hoping it didn't get too wet before I got it in the house freezer only to clump up - YEAH!)