Product review (5 stars): OEM Advantage --SAMSUNG Brand Works
Having tried other filters the advantage of OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) are clearly the least risk alternative. Compared to other filters these produce a clean fresh taste to the water. Others I've tried produced a plastic taste, hard to install, or fail. If you've ever changed a Samsung filter you'll also notice a rather arcane connection process. Aligning with the unlabeled side and 1/4 twisting to the lock position can be a challenge since the grove and lock system employed by Samsung is quite tricky. The filter must be in the lock (aligned icons) for the filter to engage in the water system. If it is not the water will simply bypass the filter. I had a neighbor who complained about his filter until I removed it and showed him it had no water in it. Re-aligning it produced the result he was looking for. The reason I mention this is if the filter is not made exactly to specification it will not twist completely into the water line. The water will bypass the filter and you will get bad water. Even with these OEM filters I have had (1) which didn't work. With the knockoffs I had (4) over the years. I would recommend on the side of caution and buy OEM. Yes they cost more, but at least you know what your getting.