Countertop microwave ovens nowadays are throwaway items.

OTR units are are more expensive to purchase, which can tip the scale toward repair in some cases ... but it's your call. Have you searched the model number at online parts sites to check what parts are/are not available?

dadoes it is OVR, I have not checked available parts but since it is newer I hope/assume the parts are available.........though at this point I have no idea what part died and needs replacing.

Perhaps not relevant to a 1-1/2yo unit ... but I have a 14+yo GE OTR microwave that has not exhibited any failures thus far (except the finish wearing on the door handle).

I don't care for the OTR type but it was already in the house I bought.

Dadoes, as you suspected, your 14-year-old MW record is not relevant. Microwaves today are made as throwaway items sadly. Typical lives for countertop MWs sold today are 5 years, though with light use, maybe you can eke out 7 years. But much less for an OTR MW because as The Cook's Kitchen mentioned, the OTRs are exposed to heat and moisture which shortens the life of the electronics, which also are made to be as cheap as they possibly can - if the manufacturer can shave off even a 1/4 of a cent when it manufactures or purchases the parts for the MWs' electronics, it will.

To the OP - if you are set on having an OTR MW rather than a hood, just buy the least expensive OTR MW you can, with the understanding it will break in 2-4 years.

Additionally, although manufacturers are doing all they can to use cheaper and cheaper parts and components, the prices they will sell those parts to you or to repair shops has increased dramatically to the point where what could be a relatively simply cheap fix, such a a single loose connection or a bad component on a control board, requires the entire control board to be replaced, and that control board will cost as much or more than a nearly identical new appliance.

On the off chance this might help, as you sound very handy, OP: When our now ~3-y/o built-in Bosch speed/micro oven was installed, DH noticed the display was rather dim (esp relative to the new Bosch wall oven). I thought nothing of it. Fast forward to a few months ago, when the unit completely stopped working. (Yeah, don't get me started about how the original microwave we replaced was still going strong after 25+ years!)

DH did some Googling, pulled the unit out and inspected the electronics board. Apparently, a dim display on these Bosches can be a sign of a bad board (or something...I obviously wasn't paying close enough attention and was in "please just fix it" mode). He noticed one of the connections was discolored/burnt. I forget where he ordered the new part (fuse?)/thingy from, but he soldered in the replacement. Unit fixed and the display is now very bright, as should have been from the beginning.

It seems with these newer appliances, most of the issues seem to be related to the board. Good luck!

Our first microwave was going strong but decided to replace it after 30 years -- I am on my 4th microwave in 15 years! They're not meant to last like the old Radar Ranges but they re smaller and certainly cheaper. So I just go with the flow, figure if I get 4 years out of one I'm doing good (one lasted just barely past the replacement date -- LOL).

7 years is an amazingly long time for a newer appliance to last. They're made to crap out in short times so manufacturers can make more money. Our countertop one is 3 years old and about done.

We had a 36" Induction cooktop that if two of the three leftmost burners were on, would occasionally, beep, flash error 42, and turn itself off. In researching this I eventually was able to find the official service manual that only repair shops would normally have access to. The manual showed that "42" wasn't even listed as an error the unit was ever expected to throw, but for nearly all of the other error codes the specified fix was "replace touch control system" or "replace left side power generator system" or "replace left side power control board" or "replace right side power generator system" or "replace right side power control board" usually specifying to the repair "professional" to replace one system, and if that doesn't fix the problem, replace another, repeat as necessary. When the unit first started acting up, sporadically, those 5 main systems were from $300 to $500 each, for parts only + $95 per hour to install + a trip charge. Since it was mostly working I put it off. More recently it started to instantly throw an error 42 whenever the unit was turned on. I checked again for parts prices, and found you could no longer get the power control board and generator system separately, you would have to get either the left side power generator and control board, or the right side power generator and control board at a cost of $1200 or $900 respectively.

The price for a new unit that fits the same hole in the countertop was $780, so the decision was obvious. I'm sure though that based on other material that I've read that the problem was bad electrolytic capacitor, that would likely cost about $0.35

Your experience is precisely why we decided to go with an inexpensive countertop microwave when we remodeled rather than a built-in. Our built-in died in our old kitchen and when I went to replace it, the choices were limited because of the cabinet dimensions. The ones that would fit had bad reviews but I was limited to those. With the countertop model, I can look for good reviews on reliability, performance, ease of use, etc, rather than just will it fit. And when it dies, the replacement will be cheap.

I'd say that your oven died early, and you have checked to most obvious items.

When the output became low on our old microwave (after many years of service), I replaced it with a low cost counter top GE unit. It may have cost $120. The replacement has a turn-table and has worked for 5 years. It get used every day. I have noticed that its output seems a bit less and I compensate for that by adding a little more cooking time.

One question about your oven: Does it ever get turned on with nothing in it? I don't know about the newer units, but for the early models, firing up the oven when empty would burn out the magnetron. Newer units may guard against that event - I don't know. When we bought our first microwave oven, we were advised to leave a glass of water in the oven to guard against accidental energization. We have continued that practice.

I've always replaced due to old age and out of style. Our current Samsung was $550 in 2014 and I'll replace it with an identical model when it fails.

I don't know of any OTR microwave that installs the electronics near the venting screens. If you do, DON'T BUY IT.

I own a Samsung OTR microwave. I paid $100 for it, new. Got it online @ a HD Black Friday sale. I think saving it, fixing it sounds great. I'd just replace it with a new one myself. One year warranty and it's three years old. I also use a credit card that doubles the warranty and have never put that feature to use.

For my own use, I buy used counter top "Sharp" microwaves. They tend to last another 10 years and I pay $35 for them @ The Arc Thrift store or CL.

That's exactly why I prefer an inexpensive countertop microwave. I paid $99 for the one I have now - nearly 3 years ago. I hope it lasts a bit longer - the new similar model is now $139. How's that for inflation! Microwaves don't last very long.

I always use a credit card that doubles the warranty...and have collected or gotten repairs a couple of times. Something to keep in mind when you purchase appliances and electronics.

I'm with Anglophilia. I have purchased very inexpensive countertop microwaves - under $100 - and they last for years. I am only on my second one in 10 years and I use it daily....often multiple times a day.

Are you certain it's the microwave? Do you know if it's on a dedicated circuit, or are there other outlets on the same run? Do they work? Perhaps you have a GFCI outlet near your sink that has tripped and shut the circuit down?

36 years with an electrical engineer, does it show?

Countertop $70 MW from HD was fine until the door button gave out at 3.5 years (I used frequently to reheat coffee cup). Replaced it with equivalent, same brand, same store, last month. Makes such a LOUD noise. The weight of the MWs, old and new, make it a real struggle for me to handle or I would have trotted it right back to HD. And, I stupidly gave them extra $12 to extend the warranty to 3 years. Will they take it back for being noisy? How will I know a more expensive one will not also be noisy?

Mine is NOT noisy at all! They all make a "running" noise - not silent like a toaster.

I got my current on the counter MW about 3 years ago, knock on wood it seems fine. I had an earlier one I got in the early 80s and it was still operating fine when I bought the new one. (The old one had turned from white to yellow, and had a stain on the window I couldn't remove, and I wasn't planning on white - or yellowed - appliances in my new home.)

I like the price and the accessibility of a countertop MW, btw.

My question is what is the reason appliances across the board are failing? Is it due to government restrictions on imports. Why is there little quality control?

Hi maggie200 (who doesn't look a day over a hundred and a quarter) and others,

Do you figure that the short lifespan of modern appliances might have anything to do with the engineers who design them (and the components) ...

... may have gotten a lot stupider, over the years?

ole joyfuelled

It is called "planned obsolescence" and is an intentional design criteria. Technology changes so rapidly these days with everything - appliances, electronics, cars - that manufacturers want consumers to repurchase after a minimum lifespan so they (the manufacturers) do not need to support or offer parts or repairs on older, discontinued or obsolete models.

It's not so much the engineers ... as the bean-counters (and company stock-holders expecting a profit) that insist on saving a penny or ten each on this component and that on the board ... which may add up to an appreciable amount for several hundred thousand boards manufactured.

I like the look of the OTR, but I will not buy a Samsung again, that is for sure, and probably will not buy another OTR. Mounting them is a pain and requires new holes........every 7-10 years maybe, but after 1.5 years, no. Quality is BAD, it is an inconvenience fixing or replacing, and the whole unit then needs to get hauled somewhere probably into a landfill with the millions of other worn out things. Yes some can be recycled (also takes energy/resources). I know companies are always pushing their extended warranties now..............but things should not break after a year or so.........a company should stand behind their products for normal life and under normal use.

Precisely why I aways buy counter top MW's. My last one lasted 10 1/2 years. The longest I've ever had one It died in October so I bought the same MW. It's a Cuisinart........$145.00. I bought it at BB&B and got my 20% off. I love it because it has a stainless steel interior and is easy to clean. I'm hoping this one will last as long.