Your new ice maker's first cubes are supposed to be weird

Yes, it’s normal for a brand-new ice maker to make tiny, hollow, or misshapen cubes for the first few cycles. Don’t panic.

What you’re seeing is the system settling in. There’s air in the water line, the freezer or mold isn’t fully at temperature yet, and the machine is still calibrating how much water to use. The first batch often comes out looking like sad little pebbles or hollow shells. That’s just the machine learning to do its job.

Give it 24 hours and run a few batches. If you’ve got a refrigerator with an ice maker, make sure the water filter is seated right and the line is primed. Four or five cycles in, the cubes should be solid and