FIXED LSXS26396S LG Refrigerator - Unable to install new water filter

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Model Number

LSXS26396S

Brand

LG

Age

1-5 years

I have a 2 year old LG side by side model LSXS26396S. I change the water filter when the light indicates it's time, roughly every 3-4 months.

Well, this time, the filter will not secure in place. It's normally a very simple process -- push in and turn clockwise. Seems like when I try to push in, it's won't go far enough to engage to stay in place.

I have been using no-name brand replacements from Amazon without issue. So I ordered a proper LG one just in case and had the same problem. I have searched Google without success so this makes me think I am missing something stupid.

By visual inspection, the old/new filters look identical side by side so it's not obvious why they don't fit. There does not seem to be anything left behind/blocking the connection from removing the old filter.

Any chance someone here has encountered and solved this problem? Feeling kinda dumb here.

 

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I'll follow up for the benefit of anyone who might encounter this problem in the future. If you observe in my photo in the original post, you'll note that the internal tabs are positioned at roughly 12 and 6 o'clock.

They're supposed to be at 9 and 3 o'clock. I simply went in with a pair of needle nose pliers and carefully rotated that inner assembly such that the tabs were back where they were supposed to be. As soon as I did that, the filter installed just fine and I was back in business. You obviously need to be careful when doing this not to break the tabs.

Still have no idea what caused this to happen. It's easy to indict the aftermarket filter, but there's still nothing obviously different between the aftermarket and OEM that would explain this root cause.