Customer Reviews

Panasonic NN-SN657S 1.2 cuft, 1300 Watt Stainless Steel Microwave Oven, Inverter Technology

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

We bought this unit to fit into an under-counter space vacated by a similar-sized Panasonic microwave that died after a few years.

The unit does cook as promised but has some drawbacks that caused us to downgrade it as follows:

1) This is the WORST display we have ever seen on any product. It can only be read looking head-on (in not too bright ambient light). From any other angle, the numbers are virtually invisible or overlapped by the interior display "wires". Because we have an under-counter installation, we need to go down on one knee to read the display.

2) There are too many buttons - too many "bells and whistles"; too much clutter. We see no use for breakfast, lunch and dinner buttons each with its own time limit (and with ability to add/subtract time). As with the display, the user needs to be at eye level to read the button labels and figure out what to push.

3) The interior light only works during cooking; opening the door does not turn on the light. Accordingly (again an eye level issue), it is sometimes necessary to remove the food to inspect it.

4) The door opener is push-button. This is a matter of personal preference, but we would prefer a handle - easer to open; doesn't trap food; stays cleaner.

In summary, this is probably the only microwave that fits in our alloted space but somebody at Panasonic really needs to learn how to design a more user-friendly product.

I bought this microwave on Amazon in November of 2008. The manufacture date inside the door read September of 2008, so when the microwave completely stopped working (not even a power readout) in June of 2009, I hoped that Panasonic would stand behind their product and simply replace it. Boy, was I wrong.

After wading through their website and finally finding a phone number, I called and attempted to reach a human being. What I got was recording after recording until I finally reached a human by selecting the option that I wanted to BUY something. (Evidently you can speak to someone easily if you want to buy a product, but if you need service...good luck trying to reach a representative.) The sales rep transferred me to the service department where I was informed that I must take my unit into one of Panasonic's approved service providers in Little Rock which is over an hour away. I always try to start these calls in a friendly manner--we know that the service reps aren't the ones making policy-but there was no apology for the inconvenience, or even an understanding attitude from this rep. By the time I got off the phone, I swore I'd never buy another Panasonic appliance.

I did take my unit into the service center for repair, where the unit was "repaired" at no cost under the warranty. However, after a second trip to Little Rock to pick up the unit, it ceased to operate AGAIN the first time I attempted to use it. Another maddening encounter with a Panasonic rep (whose supervisor refused to speak with me on the phone when I requested it) left me wondering if we'll see Panasonic going under any time soon. I was told that the responsibility for the microwave now lay with the service company because "they had opened it up". I would need to return the unit to the service company, have the unit checked again, get PROOF from the service company that the unit could not be repaired, and then I (yes I) would need to fax the proof along with my original receipt from Amazon to Panasonic. After that, I was told THEY WOULD PUT A FIELD AGENT ON IT. A fild agent? For a microwave?

Anyway, it appears Panasonic's idea of customer service is to run you around until you decide it's not worth pursuing a replacement from them for their product. Save yourself some trouble, don't buy from Panasonic.

Only the front fascia is stainless steel. The cover is some sort of silvery speckled metal finish. The LED is on the dim side, and is nearly impossible to read unless your eyes are perfectly level with the display. The quality of the metals and the overall construction seems low. The metals are thin and soft. My unit (ordered direct from Amazon) arrived with damage - various dents in the cover - but it appears to only be cosmetic. I'm not going to bother to return it due to the cost of return shipping expense. The factory packaging is not very protective, so check your unit carefully. Even though this is a low-cost model, I'm nonetheless disappointed. It seems to heat o.k., so if it manages to last for a while I suppose I will be get my money's worth out of it. Edit 01/09/2008: Please read the comments to this review for my updated remarks. My rating has improved to 4/5 stars, and I recommend this product.

I bought this to replace a 20 year old Panasonic microwave that finally bit the dust. This is a VERY nice microwave. Very powerful, and lots of nice features at a very attractive price. It's big enough to hold a full size dinner plate but fits nicely on the countertop. Ours gets daily use and so far we are extremely pleased with it. I would highly recommend it - I fully expect that it will give me the same good service that I got from my previous Panasonic microwave.

We bought this model at Target and tonight it died in the middle of warming dinner. We liked the features on this microwave very much. We purchased this microwave within the past 12 months. So be warned that it doesn't have a long life. There are other reviews on Target's website that I read tonight that they also had the same short life as our's did.

Bought this to replace a very old (25 plus years) emerson that still worked but was underpowered. I was VERY pleased with this microwave and it's features at first. But it has stopped working completely after just a little over a year, and apparently this is a very common thing (check the target reviews for same microwave.) I am disgusted to find that nobody fixes these things so this large hunk of junk goes to the landfill after just a year and I get the pleasure of spending the money to buy yet another one. Since the warranties don't seem to mean squat and consumer support is nil, I guess I will cut my losses and save the environment by going to the online classifieds this time after a used one. :-(

First, I must say that the oven does a fine job of heating food, which is of course what one buys it for. My complaints have to do with usability. First, the display is an insult. Clearly, Panasonic knows that you can't read it without stepping back or stooping down, but apparently they just don't care. I find that arrogant. Next on my list is how you set the power level. With my previous oven you pressed the Power button and then the number of the level you wanted; intuitive and simple. With this oven the first press of Power gets you level 10, the next press level 9, etc. Thus, to set power level 1 you need to press the Power button 10 times! Finally, the More/Less button. In most cases pressing it once adds 10% to the time, and pressing it twice subtracts 10%. However, for popcorn, pressing More/Less once adds 10 seconds, twice - 20 seconds, 3 times subtracts 10 seconds, and 4 presses subtracts 4. Come on Panasonic, you certainly can do better than this!
These are the types of things that you can't know until you buy it. I'd return the oven and buy some other model, but given the general trend of cheapening products I might end up with one with even more quirks. What I really want is my old oven back, but I guess I'll have to be satisfied with an oven that isn't as good as my last one; not progress, but I guess, reality. Americans want cheap, and so they get cheap.

Our 10+ year old Sharp bit the dust so I looked at the Panasonic Inverter Microwave. Paid a little more than the other basic models ($100-$125) but after using it for a few weeks, well worth it.

The sensor button is great. You don't have to guess, is it 35 seconds or 54 seconds? Food comes out hot every time! Pay attention to the popcorn button. You have to get the size of the bag correct or results will suffer.

Turbo defrost is another great function. 1300 watts will defrost most frozen meals very quickly. Interior is very large, but the entire unit is about the same size as the old Sharp and the interior is much bigger

The display is a yellow color and is difficult to see from angles other than directly in front.

The inverter is a way for microwaves to be generated at different levels. My old microwave would cycle on and off to maintain power levels less than 100%. The Panasonic just hums along at any level without the lights dimming in the kitchen.

This is a high quality, LARGE, full function microwave. No, it isn't all stainless steel, and it doesn't cost $400.

I would recommend this to anyone wanting to invest in a quality microwave that will last a long time.

After buying a Consumer Reports-suggested microwave and having it go kablooey in two years I hoped to find one that managed to both work well and last. So this time I chose on the basis of fewest complaints/price/features and when I found this model (or its cousin with the same control panel) at C***co, I brought it home (in part because it had the fewest remarks about long-term failure at least for the models I looked at). I've had it for about a month now and so far it it has performed significantly better than any other microwave I've ever used, including more expensive models. When used for standard microwave heating with the timer, it performs as expected--fast, and fairly even as to heating items in a bowl. Where this unit really shines is with the sensor cook/reheat feature. I have found that when I cook frozen vegetables or reheat items from the refrigerator, it always--really--heats them to exactly the proper, steam rising reheat temperature. Somehow it manages to do this even if I forget to cover the top with wax paper: the sensor is far more accurate than I am. Consequently, I hardly ever use the timer cook feature--a boon for those of us who never get the time quite right and have to adjust endlessly. The inverter turbo defrost feature is also a significant improvement over every other microwave defroster I've tried. It's not perfect but it is a non-trivial improvement.

It's not clear to me exactly why people make the complaints they do about this model: the panel is easy to use if you read the instructions, and the display is bright and easy to read--except for the small text showing the power level while operating. And as I can't really see how something is cooking inside a microwave, I don't care if the light is off when the machine is energized--what's more important to me is that it cooks food properly. If you are finicky about displays, it is true that only the faceplate is stainless--the rest of the steel box is a sort of gunmetal-expoxy gray. At this price point it's a reasonable compromise for me.

If it was a matter of current performance, I'd give it five stars, but as I haven't had it for long enough to evaluate the reliability it gets four.

I have owned this microwave since January 2006 and it is the best I have owned in over 30 years. Maybe I just got a good one. I do agree it has too many buttons on the control panel, but is very easy to use and has been consistant. This unit has been reliable, never burned anything and I would highly recommend it.