12 Common Customer Complaints About Nespresso Machines

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Chances are, you've had a coffee from a Nespresso machine before. It's one of the most popular coffee maker lines out there, and it's easy to see why so many people have one in their kitchens or offices. Nespresso machines are easy to use, affordable, and give you good coffee without having to go and stand in line at a café (and you can even perform some nifty Nespresso machine tricks to make your cup of joe even stronger). The machines are also generally pretty small, giving you much-needed space on the rest of your kitchen counter to store all your other essentials.

However, like any coffee machine, Nespresso coffee makers have their downsides — and you'd better believe the people who've paid their hard-earned money for them are going to talk about that. Certain issues come up time and time again for Nespresso machines, with users complaining of leakages, weak or inconsistent coffee, and difficulty cleaning them. Customers also have their reservations about Keurig machines, and just like with those, Nespresso machine pods can often feel wasteful, and recycling them isn't as easy as you might think. Here are the things customers don't like about Nespresso machines, before you take the plunge and buy one.

Where should the coffee from a coffee machine go? Into your cup, right? It's hardly a difficult question to answer — but it's something certain Nespresso machines have yet to master long-term. A frequent customer complaint about some of these machines is that they tend to leak without warning, with both brewed coffee and water spurting out of them. This can happen once the machines have been used for a couple of years, but other times, they can spring a leak when they're still pretty new.

Leaking is an issue that seems to affect Nespresso's Vertuo line most significantly, but multiple models within that line can have this problem. What's especially annoying is that the machines don't all leak from the same place. Some customers have found their machines leak from the spout, while others find water running out of the sides or from the base of the coffee maker. Because of the variability of the leakages, it's hard to pinpoint one specific build issue here, and we can likely chalk a lot of these instances up to things loosening over time. You'd expect to get a little more lifespan out of your machine before it starts spilling coffee all over your counter, though.

Even someone who's brand new to espresso coffee machines will likely have a sense that a small Nespresso model might struggle to make the turbocharged shots you'd get from a barista. Having said this, you can reasonably expect your Nespresso coffee to be significantly stronger than instant. Unfortunately, customers often don't feel that's the case, instead often complaining that their Nespresso machines produce watery, tasteless coffee, to the point where it's almost undrinkable.

It's worth noting that for most people, this isn't the case when they first get their machines — although some have said they've found the coffee so bland, even with a fairly new machine, they had to trade in their makers for different models. Instead, it seems Nespresso machine coffees often get weaker over time, or else just suddenly lose all their punch. Descaling the machines or performing a factory reset often doesn't help, and even sending a machine in for repair doesn't always rectify the issue. Nespresso machines are relatively inexpensive, and so it's natural to expect them to lose some of their performance and power over time. They really should be able to still make a good coffee, though. That's kind of their whole thing.

The way Nespresso Vertuo machines collect their used capsules is one of the most satisfying things about them. Once you've made your coffee, you simply open up your machine, and the coffee capsule ejects automatically, falling into a reservoir below. The mechanism is meant to save you having to do it manually, which isn't the biggest hassle in the world, but it's a design trait that provides added value. At least, it is when it works correctly. 

Multiple customers have complained that their Vertuo machines don't eject their coffee capsules properly. When they open their machines, the capsule isn't lifted into the cradle mechanism at the top, which hooks the pods and slides them into the reservoir. Instead, the capsule stays in place, and people have to fish it out.

This is clearly a longstanding issue with Vertuo machines, to the point where there's a troubleshooting question about it on the Nespresso website. The company says that the "possible cause" is the capsule getting wet and therefore not releasing as it should, and that gently easing it out with a teaspoon is the safest way to release it. Wouldn't it be much better if it just worked as it was meant to, though?

What's that sound? Is someone drilling a hole in the street? Oh, no, it's just a Nespresso coffee machine. Sorry to strike a sarcastic tone here, but judging by how often customers complain about the noise of Nespresso coffee machines, there's clearly some truth to it. Multiple models in Nespresso's lineup have been accused of being too noisy by customers, who are often surprised by the volume of these snug coffee makers. Even in positive or neutral reviews of machines, customers say their loudness can be a downside. "I have no issues with the coffee it makes, but this machine is so loud that people come over to my desk to ask if I am using power tools," said one review of the Nespresso Essenza on Amazon. "It's embarrassing and I don't even want to use it now."

It's probably unreasonable to expect Nespresso machines to be completely silent. Like other espresso machines, they have to build up a lot of pressure to force water through those little pods and create intense coffee, and this requires a certain level of power (and therefore, noise). However, for a lot of people, it's just too much. While you can mitigate the noise your coffee maker produces by ensuring the water reservoir is full and placing it on a steady surface, it may not be enough.

Ah, modern technology. It's meant to make everything in our lives easy — and yet, so often, it ends up creating more complications. A good example of this can be found in Nespresso machines' ability to connect to your home wifi. Customers frequently find their machines don't sync up quite as seamlessly as they or Nespresso would hope, and instead, they're left with error messages and machines that just refuse to connect, despite multiple factory resets and workarounds.

Remember, you don't need your machine to be connected to wifi to make coffee, but Nespresso delivers firmware updates and notifications about your maker's maintenance through this channel (or via Bluetooth). As such, over time, you may find your machine isn't working as well as it once was, because Nespresso can't deliver the tweaks needed to keep it optimal. Customers have also expressed frustration at Nespresso's seeming lack of customer care in helping them connect their machines to the internet, and for some, it remains a perpetual issue.

Descaling a coffee machine is only ever meant to lead to better things, and failing to do so is a mistake a lot of people make with coffee makers. Over time, these machines build up limescale, which can inhibit their function and change the flavor of your drink. Unfortunately, though, customers often find their Nespresso machines difficult to descale properly, and things go wrong way more often than most people would like. A lot of the time, the machines don't recognize when they've been descaled, and continue to display error lights after a cycle. Other times, the machines take multiple descaling cycles before they work properly again — and people have also reported they can suddenly stop working entirely after being descaled.

When Nespresso machines are descaled properly, though, it can have the opposite effect you might want. Some people have complained that after they've descaled their machines, their coffee tastes worse, with a watery flavor that wasn't there before. This lack of strength does improve over time ... but surely you shouldn't have to put up with multiple cups of bad coffee before it gets better, right?

Nespresso has a recycling program for its pods, which can't be recycled in your household waste in most areas. On its website, Nespresso states its pods can be recycled "by bin," "by bag," and "by boutique," but the latter, which allows you to recycle them in your regular residential recycling bin, is only available in certain areas. In most places, you either have to pack them up in a bag and drop them off at a courier, have them picked up from your home, or deliver them by hand to a Nespresso store.

Despite the options it offers, though, customers have found things aren't quite as easy as they appear. Its "by bag" method gets a lot of criticism: Nespresso machine users have complained the pick-up service doesn't work as it should, with couriers not picking up the bags properly, and places to drop off their bags can be frustrating to find. This unexpected difficulty has led not just to annoyance, but also to more waste, with people ending up throwing their pods in the trash. However, for others, its recycling program is a bonus, particularly when other, similar pod manufacturers don't offer the same thing. It's just a shame it doesn't work as smoothly as you'd hope.

Nespresso machines, like any coffee machines, are meant to make our lives easier. No more grinding beans ourselves or clearing out filters; you just press a button, and you're rewarded with delicious coffee moments later. That is, if they work. Unfortunately, many customers have reported their Nespresso machines can stop working suddenly, seemingly without any reason whatsoever, leaving them needing a replacement. This can happen despite the machines showing no signs of wear and tear or having any previous issues. They just ... don't work anymore.

This tends to happen after people have used their machines for a year or two, leaving them needing to contact Nespresso to see if they can organize a repair or a new machine. That's easier said than done when a coffee maker is out of warranty, and they have to pay out of pocket to get a totally new model. These mystery breakages usually have no explanation behind them, and not only are they frustrating financially (when you have to fork out to get a new one), but they're also frustrating on a waste level. In the absence of a return or a refurbishment, broken machines can end up sitting in garages unused, or in landfills.

For Nespresso machines to brew coffee properly, the pods have to be pierced by the machine when they're inserted. You place the pod in the machine, pull down the top, and the pod is forced onto a matrix of needles, puncturing the foil cover and giving the water access to the grounds within. The pod is simultaneously pierced on its reverse side, so the coffee can move through properly.

However, a common problem customers report is that their Nespresso machines don't adequately pierce the front of the pods, meaning, of course, that the coffee doesn't brew properly. Instead, they end up with a cup of mostly water. Apparently, there are several potential fixes for this: You can clean your Nespresso machine and its piercing grid or descale the appliance, which may well solve the problem. Unfortunately, though, sometimes (as is the case with so many Nespresso machine issues), the lack of piercing is a mystery, and one that can only be solved by getting a new appliance. As you might expect, this can cause a lot of frustration to the people who've forked out their wages to buy Nespresso coffee makers for their kitchens.

Things break, and even the best coffee machines aren't immune to that. It's just a fact of life. When that happens, though, if your coffee maker's within warranty, you'd expect the company that made it to be able to solve your problems. That hasn't been the case for a lot of Nespresso customers, who've expressed serious annoyance at its customer service and being left high and dry by what they deem to be unhelpful, unfriendly, and sometimes rude workers who apparently have little interest in helping them solve the issue. Nespresso customers have reported being shouted at by customer service representatives and being made to feel as though everything's their fault — although it should be said that's not the situation for everyone, and some people have said they've had great experiences with Nespresso's customer service employees.

Other times, Nespresso customers have felt the company's options for repair or replacement are pretty lacking. They can be left with a huge bill, or be told Nespresso can't replace their machine, despite it only being a few months old. When customers have gotten their machines repaired, they can end up worse than before, with models coming back with notable scuffs or damage. It's not what you expect from a company that makes such fancy-looking machines, to be honest.

A few grounds in the bottom of a cup of freshly brewed coffee are fairly normal. Espresso is made by forcing hot water through tightly packed coffee grounds, and as a result, you can expect the odd piece to make it through and into your favorite mug. That said, Nespresso machine users have been left disappointed by what they consider an excessive amount of grounds making it through. Customers have shared plenty of pictures online of coffee cups speckled with countless coffee grounds, and thick sediment sitting below their brews, making them rather unappetizing to sip on.

This seems to be a fairly widespread problem, and while some people have recommended running a cleaning cycle to rectify it, others have said this doesn't make any difference. This could be a water pressure issue; Nespresso machines are finely tuned to deliver the right amount of pressure each time, but inevitably things can vary from time to time, and the water may be overflowing in some cases and taking grounds with it to your cup. Unfortunately, though, for some people, the issue is so annoying that they've had to trade in their machines entirely for different models.

When you update anything, you expect it to work better than it did before, right? Any bugs that were lingering in the system or processes that weren't as robust as they could be are meant to be ironed out by firmware and software updates, and you should be left with something that runs a little more smoothly. The same goes for Nespresso coffee makers — or at least, it would if customers could get them to update properly in the first place. Instead, Vertuo Next owners have spoken out constantly about how difficult it is to update the machine's firmware, and sometimes are totally unable to do so.

When they do, there can be even more problems. Some people have said that updating their Vertuo Next's firmware has led to the machine being bricked, rendering it completely inoperable. Not only can they no longer make coffee, but you can't even revert to a previous firmware update. You're simply left with a non-functioning machine, and no way to fix it but sending it in to customer support (or replacing it entirely). So much for making things better.