Are you running the purified water from under the sink to the fridge? If so, you could just leave it as is. The filter in the fridge will essentially become a stage of your filtration system. But since there will be less to filter out, you won't have to change it as often. If it's a reverse osmosis system there would be virtually nothing to filter out so you could go even longer between changes.

Are you sure there is a plug ? Some filter units "bypass" when the cartridge is removed.

Thanks for the replies. If I remove the filter, the water won't get bypassed. And the owner's manual mentions that there is a plug (which I don't remember to receive when I bought it). If I can't find one, I'll just keep using the filter and replace less often as jscout suggested.

On my KA, the "plug" is just the cover that fits over the filter when you put it in. If you just put the cover back in without a filter, the water bypasses the filter. Don't know if yours works the same way.

Well, having too much free time on my hands :-) I went and looked at the manual for your fridge and yes you do need a special bypass plug that should have come with the fridge. I'm surprised LG support can't help you. In any case, you can always just keep putting a filter in.

Thank you for posting this!

LMX28988ST/100 just all of a sudden slowed the water . the filter was changed 2 weeks ago,no leakes, ice cubes are now about 1/2 the thickness . the fridge has not been moved since bought it . the plug i got with the fridge did not snap into where the filter does in fact the end of the plug is different than the filter. what to do now is it possible i dont need a plug or should i just try it without the plug ? Bob

Remove the filter. Assuming there's no leaking from the housing without a filter in place, leave it that way for at least 24 hrs to check if ice is produced normally.

A family friend contacted me recently for help with her Whirlpool SxS that had stopped producing ice and no drinking water dispenser flow. Upon checking everything else, I removed the filter. Water flowed to both points. Reinserted the filter, no water. Removed it, ice and drinking water again. The filter housing on her model apparently has an automatic bypass with no filter in place. Either her filter had clogged to the point it's fully blocking the water flow (she doesn't remember when it was last changed) or there's a problem with the internal valves in the filter housing. She bought a new filter but I haven't heard-back if that fixed the problem or the filter housing needs to be replaced.

Thanks ill try that n let you know Bob

Removed the filter drained xcess water , now water cannot be emitted from water dispenser , i emtyed the ice container . if no water is allowed through thr dispenser wouldnt the same be to the ice maker

Assuming both solenoids on the valve flow through the filter, then yes both would not work with the filter removed. Reinstall the filter, run the drinking water dispenser to purge any air. If the water doesn't still doesn't work, the ice maker still doesn't work, then perhaps try another new filter (could be the one is defective), or look into replacing the filter housing module ... or call for service if the situation is beyond your DIY skills.

new filter installed water flowing very slow same as it was when this whole thing started . i was getting a glas of water when the water just slowed up and i cant figure out why and no the pressure to the house has not changed. i have a bypass plug that came with the fridge but that doesnt work i would guess its the wrong one. do you have any more ideas since i dont feel like a $2-300 dollar bill and a bunch of things installed that i dont need

Perhaps you're not installing the bypass correctly, or by some chance the wrong piece was included with your unit. Review the user instruction documentation and/or look up parts for your model to check if a filter bypass is available as a replacement or accessory item, and compare a photo of it (if there is one) to what you have. You didn't cite the model (as so often is the case here when people ask appliance questions) so you'll need to yourself investigate all of that. Best of luck in solving the problem! A $300 repair is much less cost than a new refrigerator.

The model of the fridge is LMX28988ST/100 i feel sure this is the wrong plug , i cant see any where it shows a number for which the plug has a number , it refers to use of the plug if i had filtered water coming to the house . thanks for your help , ill try n get hold of somebody at LG Bob

Ahh, you did cite the model in your first post above, apologies for overlooking it.

Some of the diagrams I find are of poor quality, and LG parts can be tricky to identify correctly as they sometimes change the design of this or that from one sub-version of a model to another, or substitute a different P/N for something that has gone out-of-production (which doesn't mean the substitution won't work).

This seems to be the Filter Bypass Plug P/N ABN73019101. Does the photo match what you have?

This P/N ADQ36011715 or P/N MDJ62165101 come up as a couple choices for the Filter Head, into which the filter or the bypass plug mounts. The 2nd item includes a bypass plug per the photo, and also substitutes for a P/N ADQ36011708.

Searching model LMX28988ST/100 at lgparts.com doesn't find a direct match. Leaving off the /100 finds six matches for [/nothing], /01, /02, /04, /05, and /06 ... but not /100. LG sub-coding can sometimes be mysterious.

parts.sears.com finds /00, /01, and /06 and has better-quality diagrams. The filter housing parts are on the Case Parts diagram. You might need to compare the referenced filter parts for the various sub-models to check which may be common to all.

Here and i thought i wasnt reading it right so thank you very much i will put it on my magnifier and see if i can bring something up. i would imgine the plug should look like the filter at the tip. .im just trying to find out why the water nozzle emits the water so slow when it was working great . i understand to test the flow just take a standard 12 oz cup and should not more than 8 seconds to fill it ,well after 3 trys it fills it after 14 seconds. aggravating to say the least thanks for your help Bob

I have an LG LRFVC2406 refrigerator and have installed an RO system and want to bypass the filter. LG says there is no bypass plug, and when I take the filter out the ice and water still work; however, it also leaks into my refrigerator so I can't just remove the filter. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.