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Question: Why isn't Microsoft acknowledging the new Surface Pro 2017 display backlight bleed defect and ignoring its customers after the launch of the product? When will they solve the problem? Because all of the units have the defect and replacing it at the Microsoft store is not a viable solution at the moment.
My new Surface Pro 2017 core i7 8GB (lot 1722) has backlight bleed on the whole bottom edge and left side of the screen. You don't normally notice it in landscape mode because the black taskbar hides it, but if you read a white background fullscreen article in portrait mode it's pretty obvious with one side of the screen being brighter than the other side.This light bleed is most noticeable in the colours blue and white and harder to see in black colours (which are usually used in backlight bleed tests).
The quickest way to test and see if your screen has this problem is to press CTRL+ALT+DEL and bring up the blue screen. On the bottom of the blue screen you should see a bright blue/white bar compared to the rest of the screen which is the defective light bleed. All the showcase models in the Microsoft Store I looked at had this problem. I have yet to see a new Surface Pro without this defect. Can anyone post a picture of their CTRL+ALT+DEL screen without the light bleed?
I think people who claim not to have it aren't looking close enough to notice it. Is Microsoft going to acknowledge this display defect and are they working on fixing it in future batches?
Also, if I wait more than one month to exchange my Surface Pro would I get a refurbished model or a new one? If they are going to give me a refurbished model I might as well just return this defective device and get a full refund. When we pay premium prices we expect premium quality. This defect would have been acceptable on a cheap tablet, but not a Microsoft product. Please fix the issue as soon as possible!
Tip: If you want to test your screen on different colours go to http://www.deadpixelbuddy.com/ and choose a colour then switch to fullscreen (win key+shift+enter on Edge or F11 on Chrome) and view the fabulous results and take a picture and post it here so we can prove that it's a universal problem.
I AM NOT THE SOURCE OF THE PICTURES BELOW, THEY ARE FROM REPLIES TO THIS POST OR REDDIT LINKS GIVEN BELOW. THE FIRST PICTURE (WHICH HAS BEEN USED IN TECH NEWS WEBSITES) BELONGS TOWALMART MARKETING TEAMUSER ON REDDIT! I HAVE ONLY GATHERED THEM HERE.
Subreddits discussing this topic:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/search?q=backlight+bleed&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=month
https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/6iji8k/surface_pro_2017_backlight_bleeding_survey/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/6k94qe/just_bought_my_new_surface_pro_2017_i_might_be/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/6jggz5/is_this_light_bleed/?st=J4X9C9Y6&sh=319ae1cc
https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/6jigz0/whats_your_surface_pro_2017_lot_number_any_issues/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/6kv9ky/light_bleed_on_surface_pro_2017/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/6i8lcz/backlight_bleeding_surface_pro_2017_i5_8gb/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/6j8hau/picked_up_brand_new_surface_pro_i7_512gb16g_ram/
As you can see there are A LOT so do not deny the defect and claim it's a minor issue in a few models. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY MICROSOFT!
Edit: I just realized I posted the original issue as a discussion post and therefore it didn't have the requirement for it to be responded like a question, so I'm editing it so people can also click the "Me Too" button until we get an official/semi-official response from a Microsoft representative. I've also added more subreddits and pictures.
UPDATE (17/07/2017 11:25 AM GMT): The broken image links have been fixed.
**ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:**A lot of tech websites have reported the issue and especially used the first image in this post and attributed it to me. I must note that none of these images are mine and they all come from the reddit posts I linked below them. The specific top image is from the user WalmartMarketingTeam
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Superficialis, I tried your little test and the bleeding reduced significantly. It was a noticeable improvement at all brightness levels. This suggests (as you say explicitly) that this is a systemic problem since the pattern is the same across many devices.
It would be wonderful if a patch or update or calibration could "fix" the issue. That would make me perfectly happy with an otherwise stellar device (and otherwise stellar screen).
Thank you, Andrew! I had a feeling the pattern was the same. Let's hope more people like you and Brain&Force will try it out.
As a next step, beyond solid grays, I'm thinking of implementing a way where we can take any snapshot (say one of those notorious OneNote pages with the side bleed), and apply the compensation to it. Then if you put that snapshot on your device in full screen, you should see the problem mostly fixed. If it works with snapshots, then it's even closer to becoming a solution.
The final step, which I'm not sure of, is how the eventual compensation could be implemented and whether it can be efficient enough (in computation and power) to apply on-the-fly. I'm not sure if the Surface firmware can manipulate hardware look-up tables (LUTs) or if a simple pixel shader has to be implemented into the graphics/video drivers. If anyone here has the technical knowledge about such things, please let me know.
The average new Surface Pro user may find this backlight bleed issue difficult to understand, and you may be asking, "Is this significant or not? The info to follow may help in gaining perspective on the validity of the issue.
Most know the feeling when others, who seem to be experts, assert there is no problem, but you timidly (or not) assert that you think thereis a problem; It feels not so good. But remember, bloggers and pundits may see themselves as experts, deservedly or not. However, real experts who study this stuff diligently are refreshing to listen to because of the clarity they bring to a matter.
Somewhere in this forum’s thread, I previously mentioned a research scientist who had written an excellent review on the display of the new Surface Pro's predecessor, the Surface Pro 4. This scientist has a company that does LCD testing. And, in fact, the Surface Pro 4 technical review performed by Dr. Raymond M. Soneira was prompted by Microsoft; they provided him with a Surface Pro 4 (to test). His company, DisplayMate Technologies, tested that Surface Pro 4 with “well-known objective and comprehensive display Lab tests, measurements, and analysis.” The purpose of those tests, the review said, “is to explain in-depth display performance results for consumers, reviewers, and journalists.” The link to that review is:
I found the article to be excellent, but please read on about his comments on this current backlight bleed issue.
Almost a week ago, I wrote Dr. Raymond M. Soneira about the "New Surface Pro" backlight bleed issue, and I provided him with a link to this forum's thread. I did not expect a response from him -- I don't know him -- but he kindly replied with the following comments and opinion about this issue. He said (emphasis mine ):
Almost all edge lit LCDs show some degree of backlight edge leaks and hot spots (sometimes from individual LEDs in the backlight assembly). We check for leaks and hot spots using an all black full screen test pattern viewed in the dark, which is extra sensitive for this.
Normally most leaks and hot spots are not visible when viewing normal content. When looking at screen content that has a white background, like in many text applications, the light bleed is unlikely to be noticeable. But for photo and video content, particularly for letterboxed widescreen movies that use black borders, the light bleed can really standout and be rather objectionable.
The screen shots in the link you sent [in this forum thread] show rather considerable visible leakage on a blue background screen.This is either a design or manufacturing defect. Microsoft should replace such defective units.
Raymond Soneira
President of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation
I appreciate these comments of Dr. Soneira's because he is an expert. His comments provide perspective and help to validate what can be considered normal backlight edge leaks, and also what can be considered defective.
This is incredible. Thanks for posting this.
Well, very interesting article about surface pro 4. Shame Microsoft still keeps quiet about the screen issues with new surface pro.
