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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.
Thanks for the link, but hopefully I wont need it when I get the replacement back, famous last words eh...
It seems incredible how these units ever got through QC at the factory, it shows that MS really is miles & miles behind Apple in terms of build quality, which is a shame because I think they now make more exciting and innovative products. Its back to my Macbook Pro for now and I’m glad I didn’t sell it just yet!
Yeah, there's no way they could have simply not noticed it. It seems to be simply something they just decided to ignore for the sake of marketing the product quicker. However, it's entirely beyond me how this thing could have occurred in early SP4 copies, then been eliminated in later batches, and THEN REOCCUR in SP5!!! Maybe they decided that the time/cost of eliminating the shortcoming is just too expensive, and risked devastating their reputation again knowing that 95% of customers will be blind/ignorant enough not to care. But what an **** you would have to be to make such a decision, especially working in the richest IT company in the world.
But then, the bleeding was not the only critical flaw of the product. Let's not forget the sleep of death and auto-hibernation issues with SP4s and SP5s which were even more troublesome for regular users.
I guess this Surface Pro thing is an interesting case study for market analysts. How something so innovative and with such high overall build quality can be screwed up this bad in terms of the fundamentals.
I'm experiencing a small light spot in the upper-left quarter section of the screen on my Surface Pro (latest). The light spot shines through on lighter backgrounds and images. It is very distracting during photo editing and viewing.
Normally I wouldn't be bothered by a flawed LCD screen blemish like this, however when I find myself distracted during my image editing workflow, then I know it's a problem.
In Canada, this device (i7, 16GB, 512GB SDD) costs $2,800. It cost me $3,100 with taxes in! At that price, you can't expect a customer to accept a flaw that effects the user experience in even the slightest negative way.
You promised us a beautiful screen on these devices and we were let down. Please do right by your customers who put faith in your product. Thank you for reading.
Hello Guys,
I have the same problem. Backlight bleed buttom left in the corner.
I bought the device (SFP 2017 i5 - 256GB SSD - 8 GB RAM) 4 weeks ago.
1120€.... I'm very disappointed from Microsoft. I have right now the possibility to return the device, but I think a new device has the same issue.
Attached a picture:
I'm very glad that your screen is good! But I'm not sure this is enough evidence that the production line was fixed. I wish we had more reports like yours.
Even if things are fixed now, what are the early adopters to do? Do we get the short end of the stick just because we rushed to support Microsoft's vision and probably also helped them find this flaw and fix it? It can't get more unfair than that. (Well it could... but I'd rather not think about that.)
