Surface Pro 2017 Backlight Bleed

Anonymous
2017-07-08T04:33:15+00:00

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/6nyb28/light_bleed_dark_spots_and_other_display_issues/?utm_content=title&utm_medium=hot&utm_source=reddit&utm_name=Surface

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/6ia9ow/so_2017_model_has_worse_backlight_bleeding_issue/?st=J4X991Y6&sh=ce9fea3f

https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/6i8lcz/backlight_bleeding_surface_pro_2017_i5_8gb/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/6k0bvh/dark_bar_on_new_surface_pro_backlight_bleed/?st=J4X99C5T&sh=3cf086b6

https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/6m4mbb/does_anyone_not_have_any_backlight_bleeding_on/?st=J4X9AR3G&sh=f74b2d3d

https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/6ite0s/new_surface_pro_light_bleed_not_solved/?st=J4X9B9PD&sh=c24b21d7

https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/6m2b55/report_surface_pro_2017_backlight_bleed_here/?st=J4X969LQ&sh=1df2eab6

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

https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/6k94qe/just_bought_my_new_surface_pro_2017_i_might_be/djk79ga/

http://imgur.com/vbofsSa

Surface | Surface Pro | Display and screen

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.

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-07-21T11:09:26+00:00

    Compensation is a nice hack but not the final solution. Microsoft should be fixing the actual hardware and not using hacks. We deserve more than a cheap software update, and should get better quality control on the products they sell us.

    By the way, what the hell happened to the "Surface Pro(newest)" subsection on the forum? It has disappeared! Is Microsoft trying to SUPPRESS all the problems on the new Surface Pro?

    You can't view the subsection "Surface Pro (newest)" anymore, the one linked at the top of the page, although this thread still exists.

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfpronew?tab=Threads

    When you click on the above link it just sends you to the general "Surface" section and I can't find this post anywhere there.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-07-21T01:39:08+00:00

    Hi Brain&Force, thank you very much for your input! The fact that the compensated image on my device actually improves the uniformity on your device is great news. Why? Because if our patterns were totally different then my compensation would have created a funky composite pattern on yours: a weird overlap between backlight and bad compensation. 

    Based on the last image you posted at 20% brightness, I'd say the match is pretty darn good despite the mismatch (it's not perfect for me either). The dark halos on the corners are because of viewing angle dimming. If you center your eye/camera on those spots, they should look more uniform. [EDIT: Removed reference to brightness level, it doesn't seem to matter.]

    Bottom line: this is looking more and more like something that could be compensated for.

    Everyone: see my earlier message, try out the compensated image, and let us know what you find! Cheers.

    [EDIT: To generate more interest, I'm including my original comparisons.]

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-07-20T21:12:25+00:00

    I've officially given up. Received a fourth SP2017 today, lot 1722, and the bleed is egregious. I'm sticking with my MacBook Pro and first-gen iPad Pro. This Surface Pro experiment was a huge waste of time.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-07-20T17:55:46+00:00

    I just tried your compensation image - it's not perfect but it is an improvement. My device seems to have dark spots closer to the sides.

    0%, with a plain gray background:

    0%, with the compensated background:

    20%, with a plain gray background:

    20%, with a compensated background:

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  5. Anonymous
    2017-07-20T05:29:56+00:00

    Hello everyone. I noticed something conspicuous: almost all of us who are reporting this problem have the backlight pattern almost exactly the same. Of course I can't be sure, so I'd like to ask you to test something for me. Download the image below, and try to open it full screen (say in Paint). Then see if it gives you a pretty much uniform gray, or otherwise significantly improves the uniformity of a plain gray image, compensating for the backlight. [EDIT: For best pictures take the photos in the dark with low exposure, to mimic how the eye perceives the gradient.]

    Why should you do this? Because if it turns out that this is indeed the case, it may indicate that there's a systematic calibration issue. Then it's much more likely for Microsoft to come up with a firmware/driver solution. It's not trivial to compensate for backlight unevenness, but I imagine it's possible. If Microsoft won't do it, maybe an enterprising Surface owner might (a driver hack?). But if the pattern is different for each one of us, then it would be harder (though not impossible!).

    Report your findings here! Extra points for those who post pictures.

    • [EDIT**:** Try better compensation patterns for a whole range of gray levels. ZIP File here.]
    • Full resolution compensation image: http://picpaste.com/compensation.jpg
    • If the links are somehow broken, try Resize (uncheck "Maintain aspect ratio") the embedded image to 2736x1824:

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