Surface Pro 4 Backlight Bleed - Microsoft aware and apparently fixed the issue

[dotnethaggis]

I just spoke to Microsoft Surface Support.

I bought a SP4 i7 16Gb 256Gb from John Lewis (UK) at the weekend. It has pretty bad backlight bleed. Not really noticable in normal use but I don't think it should be visible on such a premium product.

They have apparently fixed the issue but I bet it'll take a month or so for the new stock to filter through. I'm going to get my exchange set up tonight and hope that John Lewis have the new stock. Otherwise, I will send back for a refund and wait till January to get another one.



Here is the rest of the chat but it's not a screen shot:

Shauna: It is an issue and it is being worked on by us to resolve it. So you can return it to John Lewis and then buy a new one
Mark: will the stock JL has just now be backlight free?
Mark: *bleed
Mark: or do I have to wait for Microsoft to resolve it?
Shauna: I cannot say as I do not have access to the stock that they have. But you can ask to check the Surface to see if it has the issue or not
Mark: I won't be going into store to get it replaced
Mark: I will be doing it over the phone
Mark: has the issue been fixed in new stock then?
Shauna: As far as I am aware it has but as I am only technical support I do not have access to the stock systems.

 

[v535]

Clearly Its a H/W problem or strictly speaking, the LCD screen design/construction. Its better to replace it or ask for refund so that you could wait until new "issue-free" SP4 Pro comes in January.

 

[dotnethaggis]

Clearly Its a H/W problem or strictly speaking, the LCD screen design/construction. Its better to replace it or ask for refund so that you could wait until new "issue-free" SP4 Pro comes in January.

I asked what the problem was and she replied:

"Shauna: It was a hardware issue with the Surface"

 

[CrownedMartyr]

This was really helpful, thank you. I have until Jan 15 to return/exchange my Surface at Best Buy. Hoping they fix it by then.

 

[snakebitten]

I have one of the FIRST ones delivered to the 4th largest city in USA. So I suspect that I have this issue, and this isn't the first topic or thread to discuss it. However, I'm not sure what it actually looks like. And I don't think I want to know either.
I think if someone pointed it out to me that I would suddenly change my mind about how I feel about it.

Ignorance is bliss and this thing is the most glorious hand-held display I have ever looked at.

 

[zkyevolved]

Ignorance is bliss and this thing is the most glorious hand-held display I have ever looked at.

I think this is key for many people. If it isn't broken for you, then don't try and fix it.

 

[dotnethaggis]

I agree. I wish it didn't bother me.

I'm a developer and obsess about the finer detail, especially if I'm being paid to do something or I'm paying for something.

If you are paying ?1600 for a device it should close to perfect. I'm going to wait till next month and order a new one (I returned my current i7 last night).

 

[zkyevolved]

But ... I don't see the light bleed in any situation except for boot up... and even then, it's just a tiny little bit... I have seen other ones with a lot more, but for those that are returning your devices, do you see it in other situations other than the boot screen?

 

[ioaniro]

I haven't since a Surface pro device (since pro 1) that didn't have some light bleed from the bottom of the screen on boot up. I also never saw that bleed in any other situation, only at boot time. I'm curious how this fix will address it since my guess was that it comes from the way the screen is glued to the body (places where there's a stronger grip have a bit of light bleed).

 

[dotnethaggis]

I get what you are both saying and I actually agree.

Yes you can see it when watching videos or on a dark screen.

I will get another one and if it's similar (or hopefully better) I will stick with it. They are great machines, the problem is maybe I'm just looking for near perfection which doesn't exist.

 

[boltman2013]

Guess I'm lucky I only think about the very small amount when I read posts like this. Pletty much all dispalys have some light bleed so no biggie for me.

 

[mertzi]

Why is it so important for people who don't mind backlight bleed to always point this out to those who do mind it? We have different preferences, different usage scenarios. In every single thread about this you always find people on the defense of backlight bleed, which IMO is pretty weird.

 

[mertzi]

I get what you are both saying and I actually agree.

Yes you can see it when watching videos or on a dark screen.

I will get another one and if it's similar (or hopefully better) I will stick with it. They are great machines, the problem is maybe I'm just looking for near perfection which doesn't exist.

You should not see the strive for perfection as a problem. The problems are rather that MS uses an inferior screen technology and does not include "check for backlight bleed" on the QC workers task sheet. You and I are in minority today unfortunately, and that has made QC kind of obsolete today for any tech manufacturer.

 

[snakebitten]

Why is it so important for people who don't mind backlight bleed to always point this out to those who do mind it? We have different preferences, different usage scenarios. In every single thread about this you always find people on the defense of backlight bleed, which IMO is pretty weird.

Ok, I'll never say anything about "ignorance is bliss" again.

By the way, I don't think I was being critical of anyone that it bothered. Sure didn't mean it that way.

 

[notewar]

I had light bleed problem as well, it is very apparent when booting up the surface or viewing dark color images. The other problem i had is the fan e.g. i can easily trigger the fan by streaming youtube videos. Is this normal? Can i seek for swap/return?

 

[DjeTe]

I also have the light bleed, as mentioned I see it when booting and in dark screens. It doesn't bother my to much though. I have no problem with fan. Never hears it or it's never on.

 

[decider]

I just received my SP4 this week and I must say that after doing all the checks as discussed in this thread, I don't fine any noticeable light bleed issue. I guess I should feel pretty lucky cause the light bleed issue was something that was on my mind as I was planning the purchase of the SP4.

 

[decider]

I do have a question regarding the topic of light bleed and the surface pro 4 and that is, is there a permitted amount of light bleed that is acceptable or should there not be any light bleed at all?

 

[Migi2015]

I do have a question regarding the topic of light bleed and the surface pro 4 and that is, is there a permitted amount of light bleed that is acceptable or should there not be any light bleed at all?

There should not be ANY light bleed on a device that costs upward of $2000. This is not a $50 Fire tablet.

 

[decider]

Thanks for the reply. I called MS Support to try to get an answer but we had a verbal communication problem and so I really did not know what the female support person was telling me. Anyway, I purchased my SP4 from Best Buy and always get good service from them and it is decided to wait until about January 15 to return the device have and purchase again from new stock they will receive and hopefully they won't have the light bleed issue. Mine is not that much but since you say there is not to be any then I will be sure to get a replacement. Thanks again.