Anyone else with horrible backlight bleeding?

[missionsparta]

I'm not sure if mine has issues. It has a white light (like a small line) at the bottom of the screen, above the start button.

Mine has white lines glowing from the left and right edges, then faint glowing spots originating from the four corners, and then two bright spots originating from the the two ports. The longer you run the unit, the more obvious it becomes. Maybe due to the unit heating up?

 

[podsnap]

I can't understand the level of inconsistency in the build quality of these things. The RT was also inconsistent in build quality (I had to send three back).

I find it depressing that MS haven't sorted these things out now and they really should have better quality control.

 

[missionsparta]

Returned the defective screen model and the new one wont even start. It keeps crashing on the initial setup. I give up.

 

[luv2skipow]

Returned the defective screen model and the new one wont even start. It keeps crashing on the initial setup. I give up.

Post on Twitter. I did. MS and people need to know.
I am sick of it too.

 

[onysi]

My s2 is suffering from backlighting problem, but it isn't bleeding. It automatically dims even though I have it set on manual. I try to adjust it but the dimmer doesn't work if I scroll it up or down. It comes back on afterwards.

 

[missionsparta]

Here is the twitter link where I posted the new pics. The bottom two are of the replacement unit. Look at this tish. I'm the biggest Microsoft backer, but this is ridiculous. I'm not going to keep driving 40-45 minutes one way to the Microsoft Store everyday. Was fine in the store. Then when completing the setup at home, the screen went haywire. When it rebooted, it gave me the option to reload the whole OS. It made me go get my boot key from some Microsoft address it gave me. Now the screen is just a garbled incoherent mess. If someone at Microsoft is listening; replacing this isn't going to fix the situation. I shouldn't have to spend this much time to get the product I spent $500 on. Between trying to fix it myself and all the driving, plus the time spent on the phone, this has become beyond ridiculous. Not that Microsoft cares, but everyone I know that is a stark Apple backer, has been laughing their ***'s off.


https://mobile.twitter.com/missionsparta/status/393571031069515776/photo/1

 

[missionsparta]

Oh...

P.S. I left out that the spring eject for the SD card was broken on the first unit. It never did the pop-in/pop-out action. You just shoved it in and pulled it out and hoped it never fell out.

 

[onysi]

Here is the twitter link where I posted the new pics. The bottom two are of the replacement unit. Look at this tish. I'm the biggest Microsoft backer, but this is ridiculous. I'm not going to keep driving 40-45 minutes one way to the Microsoft Store everyday. Was fine in the store. Then when completing the setup at home, the screen went haywire. When it rebooted, it gave me the option to reload the whole OS. It made me go get my boot key from some Microsoft address it gave me. Now the screen is just a garbled incoherent mess. If someone at Microsoft is listening; replacing this isn't going to fix the situation. I shouldn't have to spend this much time to get the product I spent $500 on. Between trying to fix it myself and all the driving, plus the time spent on the phone, this has become beyond ridiculous. Not that Microsoft cares, but everyone I know that is a stark Apple backer, has been laughing their ***'s off.


https://mobile.twitter.com/missionsparta/status/393571031069515776/photo/1

I feel your pain. my surface broke first day. had to drive to my store 30 min away but with traffic it was 45 min just to have it exchanged. so I stayed there for 30 min updating it fully in front of them. just in case it ****s on me again. it worked after that

 

[onysi]

Oh...

P.S. I left out that the spring eject for the SD card was broken on the first unit. It never did the pop-in/pop-out action. You just shoved it in and pulled it out and hoped it never fell out.

. oh my god. thanks for telling me. just tested mine.... it pops in but I can still pull it out. ��

 

[David Disney]

Hi guys I am new to this forum, but anyway this is my third surface 2 I have exchanged they have all had light bleeding problems and the second surfaces volume would not change with the volume rocker, now I'm on my third one and its doing the same thing and the volume rocker rattles. I have been wasting so much gas going from my house to the Microsoft store, i love the surface 2 itself, but I can't stand having all these problems. I never had any problems with both my android tablet and my iPad. I'm so sad I want to enjoy the surface 2, but with all these problems I can't

 

[stephen_az]

For those chiming in with that backlight problem is horrible, take most cheap digital camera which includes every camera in virtually every phone, and point it at your tablet while it is on the start up screen. You will usually find it looks just as bad. Such devices cannot spot meter so it tries to average light exposure or emphasizes the dark which results in all light being over exposed. That includes the obvious logo exposure in the images. In this case, you can open that image in Photoshop and reduce the exposure by five full stops and while the side light is gone, the logo is still on the screen with clear evidence of over exposure/over saturation. It is not that they are faked by anyone, just that you are seeing images that tell you absolutely nothing given the limitations of the camera used.

By my estimation, if you reduce the exposure it will look like just about any other screen. From my perspective, I would ask the same question in this case as I have of others. Can you see the problem when you are actually using the device? If not then why are you complaining about what the display looks like on startup. All back and side lit displays do the same thing to some degree since it is simply a reality of the laws of physics. As to getting a second and finding it defective, if you choose to be an early adopter of ANY device, that is a risk you take. As a point of reference that applies to Apple's supposedly flawless devices as well. Take a look at any Best Buy's open box page and you will find the most available open box tablet is almost always the iPad. Sorry to be so blunt but as far as "I give up" goes, if you don't want to deal with early adopter problems then don't be an early adopter. So far there seems to be no greater frequency of defects in the Surface products than any others.

 

[jaimeastin]

Yeah, we have to stop being such perfectionist... I swapped two ipads with this issues a dew years ago. It would not go away and it never affected performance... Even movies with black bars.

Usually this is noticed on startup and such, but even still we focus on the problems or slight fit/finishes that we miss a good thing.

My solution is if it does not truly affect performance and/ir resale, I force myself to let it go. It us hard, but I waste more time building a for absolutely nothing...

 

[luv2skipow]

I take a diferent line.
For this price I expect near perfect.
Three returns on my RT finally got the one I think I deserved for the price including no backlight bleed at all.

If you allow them to ship you crap they will.
I am reading about WAY too many problems with the Surface 2 right now and rethinking my purchase.

The rattling volume rocker on my first is total bush league.

 

[missionsparta]

In the store right now. They brought out the third unit for me and opened in store. The whole top bezzel that holds the camera is beat to hell like someone had dropped it. They are laughing, I'm laughing, and we re all looking bewildered.

 

[luv2skipow]

Ho-Lee-Cow.
WTF

 

[missionsparta]

Fourth one...the white box inside the black one is smashed to **** in the corner. Most likely shipping. Unit looks ok so far. I feel sorry for these poor people at the store. They are looking completely embarrassed.

 

[missionsparta]

I'm complaining because:
A) It's $500.
B) I've had ungodly amount of devices that don't do this, including last years Surface, and unfortunately my wife's past iPads.
C) When I play a movie that uses letterbox bars, has dark scenes, and or is just a dark film the light is all your eyes see. Then if the light starts the slow pulsing (dimming, brightening, dimming, etc) that is all you see. It keeps drawing your eyes back. 50% of my usage with the last Surface was movie and TV watching on the go.

I find the fact that this horrible experience I am having is being justified away by someone, when even the guys at the store are telling me this is ridiculous.

 

[cygnus11]

I'm complaining because:
A) It's $500.
B) I've had ungodly amount of devices that don't do this, including last years Surface, and unfortunately my wife's past iPads.
C) When I play a movie that uses letterbox bars, has dark scenes, and or is just a dark film the light is all your eyes see. Then if the light starts the slow pulsing (dimming, brightening, dimming, etc) that is all you see. It keeps drawing your eyes back. 50% of my usage with the last Surface was movie and TV watching on the go.

I find the fact that this horrible experience I am having is being justified away by someone, when even the guys at the store are telling me this is ridiculous.

You have every right to complain. Nobody should have to go through as much hassle as you are when buying an expensive device. But I really do believe that you have just been unlucky enough to be getting your Surface 2(s) from a bad batch. Manufacturing defects will happen - they happen with every mass-produced device. The best you can hope for is a little luck when receiving yours, and some good customer care when you are unfortunate enough to have to deal with multiple replacements.

In the end, if everything sorts itself out and you get the quality device that you want, and the company does their best to make you feel ok about what you have to deal with, then you should try to stay positive about the product.

I hope it all works out.

 

[missionsparta]

I wish to God I had taken a picture of the one that was beat to hell, but I would have felt like I was turning the situation into a circus and they were giving me 100% respect. The most positive thing about the situation so far is the great employees at the Troy, MI store.

If anyone from Microsoft is reading this, find out who those employees are and at the least, buy them a lunch. If I had gotten the service I would have gotten at a Best Buy or lesser store, I would have just returned the thing and called it quits.

 

[onysi]

In the store right now. They brought out the third unit for me and opened in store. The whole top bezzel that holds the camera is beat to hell like someone had dropped it. They are laughing, I'm laughing, and we re all looking bewildered.

where are yOU? what store is this?