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What is Backlight Bleed? How to fix it in 2023

Backlight bleed is when light from an LCD monitors backlight system manages to escape around certain areas of the panel creating bright areas to appear on the screen.

Have you ever noticed those annoying patches of light on your display? They seem to be coming in from behind the glass and around the edges, almost as if the light is bleeding through it.

This is, unfortunately, a common problem with displays that use a backlight to show colors, and it’s known as backlight bleeding.

So, what exactly is a “backlight bleed” and how do we fix this annoying problem? We will answer all of your questions in the following article.

What is Backlight Bleed

Is backlight bleeding serious?

Backlight bleeding is a problem that occurs in LCDs (Liquid Crystal Displays) because they use an active backlight system. Basically, the entire surface of the LCD panel is lit up by a light source, and the LCD blocks out the light that isn’t necessary for displaying a particular image.

Backlight bleeding occurs as a result of light not being completely blocked in certain areas of the screen, resulting in bright spots that ruin your visual experience.

Types of Backlight Bleeding

  • Flashlighting – visible light patches in the corners of the screen.
  • Clouding – irregular patches of light on the screen area.

Although this problem is annoying, it can be easily fixed even without extensive technical knowledge.

First, Don’t Forget to Check Your Warranty

clouding-backlight-bleed

If you spot this problem on a monitor that you bought recently, you can probably get it fixed or replaced under warranty. However, this might not always be the case. It mainly depends on the warranty policy of the display manufacturer.

Make sure not to try fixing it yourself in case you still have a warranty. This is mainly because your seller will make your warranty void if they see any signs of tampering.

Now, let us move on to some solutions for backlight bleeding.

How to Get Rid of Backlight Bleeding

To fix backlight bleeding you just need a screwdriver and a microfiber cloth and to follow these steps:

We recommend using anti-static wrist straps when dealing with electronics.

1. Loosen the frame screws

Sometimes, backlight bleeding happens if the panel is screwed on too tight, causing it to warp the display. Use your screwdriver to loosen the screws that hold the frame. However, make sure not to loosen them too much as the display can fall out of the frame and break.

2. Slightly Twist the Display Frame

In other cases, the display isn’t sitting properly inside the frame. As a result, extra light is bleeding through the edges.

Turn on your TV or monitor to check if the bleeding is still there. In case that loosening the screws and twisting the frame doesn’t work, move onto the next step.

3. Use a Microfiber Cloth on the Bleeding Spots

The backlight could be bleeding because the display isn’t completely flat. Grease and dust are the most likely causes in this case. You can fix this by gently rubbing the bleeding areas with a microfiber cloth. Rub the bleeding spot in a circular motion and make sure not to use too much pressure.

Finally, give your display a few days to settle and repeat these procedures if there were no immediate results.

4. Keep track of your progress

It’s important that you keep track of your progress, mainly because you might not even notice the decreased bleeding after each subsequent treatment. The best way of doing this is to open a completely dark video or image and take pictures of your display. There are many websites and videos online made specifically for this kind of test.

How to Manage Backlight Bleeding

There would be only one thing left to do if the method we recommended didn’t work for you and you couldn’t get your seller to replace it. You can only try to manage the amount of bleeding. Sadly, the only real managing you can do now is lowering the brightness.

If you own an HDR-capable display, lowering the brightness will be a less than ideal solution. This is mainly because it will greatly decrease the perceived image quality.

Be Safe From Backlight Bleeding In The Future

As long as displays use an active backlight, bleeding will be a common problem. Light is a tricky foe to deal with, and even the slightest gap in the display will allow it to bleed out.

The only real way you can completely avoid this problem is by buying an OLED display.

However, OLED displays are really expensive and will probably keep their high price tag for a long time.

In case you don’t feel like spending thousands of dollars on an OLED, we recommend browsing the Internet for displays with good customer reviews. You can probably find an affordable display with minimal backlight bleeding.

Conclusion

Although backlight bleeding isn’t a serious problem, it’s quite annoying and affects many displays that use an active backlight. Make sure to check with your seller about replacing the faulty display before attempting to fix it, in order to avoid losing your warranty. If the method we provided didn’t work either, your last hope would be to lower the brightness.

Related:

How to overclock your monitor – quick guide

What to look for in a gaming monitor

Monitor response time guide

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Richard Bolden

David has been interested in computers for over 25 years. From playing games on his parents computer as a kid in the early 90s, to building his first PC in 2003 (and many more since then). He has a passion for everything related to computing and this site is dedicated to helping others find the info they need.