What Is Backlight Bleed? (Fix It)

Backlight bleeding occurs when light escapes from the edges of a LED screen.

It is a very common problem in LED screens due to the poor quality of manufacturers. It can be especially distracting if you’re working or gaming on the monitor. 

The panel ideally blocks any excessive light that could’ve been displayed on the screen but sometimes, not all the light is blocked by the panel and it leaks through the edges causing discomfort to the eyewitness.

On one hand, there is backlight bleeding, and on the other hand, there are small terms that exactly indicate what kind of backlight bleeding your monitor is going through:

• Flash Lighting: This occurs when the edges of the monitor brighten excessively, leaving the middle to be dimmer.
• Clouding: Common occurrence in large monitors, there are patches of excess light all over the screen.
• IPS Glow: As the name suggests, IPS Glow refers to the glow that is clearly visible along the sides of the monitor. IPS Glow can color the screen when seen from various angles and is considered to be different from backlight bleeding.
• Screen burn-in: Screen burn-in is even visible when the monitor is turned off, it is serious. Also known as screen ghosting, it discolors the areas of a CRT display or if you have a very old monitor.

Cause Of Backlight Bleed?

Backlight Bleeding occurs when the panel in your monitor is not able to effectively block the light.

However, another term, IPS Glow, should not be confused with blacklight bleeding.

IPS glow is a slightly lighter issue and can be fixed by simply adjusting the screen of the monitor, or by increasing and decreasing the brightness levels. Also, IPS glow can only be seen on IPS Display Monitors.

How do I know if my monitor is suffering from a backlight bleed?

• Switch on your monitor in a dark room where there are no lights.
• Turn up the brightness of the monitor to at least 50% to 60%, not more and not less.
• Then display a black color image on the screen, if the screen appears brighter from the sides and dim in the middle, it is a case of a backlight bleed, or more specifically flash lighting. If there are patches all over the screen of brightness, then you’ll know it is clouding. Otherwise, your LCD screen is completely fine.

How do I fix Backlight bleeding?

One way to fix backlight bleeding is to take it to a professional, or better yet, check if the monitor comes under the warranty period.

If it does, then you could even get your monitor replaced with a new one.

Backlight bleeding is an issue that sometimes comes from the manufacturing stage itself, so it’s not your fault if the screen starts acting up.

If your monitor does not come in the warranty period, then you can first try to get it fixed yourself, it’s not difficult and just requires a few simple steps:

• Disconnect your monitor from the power supply and apply electrical tape around the edges of the screen.
• Grab a driver and loosen the screws behind the screen. Remember, just loosen and not unscrew the frame. Slightly shake the and change the angle of the monitor.
• Grab a dry piece of cloth and gently rub the screen over the backlight bleeding areas.
• Then, play with the brightness of the monitor, precisely reducing it to check if you got all the affected areas.

These steps should help mainly with clouding, loosening the screws reduces the pressure of the screen and after you do so, also twist and turn your monitor before you go ahead with rubbing the screen.

When you’re done, tighten the screws back again.

If this method doesn’t work, then it is better that you consult a professional technician if the backlight bleeding is bothering you a lot.

Conclusion

In conclusion, backlight bleeding or none of the other issues related to it should stop you from buying an LCD monitor.

These problems are very common if you purchase a cheap monitor and even if it gradually develops, it is not your fault and it is not much you can do to prevent future bleeding.

But you can try to get it fixed, by yourself by simply loosening the frame or massaging the screen with a dry cloth, or even by playing with the brightness settings.

Also, Checkout our article on DVI-I Vs DVI-D ports.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)