What is Backlight Bleed and How to Fix?(Know This FIRST!)

Sharing is caring!

If you already use an IPS monitor or recently purchased a Gaming monitor, you may find there are some flashes of lights coming from the edges of the monitor.

If you have already experienced backlight bleeding, then you are not alone.

You may be worried if your monitor is good or has some defect.

In this post, I would resolve and explain the backlight bleed you see on your monitor in-depth and would discuss how you can fix the backlight bleed issue.

Backlight bleed is a problem that can occur when the light from an LCD or LED monitor shines behind the display and leaks out into the surrounding area.

Backlight bleed can be a distraction and can be reduced with some simple techniques.

Why Should you Trust Me? Hi, I am Anirban Saha, an Engineer with a Specialization in Electronics and Communication Engineering. I have experience in Smart TVs, Electronics circuits, and Computer peripherals.

Let’s get started!

What is Backlight Bleed?

Backlight bleed is a common issue with LCD screens where light leaks through the edges of the screen and creates a glow around the edges. This can be distracting and affect your viewing experience. Backlight bleed is most noticeable in dark scenes or areas of the screen with a lot of blacks.

Backlight bleeding occurs when the LCD backlight leaks around the edges of the screen and appears with some patches of light through the other parts that are still dark.

It is a problem caused by the poor construction of the LCD panel or, more commonly, improper installation.

It’s not just your TV that suffers from backlight bleed. Also, backlight bleed occurs with computer monitors and laptop displays.

It can happen in any type of LCD that has active backlight illumination or it is using the Edge LEDs to illuminate the screen.

During the identification, you may doubt if the problem is backlight bleed or IPS glow. Backlight Bleed is more an issue whereas if it is Backlight Glow, it is instead a limitation of the LCDs and it is common to notice that.

You can check more details about IPS Glow vs Backlight bleed here.

How to Fix Backlight Bleeding?

If you are trying to fix the backlight bleed completely, then in several cases it may fix and may not at all.

Here are the steps below that would help you to fix the backlight bleed issue of your monitor or your TV:

Fix #1. Reducing the Brightness

Backlight bleeding is a defect that’s extremely difficult to avoid, but with the right settings, you can reduce the amount of backlight bleeding on your screen.

Reducing the screen brightness would make the edge light leaking less visible as compared to with max monitor brightness.

You can reduce your monitor backlight to an acceptable level so that you are still getting an awesome viewing experience with a reduced backlight setting.

Fix #2. Using Microfiber cloth Rubbing Method

Often there can be an accumulation of pixels on the edge of the LCD you are using. So, many times rubbing them moves them away.

To use this technique you need a clean microfiber cloth. You cannot use any other cloth as it might lead to scratches on the display.

Now, use the microfiber cloth and softly rub the areas where you are seeing this backlight bleeding issue.

Do it in areas where you see noticeable backlight bleeding. This would reduce backlight clouding in those areas.

Fix #3. Claiming Warranty

If you are just using a new monitor, then it is awesome that you can issue a replacement or a warranty claim if you feel the backlight bleeding is too much.

You can easily contact customer care and address your issue and resolve that fast.

How Do I Perform a Backlight Bleed Test?

The backlight bleed test is a test to make you understand if your monitor or your TV display is having a backlight bleed problem or not.

If you are facing this problem, do not worry because we have the solution for it.

Doing a backlight leaking or bleed test is easy and can be done in just a few seconds.

If you’re not sure if your TV has a backlight bleed, do this simple test:

• Turn off the lights in your room and turn on the TV. This means all light sources should be coming from behind it and shining through to your eyes.
• Look at a dark area where there’s no text or images on the screen.
• If you notice a bright streak or glowing coming from behind your TV, it’s likely suffering from backlight bleed problems that need to be fixed before they worsen.

Also, to make your monitor screen completely black you can play this video below. This video would help you in performing the backlight bleed test.

Is Backlight Bleed Normal?

Many people notice a faint glow around the edges of their screen, which is often called backlight bleed.

It can be more noticeable in dark scenes or when the screen is black. Backlight bleed is normal and affects all LCD screens to some degree.

The level of backlight bleed will vary from one screen to another, so it’s important to inspect any potential purchase before you buy.

Some people are more sensitive to backlight bleed than others, but it’s generally not considered a defect.

If the backlight bleed is bothersome to you, you can try minimizing it by adjusting your screen’s brightness and contrast settings.

Does the Backlight Bleed Get Worse?

Backlight bleeding does not get worse over time. It comes as a manufacturing defect and stays with the display as it is.

Several times, we still notice a few cases of increasing light leaks as the display ages, but that is rare.

If you have chosen a high-quality monitor, then the chances of having backlight bleeding are much less.

Does Backlight Bleed Affect Picture Quality?

Backlight bleed does not affect the picture quality generally.

However, if you are watching scenes with a dark background, then those would be affected and you would see the edges are bleeding with lights.

It gets more noticeable once you are in a dark room.

It is more of an annoyance than a problem that will affect the quality of your display. It can cause some streaking, but it’s not permanent and doesn’t have any effect on how well you see what’s on the screen.

Other LCD Defects

1. Backlight Clouding

Clouding is the second most common type of issue with your LCD panel, and it can be caused by poor construction.

You might have a problem with your LCD panel if you’re experiencing clouding or a shiny border around an edge-lit display. 

Two things might help when this happens:

• Replace the panel with a higher quality one

• Install an anti-reflective material for the screen to reduce reflections from ambient light.

2. IPS Glow

IPS Glow is an effect that can be observed only on an IPS screen. When the monitor is viewed in a dark room, the image on these displays appears to have a white glow around the edges.

This phenomenon is caused by how liquid crystals interact with polarized light.

Unlike the backlight bleeding issue, the IPS glow is for the IPS type of screen technology. In this case, if you reduce the screen brightness and add some ambient lighting you can easily reduce the IPS glow.

Conclusion

Let’s conclude the post on Backlight bleed and how to fix it!

Here, I have discussed a lot about the backlight bleed technology for your monitor. 

I hope you understood in detail about the backlight bleed and it is a manufacturing defect that sometimes comes with monitors and TVs.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and found several actionable fixes to resolve the issue.

Sharing is caring!