What Is Backlight Bleed And How Can You Fix It?

VD November 11 2021

Backlight bleeding occurs when the light leaks from the corners of your TV display. What steps to make for backlight bleed fix? Modern monitors and display screens incorporate active backlight, resulting in visible clouding, or random patches on the screen when it should remain black. The backlight bleeding is also known as flashlighting, which hampers the watching experience, displeasing the viewer.

backlight-bleed

Backlight bleed fix: Is Backlight Bleed A Defect?

The short answer is NO! Unlike dead pixels which are usually permanent defects, backlight bleed is normal for modern screens. You can't fix it and you should seek a replacement if you just can't stand the flashlighting.

The long answer is YES! It's normal but also it could indicate another defect with the screen. Manufacturers might be using low-quality components to save costs, which results in improperly manufactured screens that will serve you poorly.

The reason why backlight bleed occurs: how to fix backlight bleed

The TV display screen integrates a LED backlight to create images through the LCD monitor. What happens is that some of the light remains unblocked, passing through the monitor’s bezels, resulting in a backlight bleed. 

Because of the way LCD technology works, slight backlight bleeding is inevitable, and it might be so unnoticeable that it won’t even bother you while enjoying your favorite movies and TV shows. 

However, in some cases, if the backlight bleeding is too visible, it can actually ruin your watching experience, so backlight bleed fix will be a good solution.

Blacklight bleeding reasons are:

  • The TV may have physical or manufacturing defects
  • Poor quality bezels on the monitor
  • Incorrectly installed backlight

Let’s see what you can do to avoid this situation or what to do for backlight bleed fix.

backlight-bleeding-test

Claim the warranty on your monitor backlight bleed

You can claim the warranty depending on the manufacturer’s return and repair policy. If your LCD is new and exhibits unavoidable backlight bleed; then, you should be able to exchange the faulty LCD for a new one or at least get backlight bleed fix if the company has included responsibility for backlight bleeding in the RMA policy.

You must not try anything yourself before reaching out to the manufacturer because the slightest tampering with the gaming monitor could nullify your warranty. So, try to get professional help first, and if the return or replacement isn’t possible, you can then move on to DIY solutions on how to fix backlight bleed.

How to fix backlight bleed

If your LCD monitor manifests clouding or flashlighting, then we’ll let you know an easy and safe method that wouldn’t create the risk of damaging the display.  Before backlight bleed fix proceeding, make sure to unplug the television monitor because you wouldn’t want to release static electricity.

Backlight bleed fix - materials required:

  • A screwdriver 
  • A microfiber cloth 

Make sure the television is turned off and cooled down before you start the steps to fix backlight bleed. 

  • Use the screwdriver to mildly loosen the tightened screw located behind the back of the panel. The reasoning is that backlight bleeding often occurs due to tightly fastened screws. That’s why releasing them a little counter-clockwise should get the job done. 
  • Twist the frame a bit. 
  • Turn on the TV to check if the problem has been resolved or not. If the backlight bleeding persists, then try another step. 
  • Use the microfiber cloth and tenderly rub the places where the clouding appears in a circular motion. Apply controlled pressure that can allow you to see the reflections slightly in the screen wrap.

This method of backlight bleed fix can correct most of the clouding issues, and it won’t harm the display.

If your monitor screen still exhibits backlight bleeding after you've performed all these steps, then you must initiate a return/repair backlight bleeding process with the manufacturer. It could be that your TV has manufacturing defects or poor quality bezels on the gaming monitor. You should also consider contacting an expert if in case you discover dust particles in your television's internal components. 

These are only some of many potential solutions to this common issue with LED screens, but they often work well in most cases. If none of them is successful in resolving the problem, then it might be time to contact customer service or take your TV back repair or replacement under warranty of the monitor.

You should be able to fix backlight bleed by following these steps. If the issue still doesn’t get fixed, then repeat step number four a couple of times, as it can reduce the problem if not completely eliminate it.

backlight-clouding-fix

Other tricks to eliminate backlight bleeding fix

In case if the above steps aren’t helping to backlight bleeding fix the problem for good, then try other solutions. 

Carefully apply electrical tape on the corners of the display where you get the flashlighting. 

Turn down the brightness until you can’t notice the backlight bleed anymore. This solution might be least preferred, especially if you own an HDR display but, this is your last resort. 

If there is an option of local dimming in your monitor, enable it to reduce the backlight bleed. 

You can also help remove the backlight bleeding monitor through this DIY solution:

Materials required: A microfiber cloth and a candle. 

By heating up the interface with a tool such as a candle, you can soften the glue between the bezel and the panel, and by releasing them slightly, it'll solve flashlighting and clouding issues. Some people use hair dryers for this purpose, but we recommend using candles as they're less risky to use. 

With these steps, you should fix those annoying problems that can ruin your watching experience if not attended to right away. We hope that you’ll now relish every moment of your favorite TV show or movie without being distracted by those ugly blemishes.

The steps are safe to try, after all. If they don’t work for you, then maybe it's time to contact customer service.

Why Is Backlight Bleed Bad? Is backlight bleed normal?

When compared to obsolete monitors with CCFL backlights, modern LCD/LED monitors to feature more vivid colors and wider viewing angles. The technology is often lauded as one of the greatest advancements in display panels since its inception. Despite their potentials, they do suffer from faults such as backlight bleed.

The main drawback is the annoyance of flashlighting, which utterly ruins immersion during video or movie viewing. The clouded corners and black spots utterly ruin the experience if you're looking for an entertainment monitor. It's also a serious problem in business and productivity monitor screens.

Final Thoughts about backlight bleed fix

These steps might not eliminate the backlight bleed wholly but, they can help in making your watching experience more tolerable. If you own an IPS panel display, make sure you are not confusing backlight bleeding with the IPS-glow function. The latter is a common problem with IPS panel, but it won’t ruin your display if not severe. It makes the screen appear less over-saturated and more realistic.

If you don’t or can’t follow these steps as presented, make sure not to use excessive force as it can ruin your display. In case if there is any doubt, contact customer service or a repair technician for assistance.

Moreover, to avoid this backlight bleeding problem in the future, you could either invest in an OLED display which is more expensive but at least doesn’t cause any issues. You can also get a monitor with a minimum backlight bleed.