Surface Pro backlight bleed issue affects thousands, Microsoft remains silent

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Many users reported backlight bleed on the new Surface Pro lately, but Microsoft has yet to issue any comments about this problem. The first wave of complaints first started at the beginning of July. Thousands of Surface Pro owners have now reiterated their complaints, after the company rolled out the latest firmware update to the device.

Backlight bleed and dark spots

Actually, there are two issues affecting the Surface Pro’s screen. The most frequent one is the backlight bleed issue, where the affected units will show a bright band along the bottom edge. There are also cases where the new Surface Pro devices have light bleed concentrated on the left hand edge.

Some new Surface Pro devices are also exhibiting a dark band, or some dark spots concentrated above the bottom edge.

How to fix backlight bleed on the Surface Pro

The bad news is that there is no workaround available to fix the backlight bleed issue on the Surface Pro. However, if your backlight bleed is interfering with your ability to use the Surface Pro, you can ask Microsoft for a replacement. The only problem is that the replacement may not be free of screen issues, as users report.

I got 2 replacements, both with the same problem. I’m waiting for Microsoft to say something before I do another exchange. Given the competition, I’d rather have an SP2017 with a screen flaw than any other device, except maybe the Lenovo X1 (looking into it).

Actually, one user even confirmed that a Microsoft Store employee told him that the company couldn’t exchange the device since all Surface products have this issue.

To put things into perspective, backlight bleed is not a major issue. What’s not acceptable is that users paid a lot of money for a premium product that shouldn’t have these problems.

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