Bright Edge Spots (Backlight Bleed) on the New Google Pixel Tablet Screen

[Luna Murasaki]

So my Google Pixel Tablet arrived and it has two bright spots on the right edge. One is mild and barely noticeable, but its little friend right next to it is much more prominent - at least to me. It's driving me nuts and I don't know if I can learn to ignore it or not.

A long time ago, I bought a Surface Pro 1. It had bright spots along the edges just like this. I replaced it several times and each time I just got a different set of bright spots.

But I also owned a Nexus 5 and a Nexus 7 and neither of them had any bright spots on the edges like this. Backlight uniformity was poor but in a way that wasn't so conspicuous (edges were just uniformly brighter than the middle).

I'm debating about whether I should attempt to exchange my Google Pixel Tablet. It sounds like a huge headache and I'm not sure if my reward will just be another screen with the same problem or maybe even worse. But if I don't do it I feel like I might end up really regretting it. I guess it really depends on how likely it is that the next one will have the same problem. But I don't have the experience to really estimate that. Maybe the spot on this screen will get even worse over time. Maybe it will go away. I really don't know what I'm doing and I'm really feeling the pressure when it comes to that 15-day return window.

Curious what you guys would do in my situation. Maybe someone else even bought the exact same tablet and can tell me what their bright spot situation is like?

 

[Technerd108]

What do you mean bright spots? You say edge of the screen?

What you seem to be describing is very common in IPS LCD displays. It is so common it is really not even considered a defect. There are some case where the backlight bleed is so noticeable it would be considered a defect but without pictures it is really hard to say.

Do the spots appear in bright backgrounds or just dark ones? Do the bright spots go into the screen or just along the edges?

You could have a defective unit or this could be the way all of these tablets are made. If I were you and I was still in the return window I would just return it and get another one.

If the replacement has the same issue then it is probably just the way these screens are. Then you would have to decide if you are going to keep it or not.

Google is notorious for hardware defects and these are so new it is hard to say if this is common among all of them. From the reviews I have seen this far it has not been a complaint. So I am thinking you have a defective unit.

Either way I would return it before you can't return it. Google might not repair it since it doesn't cause you not to be able to use the tablet it is just annoying.

It is a hassle and most likely Google will not exchange it just let you return it and order a new one. But in my personal opinion I think it is worth trying at least once otherwise you are always going to be bothered by it.

 

[Luna Murasaki]

Yeah I ultimately decided to call them up. They told me they could do an advanced exchange so I can keep using the existing tablet and transfer my data when the new one arrives. I can even send back the new tablet instead of the old if the problem is worse on the new one, so there is zero risk and I decided it's worth a shot.

As for a picture - they wanted one so I took one, so I guess I'll share it here too. It's really hard to get this kind of thing to show up on a photo so this is just the best I could do. It's misleading because it makes the overall screen look horribly non-uniform when that's just the strict view angle and reflectivity of it and the screen is actually perfectly fine except for the bright spot, which is worse than it appears in the image.

I don't mind it when the whole edge is brighter because that isn't so distracting. But I'm unable to tune stuff like this out. My brain keeps going "What's that? Oh, it's the spot." over and over as I use the device. I have a TV with this problem and I regret not exchanging it because I've been using it for years and have never been able to get used to the spots. These spots go away completely in a bright room but at night they drive me nuts.

There's a second spot on the tablet below the first one but it is not nearly so bright and it doesn't really bother me. It's barely even showing up in the image.