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I actually think Foxconn and apple were aware of it, but of course, better to hide it all under the carpet...

Not Foxconn, they supply the iPhone parts. The iPad's LED screen is supplied by a company called 'Wintek' in China, Beijing. I was sure that Apple was aware of it as well, just so ignorant of them.
 
I think you have to consider that this may well indeed come down to price/quality.

I work in manufacturing and quality and can understand the basics of things like this.

If you go to someone, sit round tables, talk about products, prices, quantities, tolerances etc etc, you come up with a balance.

If we make up a scenario and numbers, we could say a screen costs $40, but we need to get the price down to $20 We can do that in a variety of ways, what it's made from, number of parts, the spec of those parts, BIG orders obviously mean money savings in bulk quantities all the way down the line.

However, there will come a point where price affects the quality control, or rather what you are willing to accept. What gets through the net, so to speak.

I'm sure we've been to high end food shops which have high prices and the food looks great, Apples are all big and shiny, Banana's and long and have no black specs, Oranges are sweet not sour.

This is because they pick and grade the items more and select the best, rejecting product that does not meet their high standards, but the effect is that the price is higher to guarantee this quality.

You may go to another lower price store, and yes, you may find some equally nice Apple's Banana's and Oranges, but you will also find a lot poorer quality ones as they are not so picky and don't reject the slightly poorer ones.

There is no difference to this concept as it is with things like LCD panels for iPad's You set a price which reflects the construction of the item and also what you let through the net as acceptable.

Apple and the screen makers obviously agreed this balance. Yes, they could reject iPad's, or the screens, but then the prices of the good iPad's would have to go up to offset the lost profits from the rejected ones.

They can just decide "This is good enough for most people" and then just replace them if a few % of people are unhappy.
This is probably far cheaper for Apple, Just replacing them for customers who complain, than it is, by rejecting them at the factory, as hey, some customer may have accepted it anyway, or increasing the overall quality control which again would mean higher costs, and stopping a % of iPads reaching customers, who, you never know, may have accepted them.

Making products of this quality, and using the customer as a kind of quality control may well work out much cheaper and more effective at shifting large quantities than creating an artificial accepted quality standard at Apple and rejecting items before customers even look at them.

Not the route I personally would take, but I know we as a company have actually done this ourselves. We make something and we know it's out of tolerance but it would cost a lot to remake so we ship it anyway, and we may find 9 times out of 10 the customer accepts it anyway and we get our money.
 
I think you have to consider that this may well indeed come down to price/quality.

I work in manufacturing and quality and can understand the basics of things like this.

If you go to someone, sit round tables, talk about products, prices, quantities, tolerances etc etc, you come up with a balance.

If we make up a scenario and numbers, we could say a screen costs $40, but we need to get the price down to $20 We can do that in a variety of ways, what it's made from, number of parts, the spec of those parts, BIG orders obviously mean money savings in bulk quantities all the way down the line.

However, there will come a point where price affects the quality control, or rather what you are willing to accept. What gets through the net, so to speak.

I'm sure we've been to high end food shops which have high prices and the food looks great, Apples are all big and shiny, Banana's and long and have no black specs, Oranges are sweet not sour.

This is because they pick and grade the items more and select the best, rejecting product that does not meet their high standards, but the effect is that the price is higher to guarantee this quality.

You may go to another lower price store, and yes, you may find some equally nice Apple's Banana's and Oranges, but you will also find a lot poorer quality ones as they are not so picky and don't reject the slightly poorer ones.

There is no difference to this concept as it is with things like LCD panels for iPad's You set a price which reflects the construction of the item and also what you let through the net as acceptable.

Apple and the screen makers obviously agreed this balance. Yes, they could reject iPad's, or the screens, but then the prices of the good iPad's would have to go up to offset the lost profits from the rejected ones.

They can just decide "This is good enough for most people" and then just replace them if a few % of people are unhappy.
This is probably far cheaper for Apple, Just replacing them for customers who complain, than it is, by rejecting them at the factory, as hey, some customer may have accepted it anyway, or increasing the overall quality control which again would mean higher costs, and stopping a % of iPads reaching customers, who, you never know, may have accepted them.

Making products of this quality, and using the customer as a kind of quality control may well work out much cheaper and more effective at shifting large quantities than creating an artificial accepted quality standard at Apple and rejecting items before customers even look at them.

Not the route I personally would take, but I know we as a company have actually done this ourselves. We make something and we know it's out of tolerance but it would cost a lot to remake so we ship it anyway, and we may find 9 times out of 10 the customer accepts it anyway and we get our money.

Good perspective.
 
If any iPad's fourth letter of the serial number is the letter 'F', it means it was shipped at the same quarter (i.e. Manufactured the same time, making all the issues that appear between them more common).

When we see a different fourth letter/digit serial number, we can be sure that Apple has updated their iPad 2 lineup and hopefully fixed this issue.

You are correct that the F indicates the quarter in which the iPad was manufactured, but you are probably incorrect in saying that when the letter changes for next quarter that means that the issue has been fixed.

All the letter change means is that someone incremented a letter on a computer that etches the serial number into the back of the iPad and prints it on the label. It may coincide with them fixing the issue, but there is no guarantee of an update.
 
You are correct that the F indicates the quarter in which the iPad was manufactured, but you are probably incorrect in saying that when the letter changes for next quarter that means that the issue has been fixed.

All the letter change means is that someone incremented a letter on a computer that etches the serial number into the back of the iPad and prints it on the label. It may coincide with them fixing the issue, but there is no guarantee of an update.

I totally agree there is no guarantee Apple will fix this issue, however if it is a very common problem, they may well look into it. In this case, the fourth letter of the iPad 2 signifies when and what time it was manufactured (i.e. What quarter of the year). I forgot the source, I think it was either 9to5 mac or Apple Insider that investigated this and Apple personally have stated that the fourth letter represents the time of manufacture so they don't get mixed up with altered future models. Sorry I can't supply you with the source of info, it was on another thread on here, try a search for it or on Google, you'll see it. :)
 
Wouldn't it be better to not offer all the posts speculating on the why's and wherefore's of the fix?

The OP only wanted to know if newer recipients were still having the problem so s/he could decide is it was safe(r) to buy one now. It's a really good, clean thread to have around.

Your speculations don't add to the answer of do the newly purchased ones leak or not. You're just clogging up the thread with posts not relevant to the question asked.
 
There are two issues here:

1: Is it the LCD panels that are being made to low/cheap quality standards and being supplied to Apple with these faults.

2: Are the panels fine, and it's Apple's new assembly method (glue) that's pressing down too hard on the LCD panels and creating the bright patches.

It's one of these two things that are at fault.

Really it's the kind of thing which should have been caught early on.
Knowing how companies operate, I'm certain some people pointed this out, and other people decided to carry on anyway.

All we can hope is, this is enough of a thorn in Apple's side that it's on their list of things not to screw up on for iPad3
 
I've heard that the issue will go away and future shipments will not have the problem, so I would like to wait until the issue is resolved till I purchase one.

People who have just bought an iPad 2, does yours suffer from backlight bleed?

Thanks

I bought my white iPad2 on launch day and have had no backlight bleeding issues.
 
Received mine last Thursday 21st April.

I haven't turned all my lights out and put it under my covers checking with a black image, but I haven't noticed any with what I've used it for. I have F as my fourth character in the serial number.

I won't be checking it this way either. I've never had it out my hands and used it in pretty much every situation that I will.
 
There are two issues here:

1: Is it the LCD panels that are being made to low/cheap quality standards and being supplied to Apple with these faults.

2: Are the panels fine, and it's Apple's new assembly method (glue) that's pressing down too hard on the LCD panels and creating the bright patches.

It's one of these two things that are at fault.

Really it's the kind of thing which should have been caught early on.
Knowing how companies operate, I'm certain some people pointed this out, and other people decided to carry on anyway.

All we can hope is, this is enough of a thorn in Apple's side that it's on their list of things not to screw up on for iPad3

IMHO, you left out another possibility. It could have been both of those issues (1 & 2) happening together. :(
 
Who cares? Buy now, enjoy it with or without light leaks, wait a few months for the problem to work it's way out through production, go to apple store and get a new one.

It's not like it effects daily usage. It's a minor annoyance that should be corrected by apple, but I wouldn't wait for iPad 3 to come out before I bought an iPad 2 just because I wanted to ensure that I didn't get an iPad with slight light leak.

Almost every new edge lit led LCD tv on the market has this issue.
 
It seems like we still have people who have the issue and people who don't. My guess is it is the luck of the draw.
 
After all my fears about getting an iPad with backlight bleed issues, I bought one last Friday in London and I am so happy to say it has no blacklight bleed whatsoever. In fact it is totally perfect. My first iPad (gen 1) had bleeding and I returned it, and I was half expecting to do the same here, but no need! Very pleased,,,,no scratches, no bleed, perfect seal around the edge and no dead pixels or screen marks! Whoopee! Very happy....and I love the ipad2 :)
I think it's pot luck or this issue is not as common as the forums would have you believe. Hope you all get the same!

Sent from my iPad 2 White 64gb wifi/3G :rolleyes:
 
After all my fears about getting an iPad with backlight bleed issues, I bought one last Friday in London and I am so happy to say it has no blacklight bleed whatsoever. In fact it is totally perfect. My first iPad (gen 1) had bleeding and I returned it, and I was half expecting to do the same here, but no need! Very pleased,,,,no scratches, no bleed, perfect seal around the edge and no dead pixels or screen marks! Whoopee! Very happy....and I love the ipad2 :)
I think it's pot luck or this issue is not as common as the forums would have you believe. Hope you all get the same!

Sent from my iPad 2 White 64gb wifi/3G :rolleyes:

Good deal! I have a feeling it far more common than just forum pickiness. Of course that's only an opinion.
 
Who cares? Buy now, enjoy it with or without light leaks, wait a few months for the problem to work it's way out through production, go to apple store and get a new one.

It's not like it effects daily usage. It's a minor annoyance that should be corrected by apple, but I wouldn't wait for iPad 3 to come out before I bought an iPad 2 just because I wanted to ensure that I didn't get an iPad with slight light leak.

Almost every new edge lit led LCD tv on the market has this issue.

While I respect your opinion, the logic doesn't make sense to me. It doesn't really send the message to the company that they're doing something wrong. Its like paying a plumber to fix your toilet but he doesn't have all the right parts so you have to continuously bug him until he does the job that you already paid him for, IF he finishes that job.

According to apple discussion forums, the problem may have been identified and is now "fixed". I assume when someone says "identified" its just a bunch of apple engineers standing next to an assembly machine saying "oh yeah, theres the problem." and then walk away from it and notate "fix that machine for next iPad." there, done, fixed. lol.:D

Someone gave a good explanation as to why they'd replace the ones that people complain about and not really 'stop production' for a small fix. I too work in mfg and quality control, when there's a bad batch, they continue to sell them until its out and people who complain usually get good treatment and a fix. again, not the best way to do business but people do do this.

at this rate however, i'm still 50 50 about getting another iPad2 after returning mine for this issue.

link for reference:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2779476?start=720&tstart=45
 
I gotta get this repaired... I'll take a picture and show you how bad mine is. It was the first thing I noticed when I turned it on to sync with iTunes :(
 
I think you have to consider that this may well indeed come down to price/quality.

I work in manufacturing and quality and can understand the basics of things like this.

If you go to someone, sit round tables, talk about products, prices, quantities, tolerances etc etc, you come up with a balance.

If we make up a scenario and numbers, we could say a screen costs $40, but we need to get the price down to $20 We can do that in a variety of ways, what it's made from, number of parts, the spec of those parts, BIG orders obviously mean money savings in bulk quantities all the way down the line.

However, there will come a point where price affects the quality control, or rather what you are willing to accept. What gets through the net, so to speak.

I'm sure we've been to high end food shops which have high prices and the food looks great, Apples are all big and shiny, Banana's and long and have no black specs, Oranges are sweet not sour.

This is because they pick and grade the items more and select the best, rejecting product that does not meet their high standards, but the effect is that the price is higher to guarantee this quality.

You may go to another lower price store, and yes, you may find some equally nice Apple's Banana's and Oranges, but you will also find a lot poorer quality ones as they are not so picky and don't reject the slightly poorer ones.

There is no difference to this concept as it is with things like LCD panels for iPad's You set a price which reflects the construction of the item and also what you let through the net as acceptable.

Apple and the screen makers obviously agreed this balance. Yes, they could reject iPad's, or the screens, but then the prices of the good iPad's would have to go up to offset the lost profits from the rejected ones.

They can just decide "This is good enough for most people" and then just replace them if a few % of people are unhappy.
This is probably far cheaper for Apple, Just replacing them for customers who complain, than it is, by rejecting them at the factory, as hey, some customer may have accepted it anyway, or increasing the overall quality control which again would mean higher costs, and stopping a % of iPads reaching customers, who, you never know, may have accepted them.

Making products of this quality, and using the customer as a kind of quality control may well work out much cheaper and more effective at shifting large quantities than creating an artificial accepted quality standard at Apple and rejecting items before customers even look at them.

Not the route I personally would take, but I know we as a company have actually done this ourselves. We make something and we know it's out of tolerance but it would cost a lot to remake so we ship it anyway, and we may find 9 times out of 10 the customer accepts it anyway and we get our money.

Thank you for this insight.
 
Who cares? Buy now, enjoy it with or without light leaks, wait a few months for the problem to work it's way out through production, go to apple store and get a new one.

It's not like it effects daily usage. It's a minor annoyance that should be corrected by apple, but I wouldn't wait for iPad 3 to come out before I bought an iPad 2 just because I wanted to ensure that I didn't get an iPad with slight light leak.

Almost every new edge lit led LCD tv on the market has this issue.

please don't make up statements and present them as fact. i have 3 edge lit led tvs in my house and none of them have any backlight bleed. the truth is actually quite the opposite of your statement. it is becoming very uncommon for a quality edge lit led tv to have any backlight bleed, if at all.
 
Mine just arrived today. No light bleeding at all. Just pristine and for those still awaiting delivery?? It is SO worth the wait. Very very happy!!
 
please don't make up statements and present them as fact. i have 3 edge lit led tvs in my house and none of them have any backlight bleed. the truth is actually quite the opposite of your statement. it is becoming very uncommon for a quality edge lit led tv to have any backlight bleed, if at all.

Take your own advice trigger!

You're right though my statement isn't proven fact... Well no more fact than your statment, but whos keeping score? Unless you have scientific data to support your statement to call it fact? I based my statment off of personal experience and several internet searches because I went through 3 different edge lit led LCD tv's that all had a form of light leak, so maybe ur luckier than I am? Do a search on the web and you'll see that many other people with led edge lit tvs experience light bleed. Who knows it's neither here nor there considering that were talking about iPads and not tvs.

Back to on topic. I will most likey take mine to apple at some point for an exchange, but I don't see the point in waiting several months to buy with your fingers crossed when apple will replace the thing under warranty if it's under 1 year.
 
Is this what everyone els's looks like?

80c5fe48.png
 
I bought my white iPad2 on launch day and have had no backlight bleeding issues.

I did the same and didn't notice it until I watched a movie on it at night. Definitely some bleeding near the bottom on the bezel :(. Not sure if Apple would consider it 'bad enough to swap out. Or if I want to go the the hassle as it is only noticeable at night.
 
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