iPad iPad 8th Gen Backlight Bleed - Keep or Return?

[TKNDWN]

Hi all!

A few days ago I noticed that my 4 month old iPad 8th Gen suffered small backlight bleed in the top right hand corner. The iPad had been babied from unboxing and was immediately thrown into a case (figuratively) and had a screen protector slapped on and has not been dropped.

Knowing the nature of how LCD screens work I know these things happen, however I notice it seems to be a common "screen lottery" issue with the iPad and iPad Air as they use LCD screens. Today, I had that very iPad swapped by Apple, who offered great customer service, but having checked the new iPad for the issue...it seems to be even worse (in my eyes) than previous.

What would you do at this stage? Is it worth returning it for another one or is it something that I should live with? I know backlight bleed gets progressively worse as I have seen this happen with IPS displays on laptops I used to have.

Thanks in advance!

First iPad
Brand new iPad less than 12 hours old.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Use iPad normally for a day, see if you notice it with normal usage. If not, use. If you can't stand it with normal usage - return. Can you return it even though it's 4 months old?

 

[TKNDWN]

Use iPad normally for a day, see if you notice it with normal usage. If not, use. If you can't stand it with normal usage - return. Can you return it even though it's 4 months old?

Hi BigMcGuire!

Thanks for the quick response. So the iPad I have now is less than 12 hours old. I apologise, I should've been more specific about what I mean when I mention returning the iPad: I mean returning to Apple to have it replaced to engage in screen lottery. The thing that bugs me about this is my girlfriend, with an iPad 7th Gen, and her flatmate, with an iPad Air 4, don't have these issues.

Do you think, though, it could be IPS glow with the second iPad? I'm now not sure...

Thanks again!

 

[BigMcGuire]

Hi BigMcGuire!

Thanks for the quick response. So the iPad I have now is less than 12 hours old. I apologise, I should've been more specific about what I mean when I mention returning the iPad: I mean returning to Apple to have it replaced to engage in screen lottery. The thing that bugs me about this is my girlfriend, with an iPad 7th Gen, and her flatmate, with an iPad Air 4, don't have these issues.

Do you think, though, it could be IPS glow with the second iPad? I'm now not sure...

Thanks again!

My opinion but: If you look hard enough you can find flaws in anything. Use it as you normally would and see if you can notice it. If not, I wouldn't worry about it. This site has a way of magnifying the small and insignificant - and under normal usage, may not be noticeable at all. That's how I do it. But you're more than welcome to do what you prefer. Good luck - if you're spending $ you wanna make sure it makes your life better, not worse.

I have an Air 4 and it's great. But I haven't upped the brightness to 100% with a black screen or anything - I figure if I can't notice it with normal usage, it works for me. (I read a lot at night with low brightness and dark mode).

Good luck!

 

[TKNDWN]

My opinion but: If you look hard enough you can find flaws in anything. Use it as you normally would and see if you can notice it. If not, I wouldn't worry about it. This site has a way of magnifying the small and insignificant - and under normal usage, may not be noticeable at all. That's how I do it. But you're more than welcome to do what you prefer. Good luck - if you're spending $ you wanna make sure it makes your life better, not worse.

I have an Air 4 and it's great. But I haven't upped the brightness to 100% with a black screen or anything - I figure if I can't notice it with normal usage, it works for me. (I read a lot at night with low brightness and dark mode).

Good luck!

What an incredibly well-rounded response. Thank you so much for this: you have no idea how much headache your response has saved me. I don‘t notice it while using the iPad normally, so I guess this is a pretty good thing. I only noticed it because I was ”looking” for it out of fear it may be on this iPad too. With that said, I suppose I can live with it. While at the Apple store, I treated myself to a new Logitech Combo Touch keyboard for my iPad as to replace my previous standard Bluetooth keyboard. It’s GREAT, by the way, and I’d recommend it.

This, quite possibly, is the best response I’ve received on any forum (and I’ve been on loads of forums over the years), so thank you very much for that!

 

[AutomaticApple]

This, quite possibly, is the best response I’ve received on any forum (and I’ve been on loads of forums over the years, so thank you very much for that!

I agree with BigMcGuire. You should definitely keep the iPad if the backlight bleed issue doesn't affect your normal usage.

 

[TKNDWN]

I agree with BigMcGuire. You should definitely keep the iPad if the backlight bleed issue doesn't affect your normal usage.

Hi AutomaticApple! I definitely will listen to BigMcGuire; it doesn’t affect my usage at all and I don’t even notice it. As I said before, I was looking for it and when you look for things... You most certainly will find it. With the the previous iPad, the bleed was more ”sharp” than the current iPad, which means you can see it at normal brightness with normal usage. This is a little soft, so I can’t even see it!

Thank you for your response! Great impressions from this forum already. I am an Android user strictly, but bought an iPad, as Apple are pretty much unrivalled when it comes to tablets.? I hope to stick around!

 

[Drewps5co0tt]

I have bleeding on my brand new 9th gen 256GB model. There is one area in the lower right hand corner (portrait mode) that is a bit more obvious than others. It's really annoying once I noticed it while watching videos the other night...once you notice it, you're always going to notice it! I had spent about 30 minutes inspecting the screen with apps to check my screen. I did notice there was some backlight bleeding but that is pretty normal on iPads with LCD displays, so I didn't think much about it and you don't even see it when you're in full screen mode. The other night I was watching some vids and that's when it stuck out like a soar thumb! When you watch vids on iPads, as you probably know, the top and bottom have black bars and low and behold, that annoying area of backlight bleed (which is a bit more obvious), comes shining right through and captures my eyes right to it!

I called Apple about it and they want to make it a big drama-fest on resolving the issue. They want me to mail it in, and either it will be "fixed" or replaced at Apple's discretion. I'm not really feeling that because I could get a worse display than I have now, so I'm thinking it's best I just stick with what I have. I have no dead pixels or debris under the glass so that's a plus! Back in the earlier days of iPads, I would have all kinds of issues with dead pixels or debris between the glass and the LCD.

I feel your pain! I did turn on auto-brightness, that seems to help but my issue with auto-brightness on Apple devices is it seems to be a bit aggressive and lowers the brightness of the display too low. Depending on what you are doing (besides watching videos), you might not be able to see things very well. I don't know why they don't address this, it's always been a thing with them. I usually stay away from using it but I think I might not have a choice with this iPad.

 

[ericwn]

I have bleeding on my brand new 9th gen 256GB model. There is one area in the lower right hand corner (portrait mode) that is a bit more obvious than others. It's really annoying once I noticed it while watching videos the other night...once you notice it, you're always going to notice it! I had spent about 30 minutes inspecting the screen with apps to check my screen. I did notice there was some backlight bleeding but that is pretty normal on iPads with LCD displays, so I didn't think much about it and you don't even see it when you're in full screen mode. The other night I was watching some vids and that's when it stuck out like a soar thumb! When you watch vids on iPads, as you probably know, the top and bottom have black bars and low and behold, that annoying area of backlight bleed (which is a bit more obvious), comes shining right through and captures my eyes right to it!

I called Apple about it and they want to make it a big drama-fest on resolving the issue. They want me to mail it in, and either it will be "fixed" or replaced at Apple's discretion. I'm not really feeling that because I could get a worse display than I have now, so I'm thinking it's best I just stick with what I have. I have no dead pixels or debris under the glass so that's a plus! Back in the earlier days of iPads, I would have all kinds of issues with dead pixels or debris between the glass and the LCD.

I feel your pain! I did turn on auto-brightness, that seems to help but my issue with auto-brightness on Apple devices is it seems to be a bit aggressive and lowers the brightness of the display too low. Depending on what you are doing (besides watching videos), you might not be able to see things very well. I don't know why they don't address this, it's always been a thing with them. I usually stay away from using it but I think I might not have a choice with this iPad.

After two or more years I doubt you’ll find many responders from back then. If Apple offer you a free service I’d personally not call that drama but whatever floats your boat there.

 

[Surfsalot]

After two or more years I doubt you’ll find many responders from back then. If Apple offer you a free service I’d personally not call that drama but whatever floats your boat there.

People must of just got used to it or accepted, backlight bleed and white spot has been going on since iPad 1,
stopped with the 11” pro.