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Question

Monitor - Is this (pics) backlight bleed or DEAD LEDs?

Sep 20, 2017 10:40AM PDT

Greetings. After over a year and a half using this monitor I started to see these dark shadow spots on my ASUS PB278Q (27" 1440p 60htz) monitor recently when my brightness is set to 0% - they start to go away progressively when the brightness is raised to around 15%, around 17% you can't see them at all. I sent in these images and description to Asus, and they said its covered under warranty, so RMA it, no prob.

Asus tech repair center however is saying there's nothing wrong.
What do you think?




Would this indicate dead leds? bad backlightl? or would this be a normal thing that IPS pannels do and be a bi-product of common "backlight bleed" (they don't cover RMA's on common subtle backlight bleed - they say thats normal on IPS, but I dont think this is the case with mine. What do you think?
Thanks.

Thanks

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Doesn't look like dead LEDs
Sep 20, 2017 10:52AM PDT

This appears to be anything dead. You can get this effect just by exerting pressure on parts of the screen. It appears to just be excess pressure in the edges of the bezel and I don't know what, if anything, you can do to rectify it.

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Warranty covered?
Sep 20, 2017 11:06AM PDT

Would this be something they'd cover under warranty or no? I've had the monitor for years and this never used to show up. Its still under warranty, Asus customer service told me to RMA it after reviewing this, but now they're not helping after receiving it.

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You've had it for years?
Sep 20, 2017 11:23AM PDT

Its says 3 years on case and panel but I don't know if that includes the backlight LEDs. That would be up to the manufacturer. I suppose it could be a couple of dead ones as I'm more accustomed to seeing that type of image with a standard CFL type screens. I have an IPS / LED screen and can simulate what you see by pressing along the edges but I don't get shadows that dark. About all you can do is RMA the thing and let them test it.

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I already RMA'd it via thir suggestion
Sep 20, 2017 11:46AM PDT

After sending in these pics and description details to Asus customer support, they recommended I send it in for RMA. My warranty is over in November.
The tech guys after examining it say there is no problem and that "backlight bleed is normal on IPS pannels."
So obviously they didn't even read the description of my RMA or even look at the pictures, because I'm obviously not sending it in for "backlight bleed"!! Ugh

I just want to confirm here that the pics shown above have nothing to do with "backlight bleed"

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Not backlight bleed though right?
Sep 20, 2017 11:12AM PDT

This has nothing to do with "Backlight Bleed" commonly found in most IPS panels though, right?

(From what I understand thats usually when there's a DARK background, brightness is medium/higher, and there is glow coming from the corners. Not all the way at 0% bright on a light backround like mine is set to when this shows up.)

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Backlight bleed is light areas
Sep 20, 2017 11:24AM PDT

and you see this best in a darkened room with a blank screen.

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blue pic
Sep 20, 2017 2:13PM PDT

If you look at the blue picture, you can see they are all evenly spread across (and they do continue on all the way across the bottom, just less noticeable on camera. What are the odds of pressure points occurring in that fashion? I've never seen this before, the monitor has never had any pressure put on it there.

Hell, if I need to adjust the monitor (up down, or somtimes pivot it left right, I'm using the top right/left corners to adjust it. I do that rarely, sometimes when I clean my desk I'll push the monitor back do dust the desk, but again I'd use the top halves of the left/right bezels.

There aren't even buttons to push on the bottom bezel that would put pressure there, the adjustment buttons are on the bottom right corner, underneath. The worst part of the dark shadows are on the left.

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Heat distortion maybe
Sep 20, 2017 3:03PM PDT

You've got screws, and places where parts snap together causing pressure. Heat will warp plastic over time. Who really knows. I just don't feel that this looks like some failed electronic item. I suppose it could be weakened LEDs for the backlight but I don't know how these are mounted and arranged. You've got some sort of layer that diffuses the light as well. I've not taken these apart but I've done a few LCDs and these are multiple in layer. Even a little dust and dirt in the wrong places can cause uneven backlighting. If you want, you can take it all apart, loosen screws, etc., and see if that helps but doing so would certainly void any warranty you might have.

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Cleaning fluid?
Sep 21, 2017 9:26AM PDT

You been using some cleaning fluid on the screen that may have dripped or rolled down into the area between the bezel and the screen?

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Answer
I agree with posts up till this point.
Sep 20, 2017 11:49AM PDT

My thought is these are mass manufactured and you will see this on the odd unit. Try another. There are some that want every box to be perfect but once in a while you see this. Does not look like bleed. Looks like a pressure point.

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pressure points
Sep 20, 2017 12:31PM PDT

It's just odd that these would happen spontaneously. Over 2.5 years of use, its been sitting on the same desk never really been moved much. They just showed up about a month ago. I'd understand if it was dropped or bumped around in a move or something, but its just sitting on a desk, then all of a sudden pressure points show up on the bottom? By the way, they are ALL along the bottom edge, they just are most pronounced in the bottom left and show up on camera the best there. Smaller gray spots show up all along the edge towards the right side to the naked eye, again at 0% brightness, gone at 15% or higher. So weird that this would happen out of the blue. I really hope they honor the warranty for this.

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Plastic shrinks over time
Sep 20, 2017 1:22PM PDT

When it does, maybe makes the pressure start.

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As time passes.
Sep 20, 2017 5:43PM PDT

Glues can degrade, let loose and you'll get a pressure point. It's rare to get more than 2 years warranty but a good technician would recognise the effect and offer (for a price) to fix it. But there are not enough good techs today. And might cost as much as a new display.

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Their final verdict was "uneven backlighting".
Sep 21, 2017 12:20PM PDT

Their final verdict was "uneven backlighting". New unit incoming.

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Good to hear it's (almost) been resolved
Sep 21, 2017 12:58PM PDT

So..."uneven backlighting" it was...but you already knew that. I'll guess they never broke the thing open to check it but I'd say you're getting good service. Hopefully the replacement will last past this coming November.

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Answer
Dont Aware about this problem
Oct 17, 2017 3:01AM PDT

Hello friends! I can understand your problem. I really don't know anything to solve this problem and I never face this problem. But I want to know about it. Thanks in advance.