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Article Number: 000215193

Troubleshooting Light Leakage or Bleeding on a Dell Laptop LCD Screen

Summary: This article provides information about how to judge acceptable light leakage levels on Dell laptop Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screens.

This article may have been automatically translated. If you have any feedback regarding its quality, please let us know using the form at the bottom of this page.

Article Content

Symptoms

Affected Platforms:

  • All Dell Laptops

Light leak or backlight bleeding is often noticeable around the edges or the sides of a screen. Especially while it is displaying a dark background or is in a dark environment.

Ideally, light leakage must not be inspected in a dark room. All Dell LCD panels are inspected as per the industry standard. The correct inspection environment is: Under normal office lighting conditions, it is 150 to 200 luminous lux per unit area (lux). Any visual inspection must be done in the same manner to help with the troubleshooting process.

This article provides information about common issues that are seen on LCD screens. It is not something specific to a particular Dell computer. It is something that can be seen on any LCD screen by any manufacturer. See the Additional Information section below to find other helpful resources.

Cause

These issues can be seen on Laptop LCD screens:

  • Standard Displays
  • Gaming Displays

Standard Displays:

LCD Panel in normal office lighting conditions (150-200 lux, correct lighting environment)
Figure 1: LCD Panel in normal office lighting conditions (150-200 lux, correct lighting environment)

LCD Panel inspected in dark room (Incorrect inspection environment)
Figure 2: LCD Panel inspected in dark room (Incorrect inspection environment)

Note:
  • Both Figure 1 and Figure 2 are of the same in-specification panel.
  • Some light leakage is to be expected when viewing images with dark backgrounds in dark rooms. This LCD is working as designed and is within Dell specifications.
Hot Spots:

Users may notice that some areas of the screen are brighter than others. This is known as Hot Spots or Light Bars.

LCD Panels with abnormal hot spots
Figure 3: LCD Panels with abnormal hot spots1

LCD Panels with abnormal hot spots
Figure 4: LCD Panels with abnormal hot spots1

Example of multiple light leaks along the bottom edge of the panel
Figure 5: Example of multiple light leaks along the bottom edge of the panel2

  • 1 The examples in Figure 3 and Figure 4 are abnormal as the hot spots can be seen in normal lighting conditions (150-200 lux). This LCD is out-of-specification.
  • 2 The example in Figure 5 was taken in a dark room and is not an example of how to inspect for hot spots.

Gaming Displays:

Some Dell Gaming or Alienware panels may have some light leakage or backlight bleeding when used in a dark environment. This is NOT specific to Dell Gaming or Alienware LCD panels but is a common issue that is seen on panels from any manufacturer. The following is an example of light leakage.

Dell Gaming LCD Panel - Light Leakage
Figure 6: Dell Gaming LCD Panel - Light Leakage

Dell inspects its gaming LCD panels for light leakage. (Normal ambient light levels in a home are around 150 to 200 Lux.) If the panels are used in a dark environment with ambient light, some light leakage may be seen.

Resolution

To troubleshoot a light leak or light bleed issue with your Dell laptop screen:

  1. If you change the brightness level of the screen, does it change what is happening on the screen?
    • If it does, then it could be a settings issue with how you have configured the screen.
    • If it does not, go to the next step.
  2. Check the screen with a bright application (such as Microsoft Office) open, something with a bright background. Do you see the same issue? (take an image that you can use to illustrate what the issue looks like to another person.)
    • If you cannot, it could be an issue with the brightness level in your screen settings.
    • If you can, take an image using your mobile phone and go to the next step.
  3. Compare the screen to other screens of the same model of laptop. Put a similar image on both screens (preferably not a dark or mostly black image). Is one screen notably worse than the other?
    • If the screens do not show any appreciable difference, then the issue is more likely to be with your perception than any real technical issue.
    • If the screens do show that your screen is appreciably worse than another similar screen, then contact Dell Technical Support. If possible, provide an image of the fault, so that the Dell technician can further assist you.
Note: Some light leakage is to be expected when viewing images with dark backgrounds in dark rooms. These panels are working as designed and are within specifications.

Additional Information

Recommended Articles

Here are some recommended articles related to this topic that might be of interest to you.

Monitor icon More information and support for your Dell monitor, desktop, laptop, or tablet screen can be found on our Monitor Support site.

Out of Warranty support Are you out of warranty? That is Not a problem. Browse to the Dell.com/support website and enter your Dell Service Tag and view our offers.

Note: Offers are only available for US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, and China personal computer customers. Server and Storage customers are not applicable.

Article Properties

Affected Product

Chromebook, G Series, Alienware, Inspiron, Latitude, Vostro, XPS, Legacy Laptop Models, Mobile Workstations

Last Published Date

22 Apr 2024

Version

4

Article Type

Solution

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