Backlight Bleed Test
Identify IPS glow, clouding, or backlight bleed on your monitor. Turn off the lights in your room, select a dark pattern, go fullscreen, and inspect the edges of your screen.
Select Test Color
What is Backlight Bleeding?
Backlight bleeding occurs when light from a monitor's backlight leaks around the edges or corners of the LCD panel. This results in bright, uneven patches of light visible when viewing dark scenes in a dimly lit room.
Backlight Bleed vs. IPS Glow
It is important to differentiate between backlight bleed and IPS glow, as they are caused by different physical phenomena:
- Backlight Bleed: Caused by improper sealing or pressure on the LCD panel edges. It appears as distinct "flashlights" or clouds of white/yellow light that remain stationary regardless of your viewing angle. Bleed is a defect.
- IPS Glow: A natural characteristic of IPS (In-Plane Switching) panels. It appears as a soft, hazy glow in the corners of the screen that shifts or disappears when you move your head and change your viewing angle. This is normal behavior for the technology.
Is Backlight Bleeding Fixable?
In most cases, severe backlight bleeding requires an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) to the manufacturer. However, minor bleeding can sometimes be mitigated by slightly loosening the screws on the back of the monitor to relieve pressure on the LCD panel, or simply by reducing the monitor's brightness in a dark room.
How to accurately test
Backlight bleed is only visible in dark environments. Turn off all lights in your room, maximize your monitor brightness, and enter fullscreen mode with the Pure Black pattern. Look at the edges and corners of your monitor for patches of white or yellow light.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about this tool