How to run a backlight bleed test
- Make the room dark. Bleed is hard to see in daylight.
- Set brightness to a normal level (around 50%). Maximum brightness exaggerates every screen's bleed.
- Open the black screen above in full screen.
- Sit at your normal viewing distance, straight in front of the screen, and look at the edges and corners.
- Move your head left, right, up and down to tell bleed apart from IPS glow (see below).
Avoid judging from a phone photo: cameras exaggerate bleed a lot with long exposures. Trust what you see with your own eyes.
Backlight bleed vs IPS glow
LCD screens use a backlight behind the panel. Backlight bleed is light escaping around the edges, usually because the panel or frame presses unevenly. It looks like bright patches or "clouds" along the borders and stays in the same place when you move your head.
IPS glow is a silvery or yellowish sheen, typically in the corners, that comes from the way IPS panels handle viewing angles. It changes or fades as you move, and it's normal for IPS monitors and laptops.
What the result means
- Faint glow that shifts with your head: IPS glow – normal.
- Small fixed patch only visible in a dark room on black: mild bleed – common, usually acceptable.
- Bright fixed patches visible in dark films or games: significant bleed – contact the seller, especially if the screen is new.
- Uneven brightness on the dark gray screen: a uniformity issue, sometimes called "clouding".
Can it be reduced?
Mild bleed sometimes eases after a few weeks as the panel settles. Some owners slightly loosen the screws on the back of a monitor to reduce pressure on the panel, but opening or adjusting a screen can void its warranty. For a new monitor or laptop with obvious bleed, returning or exchanging it within the store's return window is the safest option. Run this test on the first day so you have time to act.
While you have the screen open, it's also worth running our dead pixel test to check for dead or stuck pixels.
Frequently asked questions
Is some backlight bleed normal?
A little is common on LCD screens, especially IPS panels, and it's usually only visible on a black screen in a dark room. If you notice it during normal use, such as watching films or dark games, it's worth contacting the seller.
How can I tell backlight bleed from IPS glow?
Move your head. IPS glow changes or fades as your viewing angle changes. Backlight bleed stays in the same place and keeps the same shape wherever you look from.
Can backlight bleed be fixed?
Mild bleed sometimes improves after a few weeks of use. Some people loosen the screws on the back of a monitor slightly to reduce pressure on the panel, but this can void the warranty. For a new screen with obvious bleed, an exchange is the safest fix.
Do OLED screens have backlight bleed?
No. OLED screens have no backlight, so each pixel switches off completely on black. If an OLED shows uneven dark areas, look for burn-in or uniformity issues instead.