Is Your iPad Pro Suffering from ‘Backlight Bleeding’? Apple May Replace It for Free

Ipad Pro Apple Pencil 2 Credit: Apple
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If the brightness on your iPad’s display appears uneven or splotchy when viewing images in a dark environment, Apple may replace your device for free.

That’s because those symptoms are the result of backlight bleeding — a fairly common issue on LCD-equipped devices. Here’s what you need to know about the problem and what Apple can do to fix it.

What Causes This?

Backlight bleeding on LCD displays is typically caused by an improper seal around the edges of the device. This causes light from the backlight to “bleed through” to the pixel layer above it.

It’s important to note that most LCD displays will have some sort of backlight bleeding. That’s just the nature of the technology.

On the other hand, if your backlight bleeding is bad enough to become distracting or otherwise interferes with your day-to-day usage, it may be time to try and get a replacement device.

There may also be certain specific Apple device models that are even more prone to backlight bleed problems. According to anecdotal user reports, the second-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro is one such device.

The easiest way to test for backlight bleeding is to take your device into a dark room, turn it up to full brightness and open a fullscreen image that’s dark gray or black. A site like lightbleedtest.com makes it easy to do so.

What Can You Do?

As mentioned earlier, backlight bleeding is pretty common on LCD devices. Even if you notice some on your particular device, it’s worth ignoring it if you can live with the amount.

If the amount of backlight bleeding is excessive, then you can opt to try and get a replacement device from Apple. The company seems pretty willing to replace in-warranty devices, and there are reports that it may even issue replacements for out-of-warranty iPads.

To be clear, there’s no guarantee that Apple will replace your out-of-warranty device. The company has yet to launch any type of backlight repair program for the iPad Pro.

But several users on Reddit have reported success with getting replacement devices if their original models weren’t under warranty. Those reports indicate that you should take the device into a brick-and-mortar Apple Store and explain the situation.

That being said, you shouldn’t try and take advantage of Apple’s leniency here if your particular device isn’t suffering from severe backlight bleed.

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