Kobo Aura One backlight... is this to be expected?

frogette · 10-04-2018, 07:47 PM

My Kobo Aura HD can’t hold a charge any more (no complaints here, I got a lot of use out of it) and I decided to get a Kobo Aura One to replace it. I have no problem with the display in bright daylight (it’s actually crisper than I thought a capacitive display would be) but the backlight is distractingly uneven, especially when the screen is set to a warmer tone (but even without any warmth at all, it’s still not great). I’m quite disappointed since my HD didn’t have this problem at all, and at this price I find it to be quite a letdown. I tried to take pictures, but it doesn’t really show as vividly as irl. Is this within the realm of normal, or is my unit defective? The second picture is with the night mode turned down to a minimum.http://imgur.com/a/UpcS2dJ

murraypaul · 10-05-2018, 07:39 AM

Mine looks very similar, perhaps a little worse, although that might be the photo. Same problem, discolouration in the bottom corners, mine worse in the bottom right.
I think there is a poll somewhere showing that about two-thirds of people report their Ones having the same issue, so it seems to be a design defect. I decided I could live with it, and had no confidence that a replacement would be better, so kept mine.

dmapr · 10-05-2018, 08:08 AM

You must've missed https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=284795. So while not "normal" it certainly shouldn't be a surprise.

mgrimace · 10-05-2018, 07:50 PM

Hi Frogette, I had one that was similar and exchanged it. The newer one still has that band of light along the bottom with subtly brighter spots where the LEDs are located but I was able to get even colour throughout.

Basically, from what I can tell you can expect some unevenness in light, particularly along the bottom, but you should be able to get an even colour if that distinction makes sense.

JeanPierre · 10-07-2018, 12:26 PM

Hi frogette,

I had to return 4 of them before I finally got an acceptable model, and even this one doesn't have perfectly even lighting (both in terms of colour and distribution).

Out of curiosity, how old is your Aura HD? I am wondering what kind of lifetime I can expect from my Aura ONE.

10-04-2018, 07:47 PM	#1
frogette Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2014 Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Keyboard	Kobo Aura One backlight... is this to be expected? My Kobo Aura HD can’t hold a charge any more (no complaints here, I got a lot of use out of it) and I decided to get a Kobo Aura One to replace it. I have no problem with the display in bright daylight (it’s actually crisper than I thought a capacitive display would be) but the backlight is distractingly uneven, especially when the screen is set to a warmer tone (but even without any warmth at all, it’s still not great). I’m quite disappointed since my HD didn’t have this problem at all, and at this price I find it to be quite a letdown. I tried to take pictures, but it doesn’t really show as vividly as irl. Is this within the realm of normal, or is my unit defective? The second picture is with the night mode turned down to a minimum.http://imgur.com/a/UpcS2dJ Last edited by frogette; 10-04-2018 at 07:49 PM.

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10-05-2018, 07:39 AM	#2
murraypaul Interested Bystander Posts: 3,726 Karma: 19728152 Join Date: Jun 2008 Device: Note 4, Kobo One	Mine looks very similar, perhaps a little worse, although that might be the photo. Same problem, discolouration in the bottom corners, mine worse in the bottom right. I think there is a poll somewhere showing that about two-thirds of people report their Ones having the same issue, so it seems to be a design defect. I decided I could live with it, and had no confidence that a replacement would be better, so kept mine.

10-05-2018, 08:08 AM	#3
dmapr Evangelist Posts: 469 Karma: 600816 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kobo Aura One	You must've missed https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=284795. So while not "normal" it certainly shouldn't be a surprise.

10-05-2018, 07:50 PM	#4
mgrimace Connoisseur Posts: 93 Karma: 1255124 Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Libra Colour, Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Libra H2O, Kindle Oasis 9	Hi Frogette, I had one that was similar and exchanged it. The newer one still has that band of light along the bottom with subtly brighter spots where the LEDs are located but I was able to get even colour throughout. Basically, from what I can tell you can expect some unevenness in light, particularly along the bottom, but you should be able to get an even colour if that distinction makes sense.

10-07-2018, 12:26 PM	#5
JeanPierre Zealot Posts: 137 Karma: 398492 Join Date: Apr 2018 Device: Kobo Aura One	Hi frogette, I had to return 4 of them before I finally got an acceptable model, and even this one doesn't have perfectly even lighting (both in terms of colour and distribution). Out of curiosity, how old is your Aura HD? I am wondering what kind of lifetime I can expect from my Aura ONE.

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