Dead/Stuck Pixels Normal on Kindles?

[soccerchamp24]

Recently received a Kindle Voyage as a gift but it had a dead/stuck pixel right in the middle of the screen. Sorry if my ternominology is incorrect, but basically one pixel was always stuck looking 'lit up', for lack of a better term. Almost bright white.


Decided to contact Amazon because it was right in the middle of the screen and pretty annoying as I tried to read. Sure enough, the replacement Voyage that arrived yesterday has the exact same issue, although this one is in the top-right quadrant and a bit less noticeable.


Is this normal for Kindles or did I just get unlucky twice? The Amazon rep that helped me sounded like she had no clue what I was talking about but did say I was allowed one free exchange.


Since this new screen imperfection does not bother me nearly as much as the first I may just not even go through the hassle, but I was still curious about if anyone else knows what I'm talking about or has experienced it. Is this something I should address because it may lead to more issues down the road?

[knc1]

First time in my 5 years here that I have heard of that happening.
But twice in a row? Maybe something changed in their quality control recently.
But screens are not necessarily produced in the same factory the Kindle is, so I don't think this implies less quality control on the device over-all.

As long as the device is still under its original warranty, I think you can still get the extended warranty as an add-on to your purchase.
Your allowed 3 exchanges under the extended warranty.

[soccerchamp24]

Originally Posted by knc1

First time in my 5 years here that I have heard of that happening.
But twice in a row? Maybe something changed in their quality control recently.
But screens are not necessarily produced in the same factory the Kindle is, so I don't think this implies less quality control on the device over-all.

As long as the device is still under its original warranty, I think you can still get the extended warranty as an add-on to your purchase.
Your allowed 3 exchanges under the extended warranty.

Thanks for your response.

Kind of odd I'd have to buy an additional warranty just to receive a device free from defects.


EDIT:

http://imgur.com/a/FrVWl

Think that's a pretty good picture of it. That pixel(?) is always bright and lit up.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by soccerchamp24

Thanks for your response.

Kind of odd I'd have to buy an additional warranty just to receive a device free from defects.

You have a unusual situation.

The single screen exchange rule is for customer damaged screens.
There isn't (**should not be, depends on a lot of things**) a limit on replacing materials received defective.

Escalate your complaint to someone further up the corporate food chain.
Continue to do that, each time you hear 'no'.
You will either reach the top of the food chain or get a good Kindle.

[HarryT]

That's a burst capsule on the eInk screen. Definitely not normal. To have it happen once is rare; you're the first person I've ever heard of it happening twice to.

[meeera]

Does it show when the light is off?

Burst capsules are usually black, aren't they?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by meeera

Does it show when the light is off?

Burst capsules are usually black, aren't they?

eInk particles are white on one side and black on the other. Depends which "way up" they were when the capsule burst.

The other possibility is a scratch on the light diffuser, but then I'd expect it to be "shining" bright. On the photograph it appears to be the same shade of white as the screen background.

[patrickt]

I had a spot on a Paperwhite3 that was like an LED shining straight through. It was invisible till you hit the right angle, which you always did reading a page. Kindle replaced it immediately and I couldn't have been happier with their response.

The Paperwhite is a year older and is fine. I have two, actually, and they're both fine. My Voyage was fine until I gave it to a friend and I suspect ti's still fine.

Remember the Forest Ranger in the Smokey National Park who kept getting hit by lightning? His name was Roy Sullivan.

"...Sullivan was hit by lightning on seven different occasions and survived all of them."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Sullivan

As the saying goes, really weird things happen and whenever anyone says, "It can't be a coincidence, they're always wrong.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by HarryT

eInk particles are white on one side and black on the other. Depends which "way up" they were when the capsule burst.

The other possibility is a scratch on the light diffuser, but then I'd expect it to be "shining" bright. On the photograph it appears to be the same shade of white as the screen background.

Depends on the light level, maybe? I'm going by the OP where they say the spot looked "lit up". I'm also wondering about the size of the defect, which looks quite big and a bit irregular in shape. Anyhow, it will be simple for them to check it by turning the light off.

I wonder if perhaps the original unit and the replacement were actually refurbished units just being recycled. The original was a gift, so maybe whoever purchased it bought a refurbished unit to save a little money. Amazon is well known to send refurbished units as replacements, so I certainly won't be surprised if the second unit is a refurbished unit. Back in the day when the PW1 was getting replaced a lot due to screen coloration issues, Amazon seemed to be simply repackaging returned PW1s and shipping them out as refplacements to other customers. Those screens likely were not really refurbished, as in fixed, just repackaged. I think it is very possible that an employee at the return center took a look at the second unit when it was returned and decided it wasn't fixable or worth fixing, and just repackaged it as a refurbished unit. It is likely far less expensive for Amazon to attempt to pawn it off on another customer than to actually replace the screen. Who knows, maybe they have an internal policy of doing just that: First try to pawn it off on another customer. If they are okay with it, then issue resolved. Else if it gets returned again, then actually fix it are part it out.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by meeera

Depends on the light level, maybe? I'm going by the OP where they say the spot looked "lit up". I'm also wondering about the size of the defect, which looks quite big and a bit irregular in shape. Anyhow, it will be simple for them to check it by turning the light off.

Agreed. If it is "lit up" - ie brighter than the screen - then it's the light diffuser.

[soccerchamp24]

Well it was definitely brighter than the rest of the screen and that's one of the reasons it stuck out to me so much.

But the weirdest thing has happened. I turned off the screen to answer the question from the above poster and the defect seems to have significantly decreased in size/brightness.

I'm positive this wasn't all in my head since I had my girlfriend and other buddy look at it to get their opinion on whether or not I should keep it. In the end I decided to keep it.

At the moment I'm in Montauk and yesterday I was using it out in the sun; maybe the heat had something to do with it becoming less noticeable?

Spot when I first got it: http://imgur.com/a/FrVWl

Spot now: http://imgur.com/a/tnyD9 (no arrow in this one, but you can still see it in the same location)

It can still be seen in the recent photo but it's much smaller/not as bright. Also, I know I didn't get the angle identical to the first photo, but the spot isn't getting much brighter no matter how I angle it.

I do believe both photos accurately reflect the size and brightness of the issue.

[Barbara1955]

Sounds like Amazon got a bad batch. Go to Chat when you get a Person explain whats going on & ADD the Picture.... BTW Ask to speak to a TECH!!

[soccerchamp24]

Originally Posted by Katie1

Sounds like Amazon got a bad batch. Go to Chat when you get a Person explain whats going on & ADD the Picture.... BTW Ask to speak to a TECH!!

Appreciate your suggestion but at this point I'm going to keep it. If you click the before and after pictures I posted above the brightness on that spot (pixel?) has gone down significantly.

I'm not going to risk a third unit having the same issue.

[meeera]

It may well not be this... but another cause of improving bright spots on a lit screen is a bit of muck, like a dried splatter of something.