Clara HD Light "bleed" at side issue

[koboy]

Originally Posted by jlynton

Do you mean design flaw?

yes indeed i did/do thanks for pointing the flaw/mistake out i have edited it accordingly.

best wishes koboy

[jlynton]

I have been told by kobo (fb chat) that if anyone buys a Clara HD from their website, and it has the light bleeding issue, they will be able to return it for a replacement. Also, as mentioned before, that they are "working on" the problem.

[i_m_sherlocked]

Originally Posted by koboy

personally i'd wait until they made a device that didn't have such a common design fllaw/fault before i parted with my hard earned cash.

but perhaps that's just me.

best wishes koboy

living an imperfect life is better than not living at all...

[koboy]

Originally Posted by i_m_sherlocked

living an imperfect life is better than not living at all...

why buy a newer ereader when you believe the one you already have is much better

in life never waste time or money. although perhaps i was just guilty of the first

best wishes koboy

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by Atilla

I discovered another way to get rid of the light bleed.

There was no need for the tape. All I did was touch up the side of the screen (not the surface but the little indentation on the side) with black marker where the bleeds were. The effect was immediate.

However "WARNING" it did make the screen DARKER specially when I first run the marker up and down the edge. Later I did remove most of it with alcohol. So I found out even trace amount of black gets rid of the leaks. This attached picture shows after I cleaned up the sides with alcohol which lighten up the screen.

It is still darker then original.

Please do not attempt this unless you can afford to brake your brand new e-reader. Be very careful. And I say again the screen gets DARKER and no amount of cleaning restores the original brightness.

Originally Posted by Atilla

Just to follow up.

Here is the final result after reassembling. Picture taken in complete darkness.

PS. My camera shows the picture darker. It is a lot whiter when I look at it.

Originally Posted by Atilla

I did not like the added thickness however minor to the height of the bezel.
Forevermore there appeared a tiny gap on the bottom side of the bezel because I only applied the tape to the sides.

After cleaning the edges with alcohol I am quite happy with the result.

I actually went to Chapters this morning and compared my unit with their demo. Granted they have bright lights but I did not notice any difference in screen brightness. I am thinking the lack of leak spots (I had 5 bright spots) gave me the illusion of darker screen.

I was able to read comfortably in complete dark with both settings at 30% and in outdoors with 50% light the screen looks like paper.

Again it is easy to mess up the device so like I said unless one can afford to brake and lose warranty, shouldn't do it.

Originally Posted by Atilla

Just to be more precise about the my post #615 the marker was applied to the
tiny indentation between the glass and the material under it (red arrow).

The black strings you see on the surface (actually under) the glass are from factory.

Atilla! You are my hero *again*!! My Clara's light bleed was annoying me more and more, and I too didn't like the idea of any extra thickness between the screen and the bezel (blackout or electrical tape), so I applied your black marker solution. OH MY! Now my Clara's screen is perfect. Thank you!

I haven't noticed any general darker lighting (yet), but if I do (when I read this evening when it's darker), I'd consider that an extra win!

Two before pics & two after pics attached.

[leokennis]

Don’t know if it’s worth resurrecting this thread for it, but I bought a Clara HD and it too had a light leak. In my case about 4 cm long from the bottom right.

I struggled to apply the big length of tape neatly along both edges (every time I’d see some tape after I reassembled) so I only applied tape where the actual light leak was (so 4 cm). This completely fixed the issue too.

[shuvashish76]

I'm on Kobo Clara Colour and looks like it has the same issue.
This is my 1st EInk device and recently purchased one. I got the return/refund option for few more days... What would you recommend? replace with another one or expect all device to have little bit of these bleed-light issues as there are leds in sides?
I don't think kobo fixed it in any of their models. Limitation of using E Ink devices?