Clara Light "bleed" at side issue

[haydnfan]

Originally Posted by Waylander

Or should I just try my luck and get one and see what happens? I'm not in any rush as my Oasis works fine, but some advice would be great.

There is no luck involved, it is defective by design. Just don't buy it if you use moderate to high brightness settings. Enjoy your Oasis. Revisit this thread in a few months and see if has been fixed. Perhaps contact Kobo to let them know that you have reservations about buying their ereader because of this issue.

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by Waylander

So, given that there are undoubtedly issues with the lighting of the Clara, would it be better if I left it for a bit and give them a chance to maybe sort it out? Or should I just try my luck and get one and see what happens? I'm not in any rush as my Oasis works fine, but some advice would be great.

Originally Posted by rcentros

I don't (personally) think I would want to buy a new eReader that would have to be opened up and modified right away. I seriously wonder if Kobo is planning to fix the issue for future Claras. I'm guessing they don't see any real problem.

It all depends on what you call an "issue". In my opinion the slight bleed from the side(s) in a few spots has been made into a bigger issue than it actually is by the focus on it in this long discussion and the inventive, risky fix for it. And it's probably also getting so much attention because (similar to the lady-in-the-video's opinion) it's the only "real" negative point about the Clara (apart from of course, its name). If you read with a margin of at least 4mm, the slight bleed doesn't cover the text. I don't even notice the bleed while reading; only when I look directly at the spots where the bleed is. So you don't have to open it up and modify the hardware.

Also, the bleed pattern and location is slightly different for each device, so the "luck" you gamble for would just be to get a device with least annoying bleed pattern (and you can exchange if you want to try for a better pattern).

I personally don't think Kobo will start applying black out tape in the future. It will add to the weight of the device and will probably only make a small percentage of readers happier. But who am I, who knows...

[Atilla]

Just picked one up from BestBuy in Whitby. The light bleeds are present on multiple spots however they go away if I put a little pressure on the bezel. So I am going to put some gentle weights on the bezels overnight and see if the adhesive under it seals better.

I also dropped in a class 10 32 gig SD card just for kicks. Does anyone know if these devices benefit from the faster "Ultra" speed class 10 cards?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Mrs_Often

Also, the bleed pattern and location is slightly different for each device, so the "luck" you gamble for would just be to get a device with least annoying bleed pattern (and you can exchange if you want to try for a better pattern).

Thing is, I wouldn't want any bleed pattern. It would bother me. So, if I ever bought one of these, I would almost definitely want to apply the fix.

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by Atilla

The light bleeds are present on multiple spots however they go away if I put a little pressure on the bezel. So I am going to put some gentle weights on the bezels overnight and see if the adhesive under it seals better.

Interesting! Please update us on the result!

[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.

[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.

[koboy]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Thing is, I wouldn't want any bleed pattern. It would bother me. So, if I ever bought one of these, I would almost definitely want to apply the fix.

you shouldn't have to apply the fix the fault shouldn't be there in the first place it's a terrible defect/oversight by Kobo.

those that do decide to do the fix the 12 months warranty is instantly void, therefore if the Clara HD broke for any other reason in the next year you've kissed goodbye to getting it replaced.

i need all of zero seconds to decide if buying a Clara HD with the added unwanted light bleed feature is a good idea or not definitely (NOT) for me others i'm sure will differ.

the lady who did the fix said she couldn't keep it like it was out of the box i'm with the lady


best wishes koboy

[Waylander]

Given the defect with the Clara, I might just look at getting an Aura edition 2 instead.

[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.



[...]

Thank you for that!

[s]I must say the light bleed on your Clara pre-fix looks a LOT worse than the bleed on mine, I'm quite surprised at how bad it is to be honest.[/s] Ah I didn't realise the "before" picture was actually the "after" picture without the bezel.

I tried your first solution by squeezing my Clara's bezel where the bleed shows and I saw the bleed disappear completely! How satisfying! It did sneak back slowly while I continued reading but I might just try your idea of a more long term squeeze/weight to see if the adhesive sticks better for a longer time.

[CH23]

I feel like this 'light bleed' "issue" is blown so far out of proportion.
the front light won't damage your eyesight, or make it impossible to read, it won't hurt your eyes, give you a headache, or make the device explode (not even a little bit)

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by CH23

I feel like this 'light bleed' "issue" is blown so far out of proportion.
the front light won't damage your eyesight, or make it impossible to read, it won't hurt your eyes, give you a headache, or make the device explode (not even a little bit)

Yes. Exactly what I meant in my #608 post.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by koboy

you shouldn't have to apply the fix the fault shouldn't be there in the first place it's a terrible defect/oversight by Kobo.

I agree. That the issue is so easily fixable points to poor design or quality control from Kobo, in my opinion.

Originally Posted by CH23

I feel like this 'light bleed' "issue" is blown so far out of proportion.
the front light won't damage your eyesight, or make it impossible to read, it won't hurt your eyes, give you a headache, or make the device explode (not even a little bit)

First world problems, I know.

But if something as simple as more adhesive/tape fixes the situation, it tells me Kobo should have caught the issue and corrected it.

[Waylander]

I wonder whether the 'pressure fix' would be enough on its own if one used a weight for long enough? I could deal with that, being careful not to break the device while doing so by using something too heavy of course! The other route of opening the device up is not a route I would want to go down. If the screen lighting is too uneven on the Clara even apart from the light bleed issue, I might look at the Aura edition 2 instead.

[haydnfan]

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.

But the electric tape mod is (a) the same difficulty, (b) doesn't make the screen darker and is (c) easily reversible. Why did you do this??