I have received the new bezel.
The test was fast: the moment I installed the new bezel, I observed the exact same light bleeds as initially reported.
I switched back to my altered bezel (the one with two pieces of thin cardboard glued on top of the relevant magnets) and the light bleeds no longer happen.
Conclusion: it seems a new bezel does not help.
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Must be the screen end then. I know it has been mentioned a few times in here, but is it not possible to back out the screws a quarter or half turn to resolve?
Must be the screen end then.
Maybe? All I can conclude from my 2-bezels-1-laptop experiment is that the new bezel did not help. When I conclude a new bezel does not help, I am extrapolating already.
We must keep in mind that:
- not everybody pays attention to light bleeds, so it is hard to quantify how many laptops are actually affected
- this is a system where a display is being sandwiched between a screen mount and a bezel, with magnets on both sides
- based on my observations, it is the plastic part of the bezel that puts pressure on the display, not the magnets themselves
- increasing the thickness of the relevant magnets on the bezel worked around the issue (at least it did for me)
- this implies that I could have increased the thickness of the relevant magnets on the screen mount and get the same workaround.
- in the end, the magnets are likely slightly too thin: but which ones are too thin? The ones on the bezel? The ones on the screen mount? Both? Is it a design issue or a production defect? I cannot tell for sure.
is it not possible to back out the screws a quarter or half turn to resolve?
I guess this may work for light bleeds in the corner, but that’s about it.
So if the plastic isn’t too low, that would mean the display is too high no?
So if the plastic isn’t too low, that would mean the display is too high no?
Yes, it is another way to look at the matter: the display could be too high / not close enough to the screen mount. In that case, the culprit could be the screw cages.
I’ve put cardboard pieces and it didn’t help me. I have a new bezel coming in, but after reading this, I’m a bit less optimistic now.
@Techie_Zeddie Do you confirm you experience the exact same issue as described in this thread, namely light bleeds induced by the bezel, in the immediate vicinity of the magnets closest to the top of the display? If so, can you provide more details?
yes, but the display frame is rigid, while the plastic of the bezel is highly flexible. you can shim in between the frame and the bezel to adjust the shape of the bezel (and thus where it applies pressure). there is no equivalent strategy to adjust the shape of the display.
edit: i realize that it might not be obvious to someone not experimenting with it, but the basic problem is the plastic of the bezel is not being uniformly pressed against the display; it’s flexible material held in place by a LOT of magnets that are inset in the plastic. that’s WHY putting something in betwen some of the magnets can help.
The display itself very much isn’t (laptop lcds are disturbingly soft). If there is some debris or something behind it or it’s just bent it would also be too far forward.
It does fix the distance issue, where the distance issue comes from is another question.
I’m experiencing the same issue. Received a replacement bezel this morning framework sent me. However, the screen bleed hasn’t improved. In fact, it’s bleeding from 2 spots now, instead of 1 (original spot is the top, right of camera module).
I’ve yet to try a home made fix, I’ll wait for framework support’s response. Seems like the issues could either be the bezel and/or the screen judging by my replacement bezel…
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I would check the bezel to see if the molding process has left some high spots on the back of it.
Often you can see small round spots where pins push the item out of the mold, and if the pins are not properly flush with the surface of the mold then plastic can protrude. If this happens it would be worth sanding it down flush and seeing if that makes a difference.
I found 2 thin cardboard that worked better. Top right light bleed (next to the webcam) is gone. Top left light bleed (also next to the webcam) is reduced.
I do notice the top left corner is still very noticeable, but it’s not light bleed, but more IPS glow. Taking the screw out helps, but even the lightest pressure brings it back. I might have to place some paper behind that area to push it out a bit more to fix that, who knows.
The point is, we shouldn’t need to do things like this.
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I am glad to learn you are getting some progress on the matter.
I both agree and disagree.
I agree because, considering the price tag, the Framework 16’s overall finish feels cheap: the spacers next to the trackpad do not look good, the lid is apparently flexible enough to activate keys under certain conditions + these bezel/display issues + 180W vs 240W power issues. Also, the webcam, microphone and speakers certainly do not scream “luxury”. I am not going to list firmware/software issues because I think they are bound to disappear as time goes on.
Note: feel free to replace “we” with “I” in the next part.
I disagree because… we knew what we were signing for. We knew this was a brand new product (their first 16" laptop) from a relatively young company (the existence of the F13 was reassuring though). We knew it would feel “beta”. We also knew it would be a product for people who like to tinker with hardware. And, more to the point, we knew that paying a high price for a beta product is a prerequisite to keep that company alive until they make their point that, yes, repairability is the way to go. Otherly put, we knew we were giving to a cause.
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that’s well said (and i do not request exclusion from the ‘we’ you offer there)
but i still want to point out, as i have before, that i can’t actually find a better deal for what i want. once you try to get past 32 gigs of ram (or have actual real slots) the cost of a machine with cpu the fw16 has balloons drastically. further, i couldn’t find any machines that claimed to let me have more than 64 gigs at all (and when the ram manufacturers’ compatibility tools don’t even suggest it might work, i take the stated limit more seriously)
given my target of 96g of ram, i was actually unable to price an equivalent machine* for a similar price, let alone less.
at this particular feature bracket it’s business supply models or apple, both of which are drastically more expensive. so where i sit, framework is offering me a deal.
* for me ‘equivalent machine’ means similar cpu, and something analogous in capability and performance to the rdna3 igpu (including linux support), since i don’t want to deal with the 7700s’ fan noise or power consumption. of course, i can’t actually find anything roughly equivalent to that that isn’t exactly that, so that’s fun too.
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And that’s fine. As long as Framework is not going to give us a hard time. Right now I am waiting on a replacement bezel but was told they are busy. That was on 4/11. I haven’t heard back from them since - no tracking number or anything.
Of course, I asked for an update a couple days ago. After playing some games (the Fallout show got me wanting to try FO3 and the others), the “IPS Glow” (if that’s what it’s called) is really annoying and distracting me from the game. So I finally brought that up as well. I emailed just today so I don’t expect them to respond right away.
So I guess what I mean is “we shouldn’t be hung out to dry”. As long as FW is responsive and also do not dismiss our issues, I’m fine with working with them until there is a satisfactory resolution. Even if it’s a first gen product, I think giving them that much is fine, but settling for something that’s still not making the owner happy is not - especially for something that cost $2300 without memory or SSD.
FYI: I’m not super happy about the input and touchpad deck not being flush, but the display is more important than that so I’m already letting this one slide. Same for the power drain when plugged in. I’ll game at balanced and hope a 240W PSU will remedy this.
I just don’t want to get to the point where I"m letting too many things slide before I regret it.
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Yeah, the combination of multiple issues is a PITA. Plus, I assume the Framework support is going to be less responsive as the production accelerates (more laptops delivered, more support requests).
At some point, the Framework support offered to replace my display instead of my bezel. I said no because it was irrelevant, but if your display feels unusable even without the bezel, then I believe they should send you a replacement display.
I’d hate to go thru all these replacement to then find out it was the lid. A: it’s a more significant replacement job. B: It’s annoying to both parties to have to keep replacing parts to get to that point. C: I already have a nice dbrand skin on the lid, so I really don’t want to lose that in the replacement.
There are a few ever so slightly visible spots visible on camera in a completely dark room and full black screen on my framework, but I can barely see it with my own eyes:
MIne was the same. Someone suggested cutting small pieces from a post card or index card (the thickness seems near perfect for this purpose) and tape it over the area where the magnet meets on the bezel. It greatly reduced the light bleed for me. It seems to lessen the pinch.
My old screen also had ISP glow on all 4 corners, but a replacement greatly reduced those too.
