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Keyboard Backlight Bleed on new 14 and 16 inch MacBooks?

T

tenlow

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 7, 2008
81
101
Hi all,

I bought myself a new 14 inch MacBook Pro and immediately saw the backlight bleed on the keyboard. Light shines underneath some keys while this is not the case on other keys. It is not a huge issue and also not a defect of course and I know that I am a bit OCD about this but I just wanted to see if and how other new machines are also "affected" by it. My friend recently bought a new 16 inch MBP and has seen the same thing on his one.

Attached are two pictures: My 14 inch MBP and his 16 inch model.

It would be great to see other opinions and also pictures here :)
 

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Other opinion here…it looks fine to me. It also looks like you set the backlight brightness high and took care to take the photo at an unflattering angle. That’s not criticism. Ultimately, the design is what it is, and there is nothing you can do to change it.
 
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chabig said:
Other opinion here…it looks fine to me. It also looks like you set the backlight brightness high and took care to take the photo at an unflattering angle. That’s not criticism. Ultimately, the design is what it is, and there is nothing you can do to change it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

The angle is indeed a bit unflattering but still I think what "bothers" me here is that many keys are "perfect" without any bleed whatsoever and some are pretty much the opposite. I think the inconsistency in that is what I feel looks a bit distracting. When I look extremely closely, I can also see that some keys (the "4" e.g.) is ever so slightly raised upwards which is why the light shines through there. So, imo it's not just the new "design" as it would then at least be fairly consistent on all keys. You're right, though. Not much we can do about it. I just wanted to see how it looks on other machines here...
 
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I know there are other threads about it. I think the fact that some keys look perfect while others have light has to do with the LED placement underneath the keyboard.
 
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chabig said:
I know there are other threads about it. I think the fact that some keys look perfect while others have light has to do with the LED placement underneath the keyboard.
Click to expand...

Pretty much this. The amount of "bleed" will depend on the viewing angle. I mean, it is probably technically possible to make the lights more uniform... but ugh, who cares really? It looks perfectly fine to me the way I normally use the laptop.
 
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chabig said:
I know there are other threads about it. I think the fact that some keys look perfect while others have light has to do with the LED placement underneath the keyboard.
Click to expand...
There aren't any LEDs directly under keys. Apple's keyboard backlights consist of relatively few LEDs (far fewer than the key count) firing into a diffuser sheet, which releases some light under each key.
 
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That's a fair enough criticism in my book for an expensive device marketed as high quality. Other's might not care but I can understand why you do.

My 2016 13" Pro doesn't have that problem, all the keys look uniform.
 
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chabig said:
Other opinion here…it looks fine to me. It also looks like you set the backlight brightness high and took care to take the photo at an unflattering angle. That’s not criticism. Ultimately, the design is what it is, and there is nothing you can do to change it.
Click to expand...
Why wouldn’t someone set the light high to demonstrate this VERY COMMON issue? It’s literally brightly in your face. The light leaks on many many new MP’s in an irregular way. 90% of the keys are fine only a few are tilted at an angle that allows this leak. I suppose it could be carefully repaired. I suspect (with mine) after about ten thousand words or so, it may settle in because I have a heavy touch when I type. Regardless, this is a real issue and I think you were a little heavy handed with OP, accusing him when this is a very real issue and the subject of multiple threads. Could he get used to it? Maybe. Could he turn off the light? Sure. But when you pay 2 grand plus for a laptop, you kinda expect the thing to work without hassles.
 
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phillpsych said:
Why wouldn’t someone set the light high to demonstrate this VERY COMMON issue? It’s literally brightly in your face. The light leaks on many many new MP’s in an irregular way. 90% of the keys are fine only a few are tilted at an angle that allows this leak. I suppose it could be carefully repaired. I suspect (with mine) after about ten thousand words or so, it may settle in because I have a heavy touch when I type. Regardless, this is a real issue and I think you were a little heavy handed with OP, accusing him when this is a very real issue and the subject of multiple threads. Could he get used to it? Maybe. Could he turn off the light? Sure. But when you pay 2 grand plus for a laptop, you kinda expect the thing to work without hassles.
Click to expand...

The main reason it was "brightly" in the OPs face is because the brightness on the keyboard was turned up all the way. MacBook keyboards have had some form of this for years, it's just a function of how the backlighting is set up and operates. It has no effect on usability or functionality of the device.
 
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dmccloud said:
The main reason it was "brightly" in the OPs face is because the brightness on the keyboard was turned up all the way. MacBook keyboards have had some form of this for years, it's just a function of how the backlighting is set up and operates. It has no effect on usability or functionality of the device.
Click to expand...
On mine it is quite visible and noticeable when it's on my lap but yes, it doesn't affect performance. My 2011 MBP, when on my lap, the backlight is visible under the keys but it is completely even across the whole keyboard i.e. all the keys have the same amount of light visible under the key gaps. On this 14" M2 MBP The 4 and the L shine quite brightly v other keys where zero light shines through. It seems a fairly common issue and it seems to be the 4 and the L in a few posts I have seen. In store, some were even, some were not. It is not a material issue and doesn't affect performance but for a device that costs thousands I think it is reasonable to expect better quality control. It is quite noticeable and bright and distracting. I know it is something that a lot of people (most people?) would not care about.
 
Hah - this really isn't an issue and just a bit of OCD. Every MBP I've owned from the first gen Intel 15" MBP have done this (even with the different keyboard styles I know).

I wouldn't worry about it.

Also over time, wear and tear, the keys will move ever so slightly and show different levels of a gap. Tiny amounts but enough for the light to come through.
 
Just got mine and have this issue. Its annoying AF. In a dark room, keyboard brightness even at the lowest level leaks out from behind about 6 keys. Super distracting and I might return it because of this. Unacceptable on a 2k laptop. My M1 mbp 13 does not have this issue.
 
I have the same on my M1 14". Some keys bleed light, others do not. I'll be honest, I doubt there are any "perfect" ones around, despite what people say on a forum.
 
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