How to Fix It When MacBook Screen Goes Black (8 Steps)

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Even if you’ve never been a Windows user, you should have heard the phrase “black screen of death” (BSOD) or something similar. You also may have thought Mac had nothing similar… until now.

The Macbook screen goes black when fully opened users may experience is hardly a death sentence, but it is fairly annoying and ruins whatever activities you were previously engaged in.

It’s exactly the kind of problem that brings things grinding to a halt while being frustratingly unpredictable, so we’ve collected a few ways to help you fix it.

‘Fix’ MacBook screen goes black but still running [Best Practice]

Restart your computer then check your system’s power by going to the Apple menu. Click on About This Mac and then System Report. After the report opens, click on Power. Scroll down till you locate the Cycle Count and Condition of your Mac. If it reads Poor, you’ve found the answer.

Why Did Your MacBook Pro Go Black: Possible Causes

Power Issues

It might sound kind of obvious, but power issues are the most common reason your Mac’s screen is blank. Whether it’s a bad battery or a faulty charging cord that lets you fall into the black screen trap, this is always a good place to start looking.

Waking from Sleep

Black screen issues are most common when waking your MacBook from sleep. Whether this is an issue on Apple’s end or the user remains unclear, but it is usually described as opening the lid of your MacBook only to have your screen refuse to wake up but it’s still running.

Although it may seem like your computer has turned on (via the activity indicator, fans, or noises), the screen remains blank. The cause of this scenario remains unclear, but it is a well-recognized situation.

Broken Disk Permissions or Login Items

Sometimes, the cause for your Mac to go black screen or even not allow your laptop to boot up normally is due to broken disk permission issues; While other times the culprit is certain apps that sneak into the auto startup list and affect your MacBook’s booting.

If that’s the case, you’ll have to check those problems and fix them (see Step 5 for more).

Software/App Error

Everybody wants to blame things on a glitch. It’s a simple answer to a seemingly otherwise unsolvable problem, especially if you’re booting to a black screen or something equally infuriating. Some known bugs could be causing the issue, however, so this is a valid possible cause.

Make sure to check official Apple guides such as the security update list or Apple Community Forum to find out if this is your case.

How to Fix Unresponsive Black Screen on MacBook

In this section, we’ll take it from the top and show you how to change an unresponsive black screen back to normal, whether you are using a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air.

Step 1: Check Your Power

If your MacBook Pro was previously charging, make sure the plug wasn’t suddenly yanked out of the wall or that anyone tripped over the cord. You should also check your battery cycles to see if it needs to be replaced.

To do this, go to the Apple menu from the top left of your Mac and select About this Mac, then System Report. Once the report opens, pick Power from the right-hand side.

From the power panel, look down until you find the macbook cycle count and condition for your battery. If it says “Poor” or “Bad”, it’s time to consider replacing the battery for your MacBook Pro. This type of apple battery replacement cost around $100 US dollars.

If you can’t buy a battery right now or need a solution in the meantime, keeping your MacBook plugged in should provide temporary relief. While it does reduce the working capacity of having a laptop, it’s only a temporary solution.

Visit this article by Eric on how to fix mac book battery issues.

Step 2: Restarting

If it’s not the battery (or if you can’t access the system report at the moment to check), your next best solution is restarting the machine. You can do this in a couple of different ways:

1. Use the CTRL + EJECT keys to bring up the dialog box, then press ENTER even if you can’t see the dialog box since “Shut Down” is automatically selected. Then press the power button again once the computer has finished shutting down to restart it.
2. CTRL + CMD + EJECT will automatically trigger a restart.
3. Hold the power button for 5 seconds to have it shut down. Wait 15 seconds and press it once again to reboot.

Your MacBook should restart to its normal state, resolving the black screen issue.

Didn’t work? Move onto the next step listed here for a special key pattern that might do the trick.

Step 3: Try a Known Key Sequence

Some users have reported that a specific key sequence dug from the depths of the MacRumors forum has helped resolve their black screen booting issues, so it’s worth a shot trying.

This is what you have to do:

1. Press the power button once, which normally brings up a shutdown dialog box (you won’t be able to see it with a black screen).
2. Press “S“, the hotkey for sending your Mac to sleep.
3. Hold the power button to force a hard shut down.
4. Wait around 15 seconds before pressing the power again to restart.

And voila, your MacBook should boot as normal instead of to a black screen.

Step 4: Resetting the NVRAM/PRAM

Or… not. If you’re still having problems even after trying multiple methods or the problem is re-occurring it might be time to take a bit more drastic measures. You’ll be resetting the NVRAM/PRAM on your Mac — here’s how to do it.

1. Shut down your Mac (see above if you aren’t sure how).
2. Press the power button. Once you hear the startup chime, hold down Command + Option + P + R.
3. Hold these until you hear another startup chime, then release them.

Your Mac should boot normally now, although you may have lost some settings along the way so make sure to check System Preferences (System Settings on macOS Ventura and above) to see if your display, date/time, and disk options are all in order.

Step 5: Reset the System Management Controller

An SMC reset is another thing you can do to fix a black screen. This is a good thing to know how to do because it can resolve several other issues you might experience with your MacBook, such as overheating slowdowns. 

To reset the SMC on your MacBook, follow these steps: 

1. Shut down the computer
2. Connect to the power source
3. With the MacBook powered down, hold down Shift, Control, Option, and press the Power button at the same time for about 10 seconds
4. Release the keys
5. Restart the computer
6. The SMC should now be reset

The SMC reset can vary from this if you have an older MacBook; check out here for more. 

Step 6: Boot into Safe Mode

You might be experiencing a black screen for several reasons, and one of them might be issues with your startup disk. You can fix this problem by booting your MacBook into safe mode and allowing it to run a check on the disk. 

To boot in safe mode, follow these steps:

1. Turn of your computer
2. Hold down the Shift key while powering back up until you see the Apple logo
3. Let go of the key after the logo appears

The computer will now start up into safe mode and might take a little longer than you expect as it runs diagnostics on your startup disk.

Once it boots up completely, you can restart again to enter into a normal startup and see if the black screen issue is resolved. 

Step 7: Check & Repair Disk Permissions

Like I said, one of the causes for black screen is due to broken disk permissions. Fortunately, it’s easy to diagnose and fix.

All you need is to run CleanMyMac on your Mac. Open the app, go to Maintenance > Repair Disk Permissions, click “Run” and you’re all set.

Step 8: Check for App Issues or Bugs

Again, the best way to identify those suspicious apps is to run CleanMyMac.

In the Extensions section, check Launch Agents and Login Items. If you find some apps that launch automatically (often without your consent), feel free to disable or remove them.

Another way to do this is by searching the Apple Community for a post that most matches yours to see if any bugs (and ways to squash them) have been identified, although you can also make your post.

Other forums such as MacRumors and iFixit are also great places to start, as well as searching for general articles.

For example, Mark Gibbs from NetworkWorld discovered that using his iCloud password caused the computer to experience an error where it booted to a black screen with just his mouse and no login options.

It’s a strange correlation, but sometimes very random things can send your computer into a frenzy, so it doesn’t hurt to look.

Final Words

Black screens are never fun to deal with. Besides the unending frustration, rebooting and potentially losing your work aren’t exactly enjoyable activities. Hopefully, this guide has helped you alleviate the issue and set you back on your feet.

We’d also love to hear from you if you have another way of fixing the black screen on a MacBook — leave us a comment below to tell us more about it.

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