Why Your MacBook Screen Is Black (And How To Troubleshoot The Problem)
Plenty of people use MacBooks (both thelatest modelsand older offerings) for work and at home. But despite Apple’s pedigree, its hardware doesrun into problemsfrom time to time. Seeing a black screen on a laptop isn’t something to worry about most of the time, but it can become a pretty significant issue when it won’t go away. At best it may leave you trying to navigate around your system with no visual indicators, and at worst it could be the result of an internal hardware failure — in which case you’ll need to contactApple Supportfor repairs.
Before you resort to a trip to a repair center, there are some other troubleshooting methods you can try. As long as the problem is software-related you might be able to sort it out for yourself. There’s even a chance that a simple adjustment to your settings will take care of it all.
The most common reasons a MacBook display is black
The two most likely reasons your MacBook screen has gone dark also happen to be very easy to remedy. For starters, try pressing a key on the keyboard or clicking the trackpad or mouse button. If the screen lights up and returns to normal, it was in power-savingSleep mode.
You can adjust Sleep settings by clicking the Apple icon in the top-left corner and selecting System Settings (or System Preferences in macOS 12 Monterey and older), then clicking Lock Screen (Energy Saver in macOS 12 and older). From there, adjust the “Turn display off” settings to increase or decrease the amount of inactivity time before it shuts off — or turn the function off entirely so it will stay on.
Alternatively, a black screen could mean your MacBook is out of power. If that’s the case, unplug any external devices connected to your MacBook, then plug in the MacBook’s power adapter. Once the MacBook is plugged in, it should turn back on when you press the Power button. If it doesn’t, hold both the Command and Control keys on the keyboard and then press the Power button to restart. Not all unexpected black screens are related to energy consumption, however.
Your MacBook’s black display may be due to the startup disk
Your MacBook sticking on a black screen when you start it up is likely due to a problem with the macOS startup disk.
If Disk Utility can’t find errors, or if you still see a black screen after startup, tryreinstalling macOS. Otherwise, you should contactApple Supportfor additional help.
Your MacBook may be stuck on the lock screen
MacBooks can also sometimes get stuck on the lock screen after entering Sleep mode.
If the black screen comes back outside of Safe Mode, get in touch withApple Support.
