Fix: MacBook Pro Black Screen

Many MacBook Pro users are complaining about experiencing a black screen problem on their device. This problem may happen while in the middle of a working session on your MacBook Pro.

People usually report that one minute they were using it as normal, and the next one its screen went black. Restarting the MacBook in these situations results with startup sound as normal. But, there is nothing visually happening on its screen.

If this sounds familiar to you, here is how to fix it.

Note: Before jumping on the solutions below, make sure your MacBook Pro has a battery juice, or is plugged into a power source.

Method #1: Disable Energy Saver

If you can look a bit closer, you may realize that there is stuff on the screen, but it is so faint, almost invisible. Setting the brightness all the way down (by pressing the lower brightness button) and bumping it up to max (by pressing the higher brightness button) makes your screen content visible for a second. However, its brightness turns back to a minimum very quickly.

If you keep doing the brightness up and down trick, it will keep your screen visible, for multiple but short time periods. You can use that time to navigate into System Preferences and do the following steps.

1. Click the Apple logo in the top left corner.
2. Choose System Preferences.
3. Click on Energy Saver.
4. Now, untick everything under the “Power Adapter” tab.
5. Put the “Computer sleep” and “Display sleep” to “Never,” by moving the time slider to the right.
6. Do the same thing in the “Battery” tab.
   

This method fixes the MacBook Pro black screen problem in most of the cases. However, if you are still having the same problem, and your MacBook doesn’t show anything on its screen try the following method.

Method #2: Force Restart

In some cases, if your Mac is not waking up after sleep, you should need to try force restarting it.

1. Click and hold the power key for around 7 seconds (until your Mac shuts down completely).
2. Now, release the power key and press it once again to boot your Mac.

Method #3: Reset NVRAM Settings

NVRAM is a short-term for Non-Volatile RAM. It is a functionality that stores in memory adjustments for speakers, startup disk, displays, etc. NVRAM reset will bring these adjustments to a factory state. Here is how to do that.

1. Turn off your Mac (by long-pressing the power key).
2. Press the power key to boot up your Mac.
3. Once you hear the startup sound, press and hold COMMAND + OPTION + P + R.
4. Keep pressing these keys until you hear the second startup sound.

Method #4: Reset SMC

SMC stands for System Management Controller. This carries settings for anything that is power management related. SMC may resolve problems with fans, displays, sleeping issues, etc.

You will need to perform SMC specific reset method depending on the MacBook model you are using. For detailed info how to reset SMC on your particular model check the Reset (SMC) System Management Controller section in the following article slow macbook pro.

Method #5: Remove and Reload the RAM (Mid 2012 and older MacBooks)

Note: This method may be performed only on MacBooks with user-replaceable RAM. The latest models that support this method are Mid-2012 ones.

Sometimes the cause of the MacBook Pro Black screen is your RAM. Removing and putting it back in may result in fixing the problem.

1. First make sure you know precisely which MacBook Pro model you are using (MacBook Pro 15-inch – Mid 2012, etc.) and check if it has removable RAM. You can find an official Apple’s guide for MacBooks with replaceable RAM.
2. Then, follow the steps for your particular MacBook Pro model and remove the RAM.
3. Now, put them back in place, and make sure they are properly seated.
4. Boot your MacBook and test if this solved your problem.

If you tried all the methods from above, and you still have a black screen on your MacBook Pro, you should definitely contact Apple. However, if you’ve found the solution for your problem let us know about it in the comment section below.