Macbook Pro Black Screen? No display?

If you encounter a black screen on your Macbook Pro, there is nothing much you can do because there’s no display. But, there are some troubleshooting methods you can attempt at home before consulting help from Apple or professional services. So what can you do first?

Power

If you have your power adaptor with you, you can try to plug it in to test if the black screen on your Macbook Pro is caused by low power or complete battery drain. Usually the Magsafe adaptor has this tiny LED indicator usually red, green or unlit. When red, it is a good sign that your Macbook Pro has just went into low power consumption mode where you need time to let your Macbook Pro charge up. Give it about 5-10 minutes long before trying to press the power button to wake your Macbook Pro.

If the LED light doesn’t light up even after plugged into your Macbook, it is time to test if your adaptor is in good condition first before confirming your Macbook cannot charge. Check your adaptor cable from the pins to the connection point. Check for discolouration, fray, burnt and temperature. If any of the above occur, it is likely your adaptor is near the end of its lifespan and you will need to change it out soon before you cause anymore damage to your Macbook Pro.

Sleep

Macbook Pro has one of the quietest sleep modes and they are hard to identify. One of the few methods is by checking the LED indicator lights for activity or fan noises. Usually when you open the lid for the screen, it will automatically wake for the user. But there are times where it remains in the sleep mode and refuse to wake. This scenario is rare but has happened before.

Give your Macbook some time to wake if you are sure it has activity in the background and just in sleep mode. By doing a force shutdown, you do risk an early hardware failure and shortening the lifespan. Unless inevitable, do a force restart and check your sleep function within System Preferences.

External Disk Drives

If you plug in external drives while in sleep mode and tries to open the lid to wake and use your Macbook Pro, it will remain black screen for quite awhile because it is reading your external drive in a low power consumption mode and by sequential order, it does not load correctly by showing the screen first for you to use your Macbook.

So by removing all external disk drives or accessories from your Macbook will help eliminate any possibilities which results in the black screen.

Applications

Were you using some heavy or intensive programs before you put your Macbook Pro into sleep? It could your games or applications where still running when you put your Macbook Pro when it is in sleep. These applications take time to load and when your Macbook Pro goes from a low power consumption mode to a high performance mode, it will take time to load the necessary files for you. The black screen on your Macbook Pro should not take up to 5 minutes to load. If the black screen issue still pursue, then it might be a separate issue.

Apple Diagnostic Tests

If you are well versed into tech repairs, you might have come across an Apple Diagnostic help that will provide you informative results. This will take a minute. If you are in a rush or somewhere you do not have internet connection, it is not recommended to do this test now.

Ensure the power adaptor is plugged in, hold down the D key while you power on your Macbook Pro. You should see an icon and asking for Wifi or internet connection. After that, proceed for the diagnostic test and allow it run. This may take from 5 to 10 minutes depending on the issue you have.

If you are not able to even see the screen for the diagnostic test then it might be your LCD screen issue. At this point you would have to seek professional help and you may consult us here at Budget PC Upgrade & Repairs.

After the diagnostic test, you may not see any issues from Apple. This means your Macbook is in normal working condition. You may restart your Macbook Pro and resume as per normal.

Resetting NVRAM/PRAM

If you are still having problems after so many troubleshooting methods, you might want to try this method. Be warned that you may lose some of the settings during this process but your display, date, time, disk options should be intact Hold down CMD+OPT+P+R after you press the power button and hear the classic Apple Startup Chime. Once you hear a second startup chime, release the keyboard buttons. Your Macbook should boot normally into system.

If you encounter the same problems after all this techniques, it probably is more of a serious issue that you need to seek help from more practiced hands to diagnose the issue.

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