Usually App Store becomes inactive and any button you tap will result in a white blank screen being displayed. Some users report that they encounter such issues after updating their iOS operating system. While other users face the white blank screen without any warning about errors. MacBook Air Black Screen: It Boots with Black Screen MacBook Air Black Screen: Very rarely, your Mac may encounter some issue during the system boot, like booting to a completely black screen. In some particularly rare cases, this situation can be interpreted as a sign of a potential hardware issue.
Force quit the app, then open it again
- iPhone, iPad, iPod touch: Force the app to close.
- Apple Watch: With the app open, press and hold the side button to show the power options. Then press and hold the Digital Crown to quit the app.
- Apple TV: Double press the TV/Home button and swipe left or right to find the app with the issue. Then swipe up to close the app. You can’t force apps to quit on Apple TV (3rd generation).
Restart your device
Restart your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, or Apple TV. Then open the app to see if it works as expected.
Check for updates
Make sure that your device has the latest version of iOS or iPadOS, watchOS, or tvOS. Then check for app updates.
- iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch: You can manually update apps. You might need a Wi-Fi connection to update some apps on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
- Apple TV: Go to Settings > Apps and turn on Automatically Update Apps. If you don't have automatic updates turned on, you can open the App Store, go to the Purchased tab, and open an app's product page to see if an update is available.
Reinstall the app
- iPhone, iPad, iPod touch: Open the Settings app. Tap General, then tap iPhone Storage (or iPad Storage). Tap the affected app, then tap Offload app. Tap Offload app again. Wait a moment for the app to offload, then tap Reinstall App.
- Apple TV: Highlight the app on the Home screen, then press and hold the Touch surface until the app jiggles. Press Play/Pause, then select Delete. Open the App Store and redownload the app. Some apps require subscriptions for activation. If you can't activate the app or you don’t remember your sign-in information, contact the app developer.
- Apple Watch: Open the Watch app on your iPhone and tap the My Watch tab. Scroll to the app you want to remove, then tap it. Turn off Show App on Apple Watch, and wait for it to disappear from your watch's Home screen. To reinstall the app, scroll down to Available Apps in the My Watch tab and tap Install.
Contact the app developer
If you're having an issue with an Apple app, contact Apple Support. If it's a third-party app, contact the app developer.
Learn more
- Get help with unfamiliar charges and in-app purchases.
- If you can’t install or update an app, or if it’s stuck waiting, learn what to do.
- Get help with audio, video, or power on Apple TV.
So you are trying to wake your Mac from sleep and it just wouldn’t. All you see is black screen on your MacBook Pro no matter what keys you are pressing. Below you’ll find a couple of solutions (mostly based on users’ cases) to bring you Mac back to the light.
Reasons your Mac screen goes black:
- 3rd party apps that expand the screen
- Recently upgraded operating system
- Corrupted display and energy settings
- Cables not connected
Easy fixes for Macbook black screen
1. Adjust your display’s brightness
It’s possible you had accidentally pressed the brightness keys on the keyboard so your screen dimmed down. Could it be your cat stepping on keys? Use F1 and F2 buttons to light black screen on your Mac.
2. Check if the Power is on
Examine your charger cable is intact and if your Mac is charging. Is the green light on? To rule out the power issues, check if your Mac produces any noise — from the hard drive or fans. If you still see black screen on Mac, read on.
3. Disconnect all peripherals
Remove all external devices like printers or external drives. These devices may start their own dialogues which could interfere with your display settings.
More solutions if your MacBook Pro won’t turn on

Force restart your Mac
In most cases forcing your Mac to restart helps to fix it if your Mac won’t boot. The variance of this issue is your Mac not waking up after sleep. Try to open and close MacBook lid and press a few keys on a keyboard. It might help, but if it doesn’t in no way you should panic — first let’s perform a quick force restart.
1. Hold down the Power key for about 6 seconds.
2. Wait for your Mac to shut down and press the Power key again.
Reset your Mac’s NVRAM settings
NVRAM stands for non-volatile RAM and is basically a functionality that stores in memory settings for display, speakers, primary startup disk etc. Everything even remotely connected with boot process (like your MacBook won’t turning on) can be set back to factory settings during the NVRAM reset.
To flush NVRAM settings:
- Shut your Mac down.
- Press the Power key.
- Wait for your Mac to start loading.
- When you hear a startup sound, hold down Cmd + Option + P + R.
- Keep pressing the keys until you hear a second startup sound
Do basic Mac maintenance: disk permissions and Login Items
Did resetting NVRAM make the trick? Now, that your display is back to the light, you should be able to do a bit of maintenance under the hood of your Mac. In many reported cases, removing old cache files and broken login items helped to prevent the “black screen” problem. Oftentimes, the reason for your Macbook black screen problem is broken disk permissions not allowing your Mac to boot normally. A good solution for this is to use the app called CleanMyMac on your machine and run Repair Disk Permissions command.
- Download the app (it’s free to download)
- Install it and go to Maintenance module
- Tick Repair Disk Permissions and click Run
From my experience, it’s the easiest way to optimize hardly-accessible parts of your Mac.
Another possible culprit — the corrupted Login Items. Truth is, some apps like antivirus software would inadvertently sneak into the list of your startup programs; if something goes wrong with the app, it will then affect your Mac’s booting. So, it makes sense that you check your Login Items list and uninstall the unwanted app — both too can be done with CleanMyMac’s free version.
Zap your Mac’s SMC settings
SMC is System Management Controller. What it controls is temperature, lights, keyboard, fans, and many other side-processes. According to Mac support forums, resetting SMC helps in 90% of the cases when your Mac’s screen goes black. To perform this trick follow the tips below.
For a MacBook with a non-removable battery:

- Shut your Mac down.
- Connect your Mac to a power outlet.
- While your Mac is still shut, Press Shift + Option + Control and Power key at the same time.
- Let go of the keys and boot your Mac again.
For a Desktop Mac: iMac, iMac Pro:
- Unplug the power cable.
- Wait for about 15 seconds.
- Plug your Mac back in and leave it for about 5 seconds.
- Start your Mac in a normal fashion.
Enter your password — a surprising trick that works
Though it looks counter-intuitive you may try this solution when your Mac screen goes black. Still with your Mac’s black screen on startup, enter the password — as if you would do normally. Now press the Return key. Lots of users have reported that this option helped to bring their Macs to life.
A variance of this trick has been found on many Mac forums. Once again it implies that you press the keys on your Mac in a “blind” mode, hoping that it will light up.
- Press the Power key — just once to summon the restart dialogue.
- Press S key to send your Mac to sleep.
- Press and hold the Power key to perform a forced shut down.
- Wait for about 15 secs and start your Mac as usual.
MacBook asking you to reset password on bootup?
It may happen that your Mac became unresponsive and asks you to reset password. However, after following all the on-screen instructions and changing your password, nothing happens — you still see the black screen. Don't worry, there is an easy fix.

When the screen is black, shine the light behind the display through the Apple. This will help you see the login icon and put the cursor in the correct place. Then just login and the screen will come back.
The last-ditch solution to MacBook black screen
Black Screen On Mac Computer
Re-install the macOS
Black Screen Mac Apple
The lion’s share of issues we deal with on our computers are software-related. MacBook display not working is not an exception. So it makes sense that you update all your apps to their latest versions including the macOS.
Here is the guide on how to quickly re-install the macOS:
For macOS Sierra
For macOS High Sierra
For macOS Mojave
Black Screen Mac App Shortcut
If all of the above didn’t work, let go of it and take your Mac over to the service — you’ve done all you could. We hope this article was fun and helpful — feel free to share.