MacBook Pro Black Screen of Death – Fixed

Does your MacBook Pro turn on, but the screen stays black? In this post, I go through the fixes I tried, in order: safe mode, an NVRAM reset and an SMC reset. When none of them worked on my MacBook Pro, a simple hardware trick brought it back to life. The video at the top of this page shows every step.

Note: Steps 1 to 3 come from Apple’s official instructions for Intel-based Macs. If you have a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or newer), I added the differences in each step.

In this article

1. 1. Start Up in Safe Mode
2. 2. Reset NVRAM or PRAM on Your Mac
   1. How to reset NVRAM
3. 3. Reset the SMC on Mac Notebooks
   1. If the battery is nonremovable
   2. If the battery is removable
   3. If your MacBook has the Apple T2 chip (2018 and later Intel models)
4. 4. What Fixed My MacBook Pro: Reconnect the Battery and the SSD
5. Screwdriver Suggestions for MacBook Pro and Air

1. Start Up in Safe Mode

Safe mode starts your Mac with only the basic software it needs. To start up in safe mode:

1. Start or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key. The Apple logo appears on your display. If you don’t see the Apple logo, learn what to do.
2. Release the Shift key when you see the login window. If your startup disk is encrypted with FileVault, you might be asked to log in twice: once to unlock your startup disk, and again to log in to the Finder.

To leave safe mode, restart your Mac without pressing any keys during startup.

Mac with Apple silicon: Shut down your Mac. Press and hold the power button until you see “Loading startup options”. Select your startup disk, then press and hold Shift and click Continue in Safe Mode.

2. Reset NVRAM or PRAM on Your Mac

If your Mac has problems related to settings stored in NVRAM or PRAM, resetting it might help.

NVRAM (nonvolatile random-access memory) is a small amount of memory that your Mac uses to store certain settings and access them quickly. PRAM (Parameter RAM) stores similar information, and the steps for resetting NVRAM and PRAM are the same.

Settings stored in NVRAM can include sound volume, display resolution, startup disk selection, time zone and recent kernel panic information. The settings depend on your Mac and the devices you use with it.

If you have problems with these settings or others, resetting NVRAM might help. For example, if your Mac starts up from a different disk than the one selected in Startup Disk preferences, or a question mark icon briefly appears before your Mac starts up, you might need to reset NVRAM.

How to reset NVRAM

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Turn it on and immediately press and hold these four keys together: Option, Command, P and R.
3. Release the keys after about 20 seconds. During this time your Mac might appear to restart.

Mac with Apple silicon: You don’t need to reset NVRAM, and these steps don’t apply.

3. Reset the SMC on Mac Notebooks

The SMC (System Management Controller) manages power, the battery, the fans and other hardware features.

If you have a MacBook Pro from 2018 or later (with the Apple T2 chip), the steps are different: use the T2 steps at the end of this section, or skip ahead to the section for your Mac on Apple’s page.

To reset the SMC on an older Mac notebook, first find out if the battery is removable. Most older Mac notebooks have removable batteries. Mac notebooks with nonremovable batteries include MacBook Pro (Early 2009 and later), all models of MacBook Air, MacBook (Late 2009) and MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015 and later). Learn more about Mac notebook batteries.

If the battery is nonremovable

1. Choose Apple menu > Shut Down.
2. After your Mac shuts down, press Shift + Control + Option on the left side of the built-in keyboard, then press the power button at the same time. Hold these keys and the power button for 10 seconds. If your MacBook Pro has Touch ID, the Touch ID button is also the power button.
3. Release all keys.
4. Press the power button again to turn on your Mac.

If the battery is removable

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Remove the battery. If you need help removing the battery, contact an Apple Authorized Service Provider or Apple Retail Store.
3. Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
4. Reinstall the battery.
5. Press the power button again to turn on your Mac.

If your MacBook has the Apple T2 chip (2018 and later Intel models)

1. Shut down your Mac. Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds, release it, wait a few seconds and turn the Mac on. If the screen is still black, continue.
2. Shut down your Mac again.
3. Press and hold Control (left side), Option (left side) and Shift (right side) for 7 seconds. Then keep holding them and also press and hold the power button for another 7 seconds.
4. Release all keys, wait a few seconds, then press the power button to turn on your Mac.

Mac with Apple silicon: There is no separate SMC reset. Plug in the charger and restart or shut down your Mac, then turn it on again.

4. What Fixed My MacBook Pro: Reconnect the Battery and the SSD

None of the steps above worked for me, so I opened up the MacBook Pro. Here’s exactly what I did:

1. Shut down the MacBook Pro and remove the bottom cover.
2. Disconnect the battery cable.
3. Remove the NVMe SSD. Watch the video carefully for this part.
4. Reconnect all the connectors.
5. Put the NVMe SSD back in its slot.
6. Turn on the MacBook Pro.

As you can see in the video, it started up normally, and it has worked fine since then.

Warning: Only open your MacBook if you are comfortable doing it. Opening it yourself can void your warranty. Always disconnect the battery first, before you touch any other part.

Screwdriver Suggestions for MacBook Pro and Air

You need the right screwdrivers to open a MacBook. These are the tools I recommend:

1. iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit (electronics, smartphone, computer and tablet repair kit)

Screwdriver Toolkit

2. iRepairmac Bottom Case Screw Set and Pentalobe Screwdriver for MacBook Retina 13″

Screwdriver P5

These are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Is your keyboard the problem instead of the screen? Read How to Fix “MacBook Pro Keyboard Isn’t Working”. If your Mac doesn’t wake up after sleep, see Mac Won’t Turn On After Sleep Mode: Fixed.