Solution: MacBook Pro display remains dark after opening

Surely some of you know the problem: You put your MacBook Pro to sleep to grab a coffee. When you come back and open the lid to wake it up, the display stays black.

The problem is often that the issue is not immediately reproducible. So you stand at the Apple Genius Bar, try to wake up your MacBook, and annoyingly, it works.

But there's good news, because here are some ideas on how you can fix the problem yourself.

Problem after macOS software update

One common cause of problems on a Mac is software updates that didn't complete cleanly. When this happens, something in macOS gets stuck, and the Mac does things you can't explain—like greeting you with a black display after waking from sleep.

1. Solution: Turn the MacBook off and on. Just like the pros from IT Crowd always recommend: Sometimes turning it off and on again solves the problem. If the MacBook Pro is unresponsive, hold the power button for a few seconds until the Mac shuts down. Then wait a minute and restart the MacBook.

2. Solution: Reinstall macOS. To do this, start the Mac in Recovery Mode (on Intel Macs, restart and hold CMD + R; on Apple Silicon Macs, keep holding the power button while starting up). In the recovery menu, select “Reinstall macOS.” This process won't overwrite any of your data but will refresh the system files.

Check brightness and power connection

Sometimes the Mac responds when you plug it back in. Check this by connecting the power adapter to the MacBook Pro. Also, the brightness might be turned all the way down. Check this by pressing the “Brightness Up” key on the keyboard for a few seconds.

Reset NVRAM and SMC

Another thing that often resolves unexplained issues is resetting the NVRAM and SMC. For a MacBook, follow these steps:

SMC Reset

1. Turn off the Mac (hold the power button for a few seconds)
2. Unplug the charging cable
3. Press the SHIFT + CTRL + ALT keys together, then press the power button and hold all keys for 12 seconds
4. Release all keys
5. Plug in the charging cable
6. Turn on the Mac

Reset NVRAM

1. Turn off the Mac
2. Restart the Mac
3. Immediately after starting, press the following keys and hold for 20 seconds: CMD + ALT + P + R

Specific app is causing problems

Some users report that the black display issue after sleep mode always occurs in connection with a specific program.

To check this, you can, for example, create a new user under System Preferences > Users & Groups and then log into this user account. Then close the MacBook and after a few seconds open it and see if it also starts up with a black screen. If that is the case, it could be a hardware defect.

Test with a second monitor

Another tip for troubleshooting is to connect an external monitor if the MacBook Pro's screen remains black. Sometimes, briefly connecting an external monitor solves the problem.