1. When Your MacBook Screen Goes Black — And You Don’t Know Why 🕳️
Your MacBook screen goes black randomly, and it’s terrifying. One minute you’re editing a file, writing an email, or watching a video — the next, your screen goes dark. No warning, no crash, no error message. Just blackness. And the worst part? You’re not sure if it’s a hardware problem, a macOS bug, or something else entirely.
I’ve seen this issue dozens of times chez des clients (et chez moi aussi), et la bonne nouvelle, c’est qu’il y a presque toujours une solution. Tu n’es pas seul, et tu n’as pas besoin de racheter un écran ou un Mac. On va tout passer en revue ici, étape par étape.
2. First Possibility: Automatic Display Sleep Settings
This is surprisingly common. Go to System Settings → Lock Screen and check “Turn display off when inactive.” If the delay is too short (like 1 or 2 minutes), macOS might turn off the screen even while you’re watching videos or giving a presentation — especially if there’s no keyboard or mouse input. Set it to 10 or 15 minutes to be safe.
3. Second Possibility: External Monitors or Dongles 🧩
If you’re using an external display or USB-C hub, the issue might not come from your Mac at all. Faulty adapters or HDMI cables can cause the MacBook to switch outputs or “lose” the screen signal, turning the display black. Try disconnecting all peripherals and using the Mac alone for a while. If the issue disappears — bingo.
⚠️ Also check if you’re using a third-party monitor driver or screen extension tool like DisplayLink — those are frequent crash culprits.
4. Is It Actually Sleeping or Just Displaying Black? 🌙
When your screen goes black, try adjusting the brightness keys. If the backlight turns on and off, it might be a backlight control issue. If nothing happens, try pressing the power button once (not long press). If your keyboard lights up, your Mac is still on — just the screen is blank. That distinction matters.
5. Check System Logs for Signs of Trouble
Open the built-in Console app (Applications → Utilities → Console). In the sidebar, click “Crash Reports” or search for keywords like “sleep,” “wake,” or “GPU.” If you see repeating errors around the times when the screen went black, that’s a useful clue.
💡Tip: Look for WindowServer or kernel_task entries. These often reflect deep-level problems with display output, power transitions, or drivers.
6. Update macOS and Firmware
I know, I know. It feels basic. But seriously — if you’re on macOS Ventura or Sonoma, some early builds had bugs causing random display shutdowns or flickering issues. Go to System Settings → General → Software Update and install any pending update. Same for apps like Chrome or VLC, which can trigger GPU glitches when out-of-date.
7. Run Apple Diagnostics to Rule Out Hardware 🔬
Hold the D key while restarting your Mac to enter Apple Diagnostics. Follow the instructions. If there’s a problem with the GPU, logic board, or internal display cable, you’ll see a reference code. Note it down — especially if it’s something like VFD001 or PFM006.
8. Reset SMC and NVRAM — Classic Fix That Still Works 🧠
Resetting the SMC (System Management Controller) and NVRAM (non-volatile memory) can fix display-related weirdness. For Apple Silicon Macs, just shut down, wait 10 seconds, and restart. For Intel Macs:
- Turn off the Mac.
- Press and hold:
Option + Command + P + Rfor 20 seconds. - Then, press Shift + Control + Option + Power for 10 seconds to reset the SMC.
Extra Tip 💡
Check for rogue background apps or login items. Some third-party tools (like display color managers or screen recorders) interfere with display handling. Head to System Settings → General → Login Items and disable anything that looks suspicious or unnecessary.
🚀 Keep Your Display Stable with AppHalt
AppHalt helps you monitor and manage your Mac’s background activity, so weird screen bugs don’t catch you off guard.
✅ Kill rogue apps draining GPU and power
✅ Identify and pause auto-launching processes
✅ Prevent thermal and CPU spikes that shut down displays
📥 Ready for a stable MacBook that never fades to black? Download AppHalt now and take control of your system!
