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Laptop screen goes black after unplugging monitor.

I've been using my MacBook Pro laptop with an external monitor and keyboard for years with no problem, but lately it's developed really annoying behavior. If I unplug the monitor and then open the laptop, the screen is black. The computer is still running, and if I have content playing, it continues to play, but nothing I do makes the screen come back, and I end up doing a hard reboot.


The workaround is to open the laptop before unplugging the monitor, but that's kind of annoying to remember.


Any advice would be appreciated.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.12

Posted on Aug 4, 2021 9:16 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 5, 2021 5:56 AM

Hello, ejpre.


Sorry to know you're having this problem with your MacBook Pro.

Here are a few things you can try to resolve the problem.


Try resetting the NVRAM. The NVRAM is a special memory section on your Mac that stores data that persists even when the Mac is shut off, such as volume settings and screen resolution - it's the information the computer uses to maintain settings after a reboot. You may have to do each of these several times because sometimes that's what it takes to stick.

Reset the NVRAM

How to Reset NVRAM / PRAM on your Mac - Apple Support


Reset the SMC

How to Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support


If that doesn't help, then see if the problem still happens in Safe mode (hold the shift key down at startup). It can take much longer to safe boot (10 min) so be patient.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support 


Safe mode forces the OS to clear certain caches and logs and do other miscellaneous housekeeping. It's non-destructive to user data so is safe to do. Very often certain weird software behavior is corrected by simply logging in this way as a troubleshooting method. When you're in safe boot, the machine will not be at its best performance, especially with graphics, but that's normal.


Does the problem persist while in Safe mode?

Exit safe mode by restarting your Mac normally and re-evaluate the issue again.

If the problem is still unresolved, please return here and post a reply and we’ll see what else we can come up with for help.

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 5, 2021 5:56 AM in response to ejpre

Hello, ejpre.


Sorry to know you're having this problem with your MacBook Pro.

Here are a few things you can try to resolve the problem.


Try resetting the NVRAM. The NVRAM is a special memory section on your Mac that stores data that persists even when the Mac is shut off, such as volume settings and screen resolution - it's the information the computer uses to maintain settings after a reboot. You may have to do each of these several times because sometimes that's what it takes to stick.

Reset the NVRAM

How to Reset NVRAM / PRAM on your Mac - Apple Support


Reset the SMC

How to Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support


If that doesn't help, then see if the problem still happens in Safe mode (hold the shift key down at startup). It can take much longer to safe boot (10 min) so be patient.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support 


Safe mode forces the OS to clear certain caches and logs and do other miscellaneous housekeeping. It's non-destructive to user data so is safe to do. Very often certain weird software behavior is corrected by simply logging in this way as a troubleshooting method. When you're in safe boot, the machine will not be at its best performance, especially with graphics, but that's normal.


Does the problem persist while in Safe mode?

Exit safe mode by restarting your Mac normally and re-evaluate the issue again.

If the problem is still unresolved, please return here and post a reply and we’ll see what else we can come up with for help.

Aug 6, 2021 9:28 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

Thanks, I did all of these things. I'll keep my fingers crossed it helped.


I did notice one (apparently) unrelated improvement: I've been having trouble with my launchpad going really slowly or freezing entirely, so I've gone to just launching apps from the browser. That problem seems to have gone away. Probably the Safe Boot.

Laptop screen goes black after unplugging monitor.

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