Macbook Air M2 frequently waking from sleep with black screen / no display waking

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Level 1

22 points

Macbook Air M2 frequently waking from sleep with black screen / no display waking

I have a nearly brand new MacBook Air M2, and a problem recently is that after waking from sleep (even if slept just for seconds), the screen does not wake and stays black. The keyboard is clearly active, it illuminates and responds (caps lock, etc). I have to force restart by holding the power button down.

I understand that the M2 no longer has SMC/PRAM to reset, and the only tips I see are to restart. But this behavior is worrying. OS is Monterey 12.6.2.

What should I do to fix this?

MacBook Air, macOS 12.6

Posted on Jan 30, 2023 9:22 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

gregjp

Level 1

8 points

Feb 15, 2023 11:17 AM in response to kuenley

I have this same issue with a brand new Macbook Air M2. It will wake by my Apple watch as indicated on the watch and by the illumination of the keyboard, but the screen stays black. However, so far without fail, if I merely close and reopen the screen/lid everything is fine and the display works as expected. It seems like a very weird work around and is annoying, especially in a brand new computer, but I am hesitant to take it in to Apple and wait days/weeks for it to be fixed and returned. I have tried everything I've read regarding safe mode, deleting login items, etc. Nothing changes the behavior. The last resort listed on an Apple support page is to reinstall the OS. I haven't done that yet but I'm skeptical that it will work.

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Answer 2

kuenley Author

Level 1

22 points

Feb 1, 2023 2:42 PM in response to TammyW_03

Unfortunately, because this problem is so intermittent and unpredictable, I am unlikely to put my laptop into safe mode to run for long periods of bare functionality just to try to diagnose this. If there were another way to try to figure out what's going on, or if there were a repository of known issues that could be search to see if something is known, that would be helpful.

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Answer 3

kuenley Author

Level 1

22 points

Feb 15, 2023 11:59 AM in response to gregjp

Providing some info on what solved my case of the issue (after calling and getting some roughly helpful info from Apple Support).

Although I was reluctant to put my laptop into safe mode to try and diagnose the problem (because it was hard to reproduce), I eventually did, and was able to prove enough to myself that safe mode eliminated the problem. I could no longer force it to show the problem if I purposely put the laptop to sleep.

Then it was figuring out what could be causing a screen control / power / dimming problem. Luckily I had a preliminary idea and it worked as first try.

I had 2 competing screen dimming / color adjustment apps running: 1) "f.lux" and 2) MacOS own "color shift" display dimming settings.

Uninstalling f.lux and instead just using the MacOS color shift only seems to have solved the problem. I have not experienced the problem since doing this.

So hopefully this may be helpful as a step to try.

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Answer 4

TammyW_03

Community Specialist

Feb 1, 2023 8:52 AM in response to kuenley

Hey kuenley,

You're correct. The SMC and NVRAM resets are different for a Mac with Apple silicon. For the SMC you simply restart your Mac, and the NVRAM reset no longer applies. For this issue, let's use safe mode to help narrow this down. Safe mode helps to know if the issue is caused by software or other processes. Here's more information on safe mode, how to start there, and the steps to take once everything loads: How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

How to use safe mode

Apple silicon

1. Shut down your Mac.

2. Turn on your Mac and continue to press and hold the power button until you see the startup options window.

3. Select your startup disk, then press and hold the Shift key while clicking “Continue in Safe Mode.”

4. Log in to your Mac. You might be asked to log in again.

Once everything loads, continue with the steps under either "If the issue continues in safe mode" or "If the issue doesn't continue in safe mode". Keep us posted on the results!

Take care.

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Answer 5

PRP_53

Level 10

91,603 points

Feb 2, 2023 2:21 AM in response to kuenley

Has the user inadvertently pressed the F1 or F2 keys which will cause the screen to become Brighter or Darker ?

As the set is adverse to attempting to start in Safe Mode, even for a 10 Minute Test, this really does limit the ability to to advance much further with this issue

Perhaps the below will inform the user of the Basic Steps often used to determine when computer is presenting this issue or possible indicate the Why of the matter.

1 - Restart in Safe Mode. This will perform a Disk Repair, clear cache files and only load Apple Software, extensions and fonts. The boot up will be slow and can take some time - Normal.

2 - Safe Mode will also eliminate Third Party Software, extensions and drivers from loading. It will only load the Minimum amount of Core Apple Processes to allow the the computer to function at a reduced Level of Performance

3 - Does the issue present in this mode ?

4 - Sometimes a Safe Boot followed by a Normal Boot will just put things right.

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Answer 6

kuenley Author

Level 1

22 points

Feb 2, 2023 9:16 AM in response to PRP_53

Hi, thank you very much for your detailed and informative reply. Based on this I have put my MacBook in safe mode to help the diagnosis.

I am able to see that the following happens when in safe vs. normal boot mode:

In both modes, I am able to "quick force" my laptop to sleep by pressing the power button. This makes the desktop revert to a password-locked login screen, which I then press Esc to force the sleep. And the screen goes dark/off. After doing this, the following happens:

Safe mode: Press any key and the computer wakes and displays the login screen again, and I type my password (or use Apple Watch) to unlock, and then desktop is then displayed and all is normal.

Normal mode: Press any key, and the computer wakes (can tell by the caps lock light able to be activated) but display does not light up and is dark / nothing visible. No pressing of F1/F2 changes screen brightness. Pressing Esc and attempting to wake again has no different effect. Have to restart to recover from this.

Thank you for any continued help you can provide.

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