How to access notes from a working MacBook with a broken screen?

Question

Level 1

4 points

How to access notes from a working MacBook with a broken screen?

My old Macbook's screen has gone completely black but I can see that it is still working. I recently bought a new Macbook and was wondering if there is a way for me to access my notes from my broken Macbook using my new one? The notes I need are not connected to my iCloud so it is not showing up in my new laptop.

I need access ASAP and i'm afraid I can't have my old Macbook's screen fixed as of the moment. Thanks in advance.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 14.5

Posted on Dec 13, 2025 10:14 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 13, 2025 11:48 AM in response to g_asoline

What year is the broken MacBook?

Consider booting the broken laptop in target disk mode and access it as an external disk.

Transfer files between two Mac computers using target disk mode - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Tesserax

Level 10

157,878 points

Dec 13, 2025 12:48 PM in response to g_asoline

In addition to D.I. Johnson's suggestion, if you have a monitor handy, you can try connecting your broken Mac to it to display the Mac's Desktop.

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Answer 3

MartinR

Level 7

24,137 points

Dec 13, 2025 2:41 PM in response to g_asoline

Another possibility is to use screen sharing from another Mac ... that is, if you had previously enabled screen sharing on the Macbook (Macbook Air?) with the broken display.

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Answer 4

g_asoline Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 13, 2025 11:34 PM in response to D.I. Johnson

It's a Macbook Air 2019

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