M2 Air display sometimes stays black after waking

[JDN-ocean]

I have a 1-year old M2 Air with the same problem. I'm not sure if this is a coincidence or not - but up until August I had never had a single problem with this Mac (it's been the best I've owned). But the trackpad had a hairline crack in it, which they replaced under warranty, and then since that time -- coincidence or not -- this problem started to occur. I can't tell if it happened right away, or happened after a few days. It had been happening very frequently, so I upgraded to Ventura and it ?seemed? to go away at first (the first day was fine), but now the problem is back.
Given that I had never had the problem before the new trackpad, I think this could be something hardware.

 

[halledise]

I have a 1-year old M2 Air with the same problem. I'm not sure if this is a coincidence or not - but up until August I had never had a single problem with this Mac (it's been the best I've owned). But the trackpad had a hairline crack in it, which they replaced under warranty, and then since that time -- coincidence or not -- this problem started to occur. I can't tell if it happened right away, or happened after a few days. It had been happening very frequently, so I upgraded to Ventura and it ?seemed? to go away at first (the first day was fine), but now the problem is back.
Given that I had never had the problem before the new trackpad, I think this could be something hardware.

it's definitely something to do with the ESC key - or in combination with others up top there.
whenever i clean the keyboard with any sort of pressure, the screen blacks out on me.
only a hard reset fixes it.
all the open windows, including VLC, reload once i log back in so whilst it's a tad annoying, it's not a deal-breaker for me.
i'm sure  will eventually come out with a remedy, in their own sweet time 🧐

 

[HDFan]

I just got an update Apple and they said they had escalated the issue to the engineering team but ETA was unknown. They could not confirm if it's a hardware issue. I am quite frustrated by these updates.

Why are you frustrated? If it is in the hands of engineering then you have done all you can. Once they reproduce the problem they have to isolate it in hardware of software, figure out a fix, implement it, and get it into released code. That can take months to years depending upon how many similar problem reports they have received, how much code needs to be changed, etc.

 

[cmiksovs]

Glad I discovered this thread. Same issue. MacBook Air M2, 2022. Running Ventura 13.1.
I can't get the issue with the slow close lid method, but I can get it by going Apple - Lock Screen (or short clicking the power button), and then hitting "cancel". Sometimes it take a few times. But screen will go black. Volume buttons work. Caps Lock will go green. Can get some error noises. Need to hard reboot to open again. I've had this computer for almost a year and never noticed this until last few weeks (but before then I only used the machine plugged in and with an external monitor); the last few weeks I've been traveling so often unplugged and no additional monitor.
Will probably try to take it into local Apple store to Genius Bar. Looking forward to any updates people may have.

 

[halledise]

Glad I discovered this thread. Same issue. MacBook Air M2, 2022. Running Ventura 13.1.
I can't get the issue with the slow close lid method, but I can get it by going Apple - Lock Screen (or short clicking the power button), and then hitting "cancel". Sometimes it take a few times. But screen will go black. Volume buttons work. Caps Lock will go green. Can get some error noises. Need to hard reboot to open again. I've had this computer for almost a year and never noticed this until last few weeks (but before then I only used the machine plugged in and with an external monitor); the last few weeks I've been traveling so often unplugged and no additional monitor.
Will probably try to take it into local Apple store to Genius Bar. Looking forward to any updates people may have.

you've kinda answered your own issue.
if you've got to try to get the mac to go dark then surely if you stop doing the above, it won't happen.
i'm not intending to seem flippant but it's a hardware issue the Apple will or won't sort out.
it only happens to mine when cleaning keyboard and i press too hard on the 'esc key.
other than that, it's a non-issue for me.
i've wondered before if it's occurring on 14" 2022 MBPros with same specs … ❓

 

[cmiksovs]

you've kinda answered your own issue.
if you've got to try to get the mac to go dark then surely if you stop doing the above, it won't happen.
i'm not intending to seem flippant but it's a hardware issue the Apple will or won't sort out.
it only happens to mine when cleaning keyboard and i press too hard on the 'esc key.
other than that, it's a non-issue for me.
i've wondered before if it's occurring on 14" 2022 MBPros with same specs … ❓

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I can reproduce the issue reliably. But this also happens now almost daily just "on its own" without me doing anything. Basically the machine can go to sleep and then I can't get the screen to reawaken. So, this isn't really something I can avoid. Usually it happens with the screen down but once it's already happened where I was working and the screen just went black (presumably it was going to sleep after some inactivity and then didn't reawaken). It seems most of my work is usually recoverable, but sudden, random shutdowns at any moment aren't really viable. I was just glad I found a way (here) to reproduce the issue reliably because previously it just seemed to happen at random.

 

[csguy]

Made an account to report I am having the same issue. I have a 2022 M2 Macbook Air, got it very early after release. Interestingly I am running Monterey Version 12.5- would question if this furthers the idea of a hardware issue.

Fortunately with a quick restart everything opens to as it was and haven't had any issue with save states (yet...)

 

[halledise]

Made an account to report I am having the same issue. I have a 2022 M2 Macbook Air, got it very early after release. Interestingly I am running Monterey Version 12.5- would question if this furthers the idea of a hardware issue.

Fortunately with a quick restart everything opens to as it was and haven't had any issue with save states (yet...)

i went back to Monterey yesterday (12.7) and it still does it.
definitely a hardware issue imho …

 

[cmiksovs]

Booked a Genius appointment in a few days. We'll see.

 

[sk25]

It would be interesting to know what would happen if the issue started before the limited warranty ended but remained unresolved beyond the end of warranty.

 

[Il1!]

Consistently recreating the issue with a 2022 M2 Air on Sonoma 14.0 but started with Ventura last week.

Steps: 1. logon 2. lock screen 3. press ESC

Results: Screen goes black. Requires reset with power button.

 

[halledise]

Booked a Genius appointment in a few days. We'll see.

how did you go with the 'geniius'?

 

[cmiksovs]

how did you go with the 'geniius'?

Not great. They ran a hardware check and everything came out green so the guy assured me it's not a hardware issue. I use an older bluetooth mouse with a USB transponder and he said he was suspicious of that. So I removed it and the issue persisted. Then on one startup for some reason Google Chrome sortof froze. Like, we closed it but the menu bar wouldn't go away, even after a force quit. He had to relaunch finder to make it go. So then he said he was suspicious of Chrome. I asked if we could boot without Chrome and he basically said "it always has processes running so you can never completely turn it off." I pressed so we booted in Safe Mode and still got the black screen to happen. He basically shrugged and said the safest thing would be to reinstall the OS and then, one by one, reinstall programs to see when it happens (again, the thinking being it's a software issue).
IDK, seems like a somewhat weak analysis.

For now I'm just closing my laptop and not actively telling it to sleep. It seems to reawake ok with that. I've also extend the times for screen saver and display power-down so those don't occur as much.

Hoping Apple addresses it in a future update.

 

[Remara]

Not great. They ran a hardware check and everything came out green so the guy assured me it's not a hardware issue. I use an older bluetooth mouse with a USB transponder and he said he was suspicious of that. So I removed it and the issue persisted. Then on one startup for some reason Google Chrome sortof froze. Like, we closed it but the menu bar wouldn't go away, even after a force quit. He had to relaunch finder to make it go. So then he said he was suspicious of Chrome. I asked if we could boot without Chrome and he basically said "it always has processes running so you can never completely turn it off." I pressed so we booted in Safe Mode and still got the black screen to happen. He basically shrugged and said the safest thing would be to reinstall the OS and then, one by one, reinstall programs to see when it happens (again, the thinking being it's a software issue).
IDK, seems like a somewhat weak analysis.

For now I'm just closing my laptop and not actively telling it to sleep. It seems to reawake ok with that. I've also extend the times for screen saver and display power-down so those don't occur as much.

Hoping Apple addresses it in a future update.

I'm confused— if it happens in Safe Mode, doesn't that mean that it's not a 3rd party software issue?

 

[hexco]

On MBA 13" M2, I can reproduce this issue with the ESC key. I also noticed that sometimes when I plug in a USB-C adapter before opening the screen, I get the same black screen issue. This is a bit more random though and reproducing it isn't always straight forward.

This has been happening since I first purchased it in July 2022. Just leaving this here to assure everyone else that this is a common issue.

 

[karyogenesis]

Issue also reproducible on a MBA 13" M2 running Ventura 13.5.2. Usually happens when I attempt to wake my laptop up after a few seconds of inactivity after it went to "sleep". Issue has been noticeable for a few months but it's getting annoying having to reboot my computer after that.

Glad I'm not the only one.

 

[Beetsalad]

I've been searching for a thread discussing this issue hoping for a solution but alas, we must suffer.

Same thing occurring to my MBA 13" purchased on release date, now out of limited warranty. Very similar experience to cmiksovs here:

I've had this computer for almost a year and never noticed this until last few weeks (but before then I only used the machine plugged in and with an external monitor); the last few weeks I've been traveling so often unplugged and no additional monitor.

Started noticing this issue after updating to Sonoma when all wired peripherals and the charger are unplugged. Does not reproduce with the ESC key or when waking up from clamshell, but consistently happens every couple of days when it's waking up from sleep when the lid is left open.
I've noticed that pressing the Touch ID button rather than touching it reproduces the issue more consistently but it's been hit or miss recently. Thought it might be AlDente messing with the system but deleting it hasn't been helpful either.

 

[Karlos Fandango]

Same issue with my MBA M2 13" 8GB/512GB.
At first I noticed that opening the lid from sleep resulted in me... yes, having to put in my password as usual but what wasn't 'usual', was that rather than presenting me with the previous screen I had been working on, my system/Mac 'seemed' to be restarting, re-logging-in... or at least "reopen the apps" that were previously open. To be clear, it didn't seem to be rebooting the OS but my apps, which speaks of re-logging into my user account.

Next I noticed that if I allowed my Mac to fall asleep with the lid open, I was left with a black screen even though at times... me randomly hitting a few keys I managed by shear luck, to resume a video I previously had open which though I could hear, could not see.

Again, as others my only option was to force a reboot.

Additionally, I have noticed some odd behaviour with the Chrome based 'Brave Browser', where right-clicking a video found in a Google video search, opens a new tab with a blackish grey page displaying a framework of the page with absolutely no content.

Obviously, I'm considering uninstalling Brave though I believe, Safari is based on the same engine? From my web developing days I know Firefox is based on a different engine but I think Safari might be.

Anyway, time is tight, as although I'm over the year warranty Apple give Purchased from John Lewis... not the two years they gave with it.

 

[Saturn007]

Any reports of this happening with the 15” MacBook Air?

A couple of people specified that the issue happened with their 13” MBA, but many only mentioned “M2 MBA” without specifying the size.

That's why I'm asking!

 

[ValidWalrus]

Bought a MacBook Air 13” with M2 about 13 months ago. This issue first started about 2-3 months ago. Sometimes when I would lift the lid, the display would just not turn on until a force shutdown. The computer otherwise did seem to be on; the backlight would be on, the trackpad would click, and it would respond to things I do with the keyboard. Also, doing anything that involves immediately waking the display just after it had just begun sleeping would cause it to enter this same state. So for instance, holding down or rapidly repeating the Esc key when on the macOS Lock Screen (ideally would cause the display to rapidly turn off and on), or clicking the mouse/tapping the keyboard right after the computer had gone to sleep from being idle, would also cause this issue to happen.

I contacted Apple via iMessage, and they started by having me take many of the same troubleshooting measures that people in this thread were advised to do. Things like reinstalling macOS, performing First Aid on internal in Disk Utility, creating a new macOS user account, reproducing the issue in Safe Mode, etc. In the end, they said the next step would be to schedule a call with an advisor over the phone. I had the call, and they had me perform more or less those same steps from before. At the end of the call they said I should book a Genius Bar appointment under this same case ID.

Long story short: Apple got the display replaced, and that seems to have fixed it.

After some generic troubleshooting and diagnostics, the Genius Bar technician checked the notes left by the representatives I previously talked to. Those notes documented the exhaustive troubleshooting measures they had me do prior to the visit.

In the end, they sent it out for repair under warranty and it came back with a new display. I am not able to reproduce the issue anymore, and it is not occurring spontaneously when opening the lid either.

Something else I am also pretty happy about: this is most likely not related to the issue, but there used to be a faint pop when holding the computer from the bottom/keyboard part, or when putting a moderate amount of pressure on the palm rests. Also, there was a faint click whenever I opened or closed the lid. Both of these things are gone now since I got it back. It seems sturdier now, interestingly enough.

 

[boondocks]

Any reports of this happening with the 15” MacBook Air?

At the local Costco they had both the 13 and the 15 inch M2 macbook on display (the first one was a MacBook Air the latter might have been a MacBook Pro). I had no problem triggering the bug on the 13" M2 MacBook air, but could not on the 15" one (or - for that matter - any other MacBook they had on display (all M1s and M2s, I guess they no longer sell Intel ones)). I even talked to the clerk who did note that the 13" MacBook air screen was often black and had to be rebooted: So now he knew why (i.e. there is an issue with those machines, and people inadvertently triggered the bug as they closed/opened the lid).
If I had an Apple store close enough I would try there too to reproduce this (even frequently, maybe that would get their attention to the bug ). I wish there was a SW fix (as my M2 Air unfortunately also exhibits the issue somewhat regularly), but - from ValidWalrus' account, above - it seems like only a replacement of the display would help). Also note, though, that mine does not have the "faint pop" and "faint click" issues (so as he noted that is probably not related to the issue).

As a side-note: I wonder if the issue here is similar to (or the same?) to the possible problems with the "display angle sensor" which apparently (among other things) is responsible for turning the screen on/off. When that breaks, the replacement should be somewhat simple (and cheap (~$15)?) but Apple might charge a lot (unless under warranty) maybe even replacing the whole screen. More importantly, after replacement of the sensor, it seems like a recalibration is needed that (until recently) only Apple could do. However that should now be possible independent of Apple due to the nerd.tool.1 (not cheap, though: ~$180).

 

[binba]

Sysadmin here, ex-ACMT.* Found this while researching a different problem (I don't own an AS Macbook).

I urge you all to file a bug report:

https://www.apple.com/feedback/macos.html

A thread here with 25 posts… no one at Apple will ever see it or care. But 25 reports of the same bug, that might actually prioritize it for review much more. Never underestimate how people underreport such things.

You found a reliable simple steps to reproduce, that makes a huge difference. Always make sure to include those in the bug report.

(* Nope I don't work for Apple or related in any way.)

 

[willpoweron]

I just got an update Apple and they said they had escalated the issue to the engineering team but ETA was unknown. They could not confirm if it's a hardware issue. I am quite frustrated by these updates. If anyone has a solution, please do share with us.

For those who struggle with the issue, I've got a solution update for you. Genius bar contacted me on Monday and they fixed the issue by replacing the display and lid angle sensor. It's a hardware issue rather than a software issue. Hope it helps.

Display, Space Gray Price RMB 3,174
Lid Angle Sensor Price RMB 63

 

[boondocks]

... they fixed the issue by replacing the display and lid angle sensor. ...

I wonder why the display needed replacing. One would think that the lid angle sensor would have been enough. In fact, I'd think that the issue could be "fixed" (in a way) just by disconnecting the lid sensor, as it is mentioned in a post about fixing such a lid angle sensor: "if you are willing to sacrifice the automatic wake/sleep function when opening/closing the lid you could also just leave the sensor out entirely."
I guess if the issue gets annoying enough I might try that route at some point.

 

[diego.caraballo]

I wonder why the display needed replacing. One would think that the lid angle sensor would have been enough. In fact, I'd think that the issue could be "fixed" (in a way) just by disconnecting the lid sensor, as it is mentioned in a post about fixing such a lid angle sensor: "if you are willing to sacrifice the automatic wake/sleep function when opening/closing the lid you could also just leave the sensor out entirely."
I guess if the issue gets annoying enough I might try that route at some point.

I agree that if the issue is related to hardware, the Lid Angle Sensor makes much more sense.
It's really cheap and Apple provides the calibration if you purchase from https://selfservicerepair.com/en-US/order.