MacBook Air 2013 Black Screen of Death

Omnirai said:

I have a question, cause I read two kind of errors:

1. People get black screen error when the computer wants to get into a 'sleepmode' state (when the screen turn black), and soon after it turns black they hit the trackpad/keyboard to wake it --> it causes an error which results in a forced reboot

2. There the one who say they are just in some app or on firefox/chrome, and they get that black screen out of nowhere..


I can live with the 1st error, but how real is the 2nd error? They both occur regurarly? Or is it mainly the first error that people complain about?


Im about to order a MBA, the only thing that keeps me from buying this machine is that error that people are describing. (I dont prefer the rMBP as my own experience on scaled resolution 1440 x 900 was bad on it IMO)

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I'm in the error #1 group. It does get annoying as it does that every time I quickly wake it from sleep.

B1ueB1aze said:

I'm in the error #1 group. It does get annoying as it does that every time I quickly wake it from sleep.

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Thanks for your reply. If you change your energy saving settings where your screen would turn black in 15 min or something, will this be a suitable 'solution' to this? I mean if i dont use my PC longer than 15 mins, I mostly just close the lid..

Other ppl have input on this subject? It would help me very much.

Ive noticed this as well. Only since Mavericks update and only happens while going to sleep.

I've been having this issue a lot lately and I went with PRAM & SMC resetting. Since then the issue seems to be gone, never had it for the past 3 days. I think SMC resetting did the fix for me.

I used this tutorial.

This bug is 100% reproducible and I think it is likely to affect all Mid-2013 MBA 13 Models.

I found the cause independently and realised that another guy called yoganinja on the apple discussion forums had also traced the exact same failure mode.

Here's how I identified it.

1) I realised that it only happens when the backlight is still on.
2) It also happens just after the screen has gone from dim to black.
3) Discovered today that it happens when the screen has just gone black and you hit input (in attempt to wake up) before the backlight has gone off.

So basically if you try to wake it up when the screen has just gone black but just before the backlight switches off (a split second later) then you get the black screen of death.

I did a google search when I got back home and found that yoganinja had got the exact same results as me.

The active thread which contains his post is here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5475679?start=45&tstart=0

I agree with Yoganinja that there seems little point in replacing the logic board as whatever replacement you get is likely to have the same problem.

No problems with a 2010 MBA running Snow Leopard. Sounds like a PCIE sleep-state issue addressable by an EFI update. Sleep state issues are complex, because going into sleep requires coordination with everything on the bus. Wouldn't think and hopefully not a hardware issue.

I hope the same thing, calvol.. that this is not a hardware recall issue.

Omnirai said:

Thanks for your reply. If you change your energy saving settings where your screen would turn black in 15 min or something, will this be a suitable 'solution' to this? I mean if i dont use my PC longer than 15 mins, I mostly just close the lid..

Other ppl have input on this subject? It would help me very much.

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I suppose setting the sleep timer to a longer time could prevent the issue from occurring, but it's not really a solution. I like my sleep timer shorter to preserve battery life, and for privacy/security as my session locks when it goes to sleep.

B1ueB1aze said:

I suppose setting the sleep timer to a longer time could prevent the issue from occurring, but it's not really a solution.

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The solution is given in my post above, and I'm surprised people still haven't noticed this.

Don't attempt to bring the screen back by generating keyboard/trackpad input between stages 2 and 3 of the sleep process, i.e. between the screen going black (after Dim which is stage 1) but before the backlight off switches off (Stage 3).

If you wait momentarily for the backlight to disappear after the screen goes black then you will not have the problem.

Hevelius said:

The solution is given in my post above, and I'm surprised people still haven't noticed this.

Don't attempt to bring the screen back by generating keyboard/trackpad input between stages 2 and 3 of the sleep process, i.e. between the screen going black (after Dim which is stage 1) but before the backlight off switches off (Stage 3).

If you wait momentarily for the backlight to disappear after the screen goes black then you will not have the problem.

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I wouldn't really call it a solution since it doesn't solve the problem, it's perhaps as workaround at best. The fact remains that it's quite easy to run into this problem through general use as I did when I discovered it for myself before reading about it on here, there's also still the related issue where the screen will crash to black immediately without dimming which appears to occur at random. A post from the discussions thread you have linked points to a case where this issue has been brought up with Apple in store and has lead to them brushing it off as a non-issue, which is really quite disappointing since it clearly is a problem across the range which needs a resolution.

I'd also like to ask if there are multiple similar sounding issues going around. I've never encountered this black screen hard freeze issue (where the only way to resolve it is a reboot). That would scare the crap out of me.

I do however frequently encounter the computer going back to sleep very soon after I wake it up and start using it (appears to happen at random). But this only requires tapping a key to wake the computer up again.

I've also once observed a black screen where the white cursor is visible. I can't remember if this was with my 2012 or 2013 MBA but I remember thinking 'this is what everyone was talking about' but it was also resolved without a reboot.

I do hope that Apple resolves the first issue which seems the most serious. I'm concerned that some people might panic when seeing the second scenario and mistake it for the first because depending on what you have installed it can take the MBA a little bit to wake up again leading you to think the computer is frozen. I haven't been following the Apple support forums for this so I'm honestly not sure. (and I have no interest in trying to reproduce the first problem. I'd rather live in ignorance!)

I used to have this problem, once I un installed chrome I never had it again

So call it a workaround if you want. The first step is awareness and knowing this sequence at least means you don't have to disable power saving or set stupidly long times for the screen blank to kick in when on battery power. If there is another bug with occasional non-reproducible random hard crashes then that's a separate issue because there's no way to protect yourself against such crashes until or unless a fix from Apple arrives.

I agree that Apple should fix it anyway. I doubt that anybody disputes that here.

I've just reread that thread from the Apple forums and there seems to be only one post where the guy explicitly states that the screen did not dim prior to the black screen of death, and this was some guy from Pakistan who was force quitting apps using video when the crash occurred. I don't believe his case is the same as what's affecting guys here.

I think a good idea is to reference the same case number as yoganinja - 524999600 - when explaining this to Apple. If we confuse this with other possible failures due to force quitting etc then it will be easier for Apple to give us the collective brush off.

Hevelius said:

I've just reread that thread from the Apple forums and there seems to be only one post where the guy explicitly states that the screen did not dim prior to the black screen of death, and this was some guy from Pakistan who was force quitting apps using video when the crash occurred. I don't believe his case is the same as what's affecting guys here.

I think a good idea is to reference the same case number as yoganinja - 524999600 - when explaining this to Apple. If we confuse this with other possible failures due to force quitting etc then it will be easier for Apple to give us the collective brush off.

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I've had both issues occur for me as I've mentioned and I believe the instantaneous crash to black was the original topic of this thread looking at the first post but since it's hard to reproduce that particular bug this one has become the focus. I went into an Apple store today to ask about it but I've been told to book a Genius appointment so I'll try and get one for tomorrow and let you know what happens, I'll take that reference number along with me as well.

To follow on from my previous post, turns out there is quite a long wait on genius appointments for my local store so I've had to wait until today to take it in for them to look at. I told them about both issues of the random crashes and the forced crash which can happen when attempting to wake it from sleep quickly. They ran an MRI on it, reset PRAM and SMC then performed a restore but we were still able to cause the crash on wake issue at each stage. I did make an effort to point out to them that I found the random crash issue more of a concern but they agreed that the two issues are likely to be related so we focused more on the one which was easily reproducible.

At this point I've left it with them and they are going to replace the logic board and then run further diagnostics which will include the MRI they did with me this afternoon and also a more comprehensive hardware test which will take a couple of hours. I asked what would be the next steps if it was still a problem after the work has been completed and they mentioned that it would point to a software issue with OS X which may be resolved with a future update, I didn't push them any further for more details on that. I can't imagine that it's a hardware issue so we'll see what they have to say in the next 3-5 days once the work has been completed.

Oh wow... this just happened to me today. Was copying a bunch of files in VM. Came back after lunch laptop is off (not supposed to be). Power it on and I hear the chime but only a black screen. Pram reset not doing a thing... I don't know where to start..

late 2013 13" MBP

Fixed it!

Just an FYI, I got it fixed. I simply left in on until the battery drained. I then let it sit about another 10 min and after I let the battery charge, all was well!

I had the EXACT problem...

dwmreg said:

Hello.

Has anyone else encountered an issue where they are using their Mid-2013 MacBook Air (13in) on battery when the machine suddenly goes to sleep or appears to, but it has actually crashed. The screen is dark, keyboard and trackpad are not responsive and the keyboard backlight is on. You have to force it off to restart by pressing and holding the power button? It is completely random, not a kernel panic, and nothing I can see in any logs. After the recent firmware update the symptoms changed such that the display is still active since the Apple logo is lighted. I've never had it happen when I'm on a/c power. Unfortunately its random and infrequent too. The recent firmware indicated it helped with battery issues, etc. didn't fix mine apparently.

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I took it to apple and they replaced my logic board. Apparently that is what was failing. That may be what is wrong with yours too, mine is also a mid 2013 MBA '13.

You can find the entire thread here.

When I went through this problem with my MBA it included a two day troubleshooting conundrum, and involved me buying 500 GB of external storage. We had done all of the resets, and even did a complete reinstall of Mavericks. After my screen went black on my the second time I had about had it with the B.S. I called applecare as soon as it happened, and luckily I was going home so I could make an appointment at the apple store. When I took it to the genius bar the opened her up to make sure there wasn't any water damage and then sent her off to run all of the diagnostics test. My logic board failed and my trackpad failed, as well as some type of cable.. It took three days to get my mac back, but since I have had it back I have had no problems with it at all. My trackpad is a little weird, but I guess that is just from them replacing it.

Is there a clear solution for this yet? My friend's 2013 MBA just did it 5 times in the last hour. Strangely, there is no error report. When I restart it there is a message that says "your mac shutdown due to a problem" but no error report. I stopped all the background programs. The only app actually running was Chrome.

filmbuff said:

Is there a clear solution for this yet? My friend's 2013 MBA just did it 5 times in the last hour. Strangely, there is no error report. When I restart it there is a message that says "your mac shutdown due to a problem" but no error report. I stopped all the background programs. The only app actually running was Chrome.

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I have the same problem, just found out like a couple minutes ago of this thread, what do i do? i purchased mine from best buy a couple months ago.

I also have this issue. It seems to affect every 2013 MacBook Air.

It seems to happen when trying to wake the system up immediately as it enters sleep, right after the screen goes black.

What's worse is that with Mavericks's power button behavior, I have a button in my keyboard that, if I accidentally press, could cause me to lose unsaved work! This has happened a lot lately.

Quick update: in the space of a day the problem got much worse. It only happens if the Macbook is unplugged, but every few minutes the screen goes black and the computer has to be restarted. I tried playing with the power management settings, a PRAM reset and an SMC reset but nothing helped.

Apple tech support said that they can't do anything over the phone, a lot of people have reported this problem, and they will be calling back with more information.

This seems like a pretty big deal, there must be some latent hardware problems with the Haswell chip or the HD5000 graphics. I wonder if Apple will issue a recall, software update, or just deny the problem

My 2012 MBA has had zero issues whatsoever, FWIW.

Just had this problem. Never knew about it until googling about it.

I was on Safari reading something, then I read my book then looked back on my screen to reference the article on Safari when it started to go black and I was like crap, don't go to sleep so I hit the space button just a split second after the screen went black but it stayed black. Closed lid, backlight was still on, couldn't do anything. Just had to hold down the power button and log back in.

It's an annoying bug but not a deal breaker right now. I just hope Apple fixes it eventually. I usually work on my laptop straight, had the display set to turn off after 3 minutes and now I just increased it to 10 minutes so there's less chance of this accidentally happening again. I just close the lid when I know I'm going to step away.

Count me in..

This happened to me today as well, one week after getting my new MBA 13"...The apple stayed lit on the lid when I closed it. It was running off a battery that had juice left, definitely no giving me a low batt warning. I did a hard reboot and all has been well thus far, but the battery is now fully charged. Everything from the iOS to the SMC is fully updated...dunno but will happily accept an exchange if it turns up again.