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Repair guides, support, and troubleshooting information for the first 13-inch MacBook Air to feature Apple's Arm-based M1 SoC (with an 8-core CPU and up to an 8-core GPU). Released in November 2020 and identified by model numbers A2337 or EMC 3598.

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M1 MacBook screen is black but everything else working

I have a M1 Macbook, it had no damages and everything was fine yesterday evening. No trauma or liquid damage afaik as it was just on the desk. Then suddenly it started going black, first it was every minute or so, in that point closing the display and opening it fixed it.

Then it started turning off every 30 seconds, same thing closing display and opening again fixed it. At this point, connecting to an external monitor worked fine. So on the external monitor I could use it like regular (with mirrored or extended screen).

Then I restarted, tried a bunch of things on the https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT210905 and https://www.macbookproslow.com/fix-black....

I never got into safe mode or knew if things were working, but I tried all the keyboard combinations. Late into the night, it started working and then I used the Macbook regularly, I went to sleep happy that it was fixed.

Now I woke up and the screen is not working at all, not even showing the apple logo which it was last night. Also, it's not working on external monitor either. I can still see the external monitor and the mouse but it's a black background. The backlight is working and the keys and everything seem fine.

Very frustrating and I'm not sure what to do :(

Answer this question I have this problem too

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Hi! This exact thing is happening to me now too. Did you ever get anywhere with the repairs? Thanks!

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@claireoreilly I had the same issue - I got it repaired by Apple under my AppleCare+ warranty. It cost me nothing.

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@charliemel65447 what did they say? What is the reason for this issue. Apparently they had fixed the issue in 2018 model but it doesn’t seem to work. Many people are still facing the same issue.

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I have the same issue. Was working the other night before then suddenly went blank. Screen is on by playing with brightness, you can see it's lighter grey and darker grey. Just nothing shows up on display. Connecting to External display (On mirror) works as well. Tried opening the back to wiggle around with battery and display cable, nothing works.

I do suspect there is something with the 'Angle sensor' which controls the opening and closing of the lid. But I might be wrong.

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Ouch! Not good ;-{

This sounds like the logic board its self has an issue. Either the backlight power which lights up the screen or the graphics services of the M1 SoC.

When you try to turn it on do you see any light glow from the screen (try this is a dark room) Sometimes you can see the screen with change in color slightly grey to black. If you don't then the backlight power logic is a likely suspect.

See if placing a lit flashlight ageists the screen as an angle if you see the faint outline of the desktop icons, if not, then the graphics has a problem.

In either case your system might be covered under warranty. I would visit an Apple Store to see what they say.

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Hi! I was able to get it working on the external monitor again, that was my bad. Realized I needed to put in the password. Still the same issue on the main screen.

I do see the light light glow, it goes from black to blue when I turn up the brightness. I don't see anything with the flashlight unfortunately :(

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@Aazir Munir - So when you disconnect the external display (assuming you see your desktop icon's on it) did the internal startup? If not then the internal displays T-CON logic has an issue. That will require a new display assembly MacBook Air 13" (A2337, Late 2020) Display Assembly and here's the guide MacBook Air 13" Late 2020 Screen Replacement

The silver can at the bottom of the display cables is the T-CON unit which is part of the display.

There has been some talk a used display won’t fully work correctly. Some odd artifacts showing up. So be aware of this.

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I replaced the screen, 1st with an amazon screen then OEM apple screen by reputable repair shop. After replacement, they said screen was black/, off to apple tomorrow for diagnosis. Nothing happenned to this laptop.i am puzzled. Zthe keys backlight works, nothing else

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That makes sense! All of the M series systems require access to the online Apple configuration tool which is only accessible after you replace the display from Apple directly Apple Self Repair Service.

The bad news is Apple doesn’t offer MacBook repair so you need to use a USED display that has been calibrated already (not new) but! That was for the Intel models not the M series.

So far there is no validated way to replace the display on this series,

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Well there's not a clear cut reason or solution, it is more about hit and try thing, but you need to make sure you cover all the possible reasons as well as the solutions.

There are three scenarios

(1) if your display is working on external monitor but not on the MacBook screen, than you can try the following

  1. Set display settings on your mac, at times people change display settings for display on external matter than end up loosing display on internal or default display
  2. Update macOS Version:
  3. Confirm Graphics Card and Driver Compatibility:
  4. Disable High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Low Power Mode on your mac:
  5. Reset mac SMC
  6. Reset NVRAM
  7. Put Mac to Sleep and Wake It Back Up:

(2) if your macbook display isnt working on both external monitor as well as macbook display you can try the following

  1. Make sure the screen brightness isn't turned all the way down. You can adjust this by pressing the F1 key on your keyboard or by going to System Preferences > Displays.
  2. Reset NVRAM/PRAM: Resetting the Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM) or Parameter RAM (PRAM) can sometimes fix display issues. To do this, shut down your MacBook, then turn it back on and immediately hold down the Option, Command, P, and R keys simultaneously until you hear the startup chime twice.
  3. Reset SMC, shutting down your MacBook , hold down the power button for 10 seconds, release the button. After releasing the power button, wait a few seconds and then turn your MacBook back on.

(3) if external or air display is not working but the macbook own display is working fine you can try the following

  1. Check Compatibility between mac and external display devices:
  2. Update macOS Version:
  3. Check if Air Display & Air play is enabled on your on mac:
  4. Set display settings on your mac:
  5. Confirm Graphics Card and Driver Compatibility:
  6. Check Cable Connection between mac and external device:
  7. Check for Interference with Other Devices, you might have mistakenly connected to some other external device nearby
  8. Try the Outlet Power on you mac:
  9. Disable High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Low Power Mode on your mac:
  10. Verify Wi-Fi Connection:
  11. Reset Network Settings:
  12. RESTART mac, The Geeks ultimate go to option:
  13. Check Mac’s graphical Specifications:
  14. reset mac SMC:
  15. Reset NVRAM:
  16. Check replace External monitor, if possible:
  17. Put Mac to Sleep and Wake It Back Up:

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