MacBook Air Black Screen after macOS Catalina Update

Niv619,

I am in the process of this EXACT same situation. I have a 2015 macbook pro retina that was working perfectly and in immaculate condition until I installed Catalina. When I tried to use it yesterday, just keyboard lights and no screen. Apple support ran me through a bunch of tests that made my computer very warm to touch, but no screen. At the apple store, the technician said my computer is pristine, there is no water damage, no damage at all, and that I need a new display for $400. However, this morning, my screen worked briefly before it turned off again. Apple support (the supervisor) was no help and said that the only issue is that I should pay asap to get it fixed. She totally dismissed my concerns that it was a Catalina issue and said, "I highly doubt that"., but after reading these posts it seems like it probably is. Have you had any success with your macbook pro? how did you resolve this issue? Please help!

thanks!

All I can suggest is what worked for me on my macbook air. After trying many approaches, I eventually reverted my macbook to the previous OS level (Mojave?) using a downloaded image on a flash drive. I don't recall if I first reverted to factory settings. However. I ignored the screen and just pressed the appropriate keystrokes to do a boot from a drive. then I restored from time machine (IF - the old timemachine backup wasn't overwritten after your Catalina install...).

Anyway, once I had the computer in a roughly pre-Catalina state, with the screen working, I deleted/removed ALL 32 bit applications (including uninstall packages for Adobe), and in fact took off all apps that might conflict with Catalina. I think I removed all extensions too. I then took a time machine backup. Then I downloaded Catalina and did a clean install. After it appears stable, reinstall any non-32-bit apps you might need. That worked. And I haven't had any issues with Catalina on my MacBook Air since then.

If you check through this whole discussion, you will find the exact steps I took. BTW - my Macbook Air is late 2012 I think - anyway, it was listed as able to upgrade to catalina. I think I removed any partitioning that Catalina might have done as part of this process to reinstall Mojave.

Hope that helps.

DON'T pay for a new screen - the Apple support folks don't know what they are talking about, and never joined in this discussion to my knowledge.

Exactly! Are you getting the same black screen after waking issue described here? I’m going to the Apple Store next and will be demanding a refund or credit if they can’t fix.

I think your 32-bit apps would work with Mojave installed.

Sometimes, but not always. Probably best to go talk to someone in person at an Apple Store if possible.

I’d just bite the bullet and do it. Talking to someone over the phone is not going to get you the results you need. They need to see it for themselves. That’s why I’m going.