Big Sur - randomly goes screen to black.

I have the same exact issue. I have a 15" mid-2014 MacBook Pro and ever since updating to Mac OS Big Sur the screen will suddenly go black. A hard restart fixes the issue for a short time. Never had this problem before updating to Big Sur.

2017 15inch macbook pro... I’ve been experiencing the same issue since I downloaded big sur... I don’t really use night shift and my Mac doesn’t have true tone so I believe its all down to software issues...

yep same issue here! i haven't tried resetting my stuff, but since everyone else is having the same issue, i'm gonna assume it's a problem with the update itself. maybe we'll just have to wait until the next software update for bug fixes? the flickers don't really impact me as it only happens for like a second, but it is kind of worrying as my mac is fairly new.

My screen is doing the same thing. Thought it was something I was doing wrong, but no. I started after I updated to Big Sur on my Macbook Pro (Late 2013).

No rhyme or reason other than it seems to be getting worse or happening more often. I'll have to confirm that.

THanks

Chris

Since the last update no more black screens. But now random restarts, with a black screen and a bunch of Chinese characters and Englisch text saying it had to reboot because of a problem. Wished I hadn't upgraded to Big Sur. Big headache.

I have a 2018 mac book pro with touch bar and I just updated to big sur from mojave. Love mojave. No problems with mojave ever. I needed to use a newer version of xcode so I had to update. The battery drains very fast on big sur and the screen randomly goes black for 15 to 30 seconds maybe a minute and then comes back on.

Other than the random black screen and the battery draining rapidly big sur is working. In 10 minutes the battery went from 100% to less than 80%. The battery just drains instantly now. The black screen issue is quite annoying.

I do have mojave on a seagate so I can go back but that puts me on xcode 10 which is creating a problem. I also noticed the new xcode is in the applications folder and not in the developer folder under library. I deleted the old xcode in the developer folder. Just a heads up that xcode 12 installs in the applications folder and not in the developer folder.

I have not noticed a lag running big sur that other users have claimed. The interface is nicer and looks cleaner. All of my software is working after the big sur install.

The screen has randomly gone black a few times now and the battery is almost useless.

An update! I updated to Big Sur 11.1 and the blackout problem wasnt addressed. The only diff I may be noticing is a longer stretch between blackouts. Also, once blackout occurs, it goes into shutdown quicker. Shutdown doesn't care what you may be doing. Sitting idle or in middle of typing, it just goes black.

I have the same problem, I just upgraded this week to a new 16" MacBook Pro and upon startup it immediately starting blacking out periodically. There really isn't any pattern to it, just whenever it feels like it, sometimes for a second or two sometimes it seems like 5-10 seconds. And yes my new Pro came with Big Sur on it.

I have the same problem with a MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019), running BigSur 11.1.

Disabling TrueTone does not fix the problem.

Screen goes black on externalmonitor (LG 4K) for a 2-5 seconds and then comes back on.

Sometimes both internal and external display turn black and onbly rebooting helps.

I have updated my 13 inch MacBook Pro 2019 with Touch Bar to Big Sur.

I get a similar but a little different problem than Tomas.

My computer screen goes black 2 to 3 times a week. I cannot get the screen back until I connect to the power and press the power button several times. When the screen is finally back, it initially shows a big red low battery sign in the center of the screen but after the normal screen returns, the battery level is normal. Weirdly, when the problem occurred today, the battery level shown after screen recovery apparently was correct from the first.

Although, not related issue here, I would like the power button to be able to put the computer into sleep mode as default setting.

Similar issue here on a 13" MacBookRetina late 2013 connected to an external Iiyama display.

Both display turn black randomly and stay black (external display shows "no input") until I close and reopen the MacBook which I normally had used in clamshell model until this error occurred.

No True Tone on this device but automatic nightshift (turned off now for testing).

No errors shown in console.app but a report which might be the same time as the last incident:

displaypolicyd.0:2:0.log:

2021-01-05 11:48:25.896107+0100: NOTICE: accepted No_Media_Mode enter, Tue Jan 5 11:48:25 2021

2021-01-05 11:49:02.552431+0100: NOTICE: accepted No_Media_Mode exit, Tue Jan 5 11:49:02 2021

2021-01-05 11:49:16.114755+0100: NOTICE: doChange: addr 1.0 [7]

2021-01-05 11:49:16.116346+0100: NOTICE: doChange: addr 2.0 [7]

2021-01-05 11:49:16.126679+0100: NOTICE: doChange: addr 3.0 [7]

2021-01-05 11:49:16.180639+0100: NOTICE: Port non-scanned FB[ 2 ] link is good ...

2021-01-05 11:49:16.446031+0100: NOTICE: Populated addr 3.0 26cd:6637 UUID d6040000 order 0:0 tx 2:2 dsp 1 WL 0 MS 0 edid 256 undef 0 DSC 0

2021-01-05 11:49:16.446139+0100: NOTICE: Device addr 3.0 is same ...

Any help on this would be highly appreciated...

Never had this problem before updating and using Big Sur.

Edit: found another report:

ims-2021-01-05-11-48-20.log

11:48:20.110 INFO [date]: Tue Jan 5 11:48:20 2021

11:48:20.110 DEBUG [awd.location]: E911LocationAwd Constructor

11:48:20.111 DEBUG [bambi.call]: EmergencyCallhandler: resetting conditions

11:48:20.111 DEBUG [power]: SleepWakeMonitor started

11:48:20.112 DEBUG [util]: Adding observer 0x7fbaedf20b50 for NSSystemClockDidChangeNotification

11:48:20.112 SPAM [sip.lock]: SimpleNetworkManager: acquired lock [BambiClient] (count=1)

11:48:20.112 DEBUG [bambi]: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

11:48:20.112 DEBUG [bambi]: = Welcome to Bambi! =

11:48:20.112 DEBUG [bambi]: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

11:48:20.113 DEBUG [prefs]: Key found in prefs file: ImsLoggingEnabled with value: 1

11:48:35.079 DEBUG [ims.irat]: Register IMS-iRat Client

12:06:34.875 DEBUG [ims.irat]: Register IMS-iRat Client

12:14:28.402 DEBUG [ims.irat]: Register IMS-iRat Client

12:14:55.564 DEBUG [ims.irat]: Register IMS-iRat Client

Short update:

Since disabling "Automatic night shift" and "Automatic brightness" there haven't been any more issues, neither with open lid nor in clamshell mode (no True Tone display in 2013).

Seems to be OS related problem - maybe there will be a fix with 11.2 or .3

I have the same issue on my MacBook Air early 2014 since September 2020. I was on MacOs Catalina and it happened randomly, the screen was going black and it lit up after a second, but it was enough to disconnect me from my Zoom meetings. I did a reboot, reset the SMC, and even had an Apple technician look at my computer during a phone meeting. Nothing worked, but it just went away one day. I update to Big Sur (11.1) last week and it's back, worse than ever. My batterie condition is normal, I only have 800 cycle count. It is very annoying, even more so because I can fail my exams if I leave the Zoom meeting at my university.

I had this same issue begin after installing BigSur in Dec, 2020 - and it had continued after upgrading to 11.1 - but just last week it looks like I found a possible cause - and no longer having this issue!

My hypothesis is that VMware Horizon Client (used for VDI to work) was fighting over the USB ports (and I'm using a USB-C to HDMI dongle to drive the monitor). Last week I installed a software update to VMware Horizon Client (now on version 2012 Build 8.1.0) and in the process it asked for permission to control the USB ports on the Mac, and I replied "No". Ever since then the monitor blanking issue is gone.

Not sure if it was denying access to the USB ports, or the software update to the VMware Horizon Client itself - but those were the only two changes made to my machine and the issue (of an external HDMI monitor connected via USB-C randomly blanking) appears to be resolved.

Likewise, same issue with MacBook Air silicon 2020 Big Sur 11.1. Started to happen following failed Xcode install. Can't get Xcode 12.4 to install and MacBook randomly restarts. Considering factory reset and reload from backup. Thoughts?