Why did my MacBook Pro M4 screen go black and then recover after reboot?

Dave W RI wrote:

All has been well for the 4 months I've owned this MacBook Pro with M4 Pro chip (48 MB RAM) running Sequoia 15.4.1. (in the backrouound NordVPN and Norton Security are running) Today the screen went black. I tried increasing the brightness, closing and reopening the lid and waiting. The batter was full as confirmed by green light on power cable. Then I did a hard reboot (held down the power key for about 15 seconds) and now yhr keyboard beeped but no screen. So I plugged in an external monitor and it worked... but as safari was on the laptop screen I couldn't see it to get here, so I closed the laptop... and then the external monitor went black/off and no amount of tapping the external trackpad revived it. So I reopened the laptop and BINGO everything works just fine, external and internal monitors, keyboards, trackpads, everything.

So fingers crossed that whatever the glitch was its fixed itself ... however that is bit unnerving so my questions are 1) has anyone else had a similar experience and 2) what should I do if it happens again (I have a TimeMachine and iDrive backups)

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

For a one off glitch I would ignore it.

—external monitors/cables can cause issues...

—VPN/third party security apps cause issue...consumer grade VPN are anything but secure

Uninstall all third party apps that are Cleaners/Optimizers/VPN/Anti-Virus

all known to cause issues on the macOS

Third party AntiVirus is not recommended— it typically does nothing but add issues to the macOS and competes directly with Apple’s own built in security:

macOS antivirus - Protecting against malware in macOS - Apple Support

macOS - Security - Apple macOS - Security - Apple

Apple Platform Security - Apple Apple Platform Security - Apple Support

Dave W RI wrote:

An update.... it's now 2.5 months since the new lid angle sensor and display were installed and I have NEVER had the issue come back... so for anyone having this issue I highly recommend a trip to the Genius Bar!

Thanks for the update to bring everything current Dave W RI

original post: Posted on May 8, 2025 12:46 PM

I'm having same issue. So far screen has gone black 3 times. First time (last week) was right after I disconnected my external monitor, it was black and I could not get it to come back up. Hard reboot fixed it. 2nd time (yesterday) I was connected to 2 external monitors, I look over and the laptop screen is off. I unplugged monitors, didn't help. I rebooted using the external display and it came back. I also reset the NVRAM (hold power button on boot till options) and SMC (which apparently on apple silicon is simply to power off and restart). Just now I look over and it is off again while plugged into externals. I close/open lid and it came back. Doesn't seem to be hardware issue to me, but it is annoying.

Hi,

I think you'd better take your MacBook Pro to your local retail AppleStore, Genius Bar or Apple Authorized Service Provider to examined your MacBook Pro there before one year limited warranty is expired since it could be possible that your MacBook Pro has hardware related issue.

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

Apple Authorized Service Provider Program - Official Apple Support

Mac Repair and Service - Apple Support

Based on the information provided, I recommend service.

Service Checklist:

• Mac service pricing.
• Check AppleCare Coverage.
• Get your Mac ready for service.

Click ▶︎ Start a Service Request. ⚛️

Need more help?

• Call 1-800-APLCARE.
• International Support.
• Mac Support.
• Mac User Guide.

Click ▶︎ Check Repair Status. 🔧

Good luck! 👋🏼😉

Same thing has just happened to me.

Was gaming with main external screen and realised at the end that the lower screen was dead, I couldn't move mouse there. I also tried all the restarts etc with various different key combinations, none have changed anything. Also tried changing brightness - doesn't appear to be that causing the issue.

Two weird things:

• I can see the screen but VERY very dark, just blurry white apple sign but almost invisible when it restarts
• I also have NordVPN running in background - recent installation - maybe i need to try getting rid of it and see what happens
• For me so far no magic fix of screen coming back to life.

OP did you find it what it was?