My MacBook Air screen has gone black with only cursor moving

My screen has gone black, can only see the cursor moving



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.6

Posted on May 11, 2025 5:46 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 11, 2025 6:59 AM

First, let’s see if this issue happens in Safe Mode:


  1. Shut down your Mac.
  2. Press and hold the power button on your Mac. As you continue to hold the power button, your Mac turns on and loads startup options. When you see Options, release the power button.
  3. Select your startup disk. It's named Macintosh HD, unless you changed its name.
  4. Press and hold the Shift key, then click the “Continue in Safe Mode” button below your startup disk.
  5. Log in to your Mac. You might be asked to log in again.


If the strange behaviors do not occur, then it may possibly be a software issue.


If the issue doesn't continue in safe mode:

Leave safe mode by restarting your Mac normally, then try to reproduce the issue.


If the issue doesn't return, it might have been resolved by the other things that safe mode did at startup, such as checking your disk and clearing caches.


If the problem persists, then let’s try this:


If none of those ideas work, then I recommend service.


Service Checklist:



Click ▶︎ Start a Service Request. ⚛️



Need more help?


Click ▶︎ Check Repair Status. 🔧


Good luck! 👋🏼😉

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 11, 2025 6:59 AM in response to mamta1984

First, let’s see if this issue happens in Safe Mode:


  1. Shut down your Mac.
  2. Press and hold the power button on your Mac. As you continue to hold the power button, your Mac turns on and loads startup options. When you see Options, release the power button.
  3. Select your startup disk. It's named Macintosh HD, unless you changed its name.
  4. Press and hold the Shift key, then click the “Continue in Safe Mode” button below your startup disk.
  5. Log in to your Mac. You might be asked to log in again.


If the strange behaviors do not occur, then it may possibly be a software issue.


If the issue doesn't continue in safe mode:

Leave safe mode by restarting your Mac normally, then try to reproduce the issue.


If the issue doesn't return, it might have been resolved by the other things that safe mode did at startup, such as checking your disk and clearing caches.


If the problem persists, then let’s try this:


If none of those ideas work, then I recommend service.


Service Checklist:



Click ▶︎ Start a Service Request. ⚛️



Need more help?


Click ▶︎ Check Repair Status. 🔧


Good luck! 👋🏼😉

May 11, 2025 5:48 AM in response to mamta1984

Turn your Mac off and back on

Press and hold the power button on your Mac for up to 10 seconds, until your Mac turns off.* Then turn your Mac on again. 

  • If your Mac doesn’t seem to be turning on at all, start with the steps for if your Mac doesn't turn on.
  • If your Mac seems to be turning on but the screen is blank, continue to the steps below.


Start up from macOS Recovery

Try to start up from macOS Recovery, then follow the steps below.


If your Mac starts up from Recovery

  1. While in Recovery, use Disk Utility to repair your Mac startup disk, then restart your Mac.
  2. If your Mac continues to start up to a blank screen, start up from Recovery again, then reinstall macOSfrom Recovery.


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My MacBook Air screen has gone black with only cursor moving

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