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Mid-2013 Macbook Air screen goes black?

I just got my shiny new mid-2013 MBA (haswell 13" i5 256GB SSD 8GB RAM) and it's been rockstar (no WIFI problems). However, last night, when I was browing the web, the screen went black all of a sudden and wouldn't come back on. I had to press the power button (heard the fan shut off), and then press power again to make the system wake back up from sleep. Any ideas what caused this, and should I be concerned in the future?

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2013), Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Jun 20, 2013 2:41 PM

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929 replies

Nov 18, 2017 10:32 AM in response to jportnoy

I have the same issue on my Macbook Air 13" 2016 Model - i5 128GB SSD 8GB RAM... Great work Apple !!! Even after 4.5 years the same issue exists... I however being a first time buyer, thought Apple product would be so good and didn't purchase an extended warranty.. Post my 1 year warranty I am screwed with this issue.. Apple Support Center executives ask me to pay a repair cost equal to 90% a new Macbook Air 😟 😟

Dec 8, 2017 8:03 AM in response to jportnoy

After a bit of web surfing I ran across this thread. The last 15 minutes or so, the screen on my 2013 MBP running MacOS High Sierra, has gone black several times. After reviewing this thread, I realized that my iPhone was near the laptop (running on battery). My iPhone case has a magnetic clasp and I just realized that every time the magnetic clasp passes over or near the Thunderbolt port on my laptop, the screen immediately goes black.

I have now done this multiple times to confirm I am not imagining things. It was just so odd, it took me a few minutes to make the correlation.

Hope this information helps someone.

Jun 26, 2013 8:30 PM in response to jportnoy

Linc, Just stop typing. Each word more worthless than the next. Apple and Intel stand behind their products for more than 14 days.


I had this happen on a Haswell system I just built - googled and found this post. Black screen came right back when I moved the mouse (desktop system with built in graphics). Maybe a graphics driver issue or something with BIOS and power mgt? My screen should not have turned black for another 19min 59s. If you find anything (from tech support or elsewhere) let me know what you find.

Jun 27, 2013 5:15 PM in response to jportnoy

I think the response you received to this post is appalling. I, like you, have a shiny new MBA 13 and have the same problem. I, like you, am keen to see if it's a widely experienced problem before thinking what to do about it.


Don't stop writing posts like this, not everyone is likley to post for themselves and finding that you're not alone is very reassuring.


Tsk.

Jul 1, 2013 1:49 AM in response to jportnoy

I also have the new Macbook Air and have the same recurring problem. The screen just goes black, but the mouse cursor is still floating about. It isn't asleep, and the only way I can seem to restore it is to close it for a while, let it go to sleep, then to open up the mac again. Although sometimes the screen is still black and I have to wait a bit.

Jul 2, 2013 5:21 PM in response to jportnoy

Same basic problem with a new MacBook Air (mid 2013) 8GB/256GB.


Symptoms are a little different, but this has happened to me three times over the past two weeks. I think it was running on battery each time, but not 100% sure about the first time.


I walk away for a few minutes to refill a coffee cup, or take a phone call. When I come back the screen is still on so I move the mouse to start working. Before pressing any keys the computer is clearly awake and the mouse is visibly moving so it's jarring when the screen goes black. At that point, moving the mouse has no affect, but pressing any key wakes the screen and everything is normal.


I can understand that it's possible that I sat back down and moved the mouse at exactly the same time the machine was going to sleep, but it's unlikely that could happen three times in such a short span.


Before this Mac I had a late 2010 Air with all of the latest software updates, so I am very familiar with this operating system. Never saw this behavior with my old Mac. No other obvious problems/symptoms with the new Mac.


It feels like a software problem with the sleep timeout.


Mid-2013 Macbook Air screen goes black?

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