AlexBosco
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: MacBook Air + Thunderbolt Display = Black screen

I am using a MacBook Air Yosemite 10.10.2. I am using a Thunderbolt Display. No hardware is new. Recently when plugged into my Thunderbolt the screen goes blank. This was happening intermittently - but now very frequently. I read a suggestion to turn off automatically adjust brightness, which I did and has not helped. I have cleaned all the connections. The only thing I have plugged into USB is my iphone. The last time this happened the cord was plugged in but not my phone. This has rendered my Thunderbolt unusable. I have run hardware and hard drive diagnosis and they are "ok." I have rebooted, kept my mac off at night. This has not happened when not plugged into the Thunderbolt display. Any suggestions? Thank you! 

MacBook Air (11-inch Mid 2011), OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on Mar 7, 2015 10:27 AM

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AlexBosco

Q: MacBook Air + Thunderbolt Display = Black screen

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  • by Brett L,Helpful

    Brett L Brett L Mar 9, 2015 7:51 AM in response to AlexBosco
    Community Specialists
    Mar 9, 2015 7:51 AM in response to AlexBosco

    Hey Alex,

     

    If you are having an issue with intermittent display issues when using your Thunderbolt display with your MacBook Air, I would suggest that you troubleshoot using the steps in this article - 

     

    Apple computers: Troubleshooting issues with video on internal or external displays - Apple Support

     

    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

     

    Happy computing,

     

    Brett L 

  • by AlexBosco,

    AlexBosco AlexBosco Mar 15, 2015 8:19 AM in response to Brett L
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 15, 2015 8:19 AM in response to Brett L

    Brett, thank you. I haven't replied because I've spent the last 5 days testing your solutions. Resetting the SVRAM worked... for a day. I thought it was fixed. When it happened again, I reset it again, along with the SMC. So far resetting the SVRAM helps - it buys me hours and in some cases a whole day. So it seems to me (but I don't really understand macs that well) that something is corrupting the SVRAM. Does that make sense to you? I am trying to figure out if the likely culprit is software, hardware, or firmware and for the Mac or the Thunderbolt display itself. I live in a small remote town and will be near Apple stores in 2 weeks. So I am trying to narrow it down so I bring the right stuff with me. Needless to say the Thunderbolt Display is huge and I don't want to port it around unless it is very needed. Any further help is very welcome!

     

    Alex

  • by Brett L,Helpful

    Brett L Brett L Mar 15, 2015 9:46 AM in response to AlexBosco
    Community Specialists
    Mar 15, 2015 9:46 AM in response to AlexBosco

    Hi Alex,

     

    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. Due to the nature of the issue you described you may find more information by using another one of Apple's support resources - https://getsupport.apple.com/GetproductgroupList.action.

     

    Brett L