If your Mac starts up to a blank screen

A blank screen (black, grey or blue) should appear once or more as your Mac starts up. If your Mac seems to be turning on but is stuck on a blank screen, follow these steps.

Turn your Mac off and back on

1. Press and hold the power button on your Mac for up to 10 seconds, until your Mac turns off. (Every Mac has a power button. On laptop computers that have Touch ID, press and hold Touch ID.)

2. Press and release the power button to turn your Mac on again. If the screen remains blank, continue to the next section.

Start up from macOS Recovery, if possible

If the screen remains blank, try to start up from macOS Recovery. If you’re not sure whether you have a Mac with Apple silicon, you can try both of these sets of steps.

If using a Mac with Apple silicon

1. Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds again to make sure your Mac is turned off.

2. Press and hold the power button. As you continue to hold the power button, your Mac will turn on and load the startup options. When you see Options, release the power button.

3. Click Options, then click the Continue button that will appear below it.

   

4. When you see the Utilities window, use Disk Utility to repair your startup disk, then restart your Mac.

5. If your Mac restarts to a blank screen again, reinstall macOS.

If using any other Mac

1. Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds again to make sure your Mac is turned off.

2. Press and release the power button to turn on your Mac. Immediately after releasing the power button, press and hold Command (⌘)-R, and keep holding the keys until you see an Apple logo or spinning globe.

3. You may be asked to select a network from the Wi-Fi menu, or to attach a network cable. If you don’t see a Wi-Fi menu, look for it in the upper-right corner of the screen.

4. When you see the Utilities window, use Disk Utility to repair your startup disk, then restart your Mac.

5. If your Mac restarts to a blank screen again, reinstall macOS.

If you can't start up from macOS Recovery

If you can't start up from macOS Recovery because the screen remains blank:

• Your Mac may not be turning on at all. In that case, follow the steps for if your Mac doesn't turn on.

• If you're using a Mac with Apple silicon or the Apple T2 Security Chip, you may need to revive or restore the firmware of your Mac.

• If you're using an external display instead of a built-in display, make sure that the issue isn't with your external display.

If your Mac continues to start up to a blank screen, it might need service. Get service.