MacBook Pro 15" 2016: Black Screen (forever) after Idle

[Eileenleen]

Hello all,

I have this issue that the MacBook Pro's screen went black after it was idled for a little bit, then the screen never come back on again. This has happened twice to me with the new MacBook Pro 15" 2016 model, with a 516 GB storage. I returned the first one and reordered the second one, but the issue happened again.

The story is that I received my new Macbook Pro last night, I set it up in Apple store, restarted the machine and it still worked. After I got home, I tried to get familiar with the machine, and to backup my iPhone. App store showed me a few of my apps need to update, so I started to update and went to shower. When I got out of the shower, the Macbook Pro's screen was black and the keyboard light were off. So I pressed "enter" then the keyboard light came back on. However, the screen stays black. I closed the lid and opened the lid, the screen is black. I charged the machine, the screen stays black. I called for help, after everything I was told to do, the screen stays black.

This is really frustrating, I need it for a class which is starting in a week. If I exchange it, I need to wait for 3 weeks to get it. This happened the second time already. I'm not sure what is wrong or if I had done anything wrong, and if I should continue to get the same model.

Any advice are much appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[Sanpete]

Bummer. That's frustrating. It's either an amazingly sad coincidence, or something you did both times that's different from what almost everyone else does has tripped a bug of some sort. That may help track down the cause. Is there any unusual software you loaded?

What have you already tried, and what happens when you try it?

 

[Eileenleen]

Bummer. That's frustrating. It's either an amazingly sad coincidence, or something you did both times that's different from what almost everyone else does has tripped a bug of some sort. That may help track down the cause. Is there any unusual software you loaded?

What have you already tried, and what happens when you try it?

The first time, I only setup my apple account in the apple store, I didn't install any software at all. It happened under similar situation, except that I didn't log in after I turned it on and let it idled for a few minutes when I got home. I called to troubleshoot, the staff asked me to do a few things (I dont quite remember, I'm new to Apple laptop), then he advised me to return it.

The second time, I log in and plugged in my iPhone and I was thinking to backup my iPhone, but App Store said iTunes and some other software needed to be updated, so I pressed "update all" then I let it sit there. I checked on it after roughly 20 minutes, then the screen was black, and nothing I could bring it back on, and the keyboard light was on. I used the Apple Support App to call for help, did similar troubleshoots, and also charged the notebook, the screen is still black. Tho the staff said I should follow up after I charged my notebook, but she didn't send me the link.

And I'm pretty sure nothing happen between I left Apple Store and got home.

I'm not sure if this happened to anyone else before. T_T

 

[satirev]

I don't normally post but since this happened to me today too I thought I would chime in. I have a customized 13 inch with touch bar. Same story, used my laptop until it ran out of battery, and now it is completely DOA. No signs of life when connected to power. Brought it into the Apple Store, they said they would need to send it in for repair. I spent almost 3K on this machine and it's a paper weight now. After doing some research, I am convinced that every machine is at risk of having this issue occur. If you have a 2016 MacBook Pro, you should make sure your laptop never runs out of battery completely because it may never power up again after that. The best part of all of this is that I bought another 2016 Mbp on the spot to use in the mean time, and I open it up, start using it and discover that it has the annoying keyboard high pitched clicking noise. Unreal apple, just unreal, the 2016 mbp has been a massive failure and by far the most issue plagued Apple device ever released and sold to the public thus far.

 

[AcesOverKings]

This might sound dumb, but it's worth a shot. Shine a flashlight (iPhone flashlight works) into the apple symbol on the back of the lid. Look at the screen while doing this and see if you can see anything displayed.

My older MBP was doing this obnoxious thing for a while where it would exhibit the same symptoms -- lit keyboard / black screen. When I placed the light up against the apple, I could see that the login/lock screen was being shown, but not backlit. Once I logged in and it booted up, it seemed to sort itself out.

 

[Eileenleen]

I don't normally post but since this happened to me today too I thought I would chime in. I have a customized 13 inch with touch bar. Same story, used my laptop until it ran out of battery, and now it is completely DOA. No signs of life when connected to power. Brought it into the Apple Store, they said they would need to send it in for repair. I spent almost 3K on this machine and it's a paper weight now. After doing some research, I am convinced that every machine is at risk of having this issue occur. If you have a 2016 MacBook Pro, you should make sure your laptop never runs out of battery completely because it may never power up again after that. The best part of all of this is that I bought another 2016 Mbp on the spot to use in the mean time, and I open it up, start using it and discover that it has the annoying keyboard high pitched clicking noise. Unreal apple, just unreal, the 2016 mbp has been a massive failure and by far the most issue plagued Apple device ever released and sold to the public thus far.

That's sad to hear..

I didn't even know if mine went out of battery or not.. It was opened box for about half an hour in the Apple Store, and another half an hour in total at home.. But if that's the issue, it would be annoying in the future since you may never know if you would get to charge it on spot or not. And it is super expensive that this should not be the problem!

 

[satirev]

It's very dumb considering the apple logo is not transparent on the new mbps

 

[AcesOverKings]

It's very dumb considering the apple logo is not transparent on the new mbps

Just trying to help. I know they no longer glow, but is it completely opaque now? Mine doesn't arrive until Tuesday.

 

[satirev]

I would recommend returning it as soon as you receive it

 

[Eileenleen]

This might sound dumb, but it's worth a shot. Shine a flashlight (iPhone flashlight works) into the apple symbol on the back of the lid. Look at the screen while doing this and see if you can see anything displayed.

My older MBP was doing this obnoxious thing for a while where it would exhibit the same symptoms -- lit keyboard / black screen. When I placed the light up against the apple, I could see that the login/lock screen was being shown, but not backlit. Once I logged in and it booted up, it seemed to sort itself out.

I tried, but maybe not? Though when I adjusted the screen brightness on the touch bar, it did work!
[doublepost=1491708356][/doublepost]

Just trying to help. I know they no longer glow, but is it completely opaque now? Mine doesn't arrive until Tuesday.

Yea, it's opaque now..
[doublepost=1491708418][/doublepost]

I would recommend returning it as soon as you receive it

Should I get have a third attempt and get another one? I need it for design.. T_T

This is very frustrating...

 

[Sanpete]

Do you mean your MBP screen is working now?

@satirev's theory is that you ran the battery down, but you say the keyboard light came on. Normally a MBP will shut itself down before a battery is completely drained.

Just trying to help. I know they no longer glow, but is it completely opaque now? Mine doesn't arrive until Tuesday.

Yes, the new ones are completely opaque. But that was a good idea. You can also use a flashlight form the front to check to see if there's anything on the screen but the backlight isn't working.

 

[Eileenleen]

Do you mean your MBP screen is working now?

@satirev's theory is that you ran the battery down, but you say the keyboard light came on. Normally a MBP will shut itself down before a battery is completely drained.


Yes, the new ones are completely opaque. But that was a good idea. You can also use a flashlight form the front to check to see if there's anything on the screen but the backlight isn't working.

It's still black screen, but when I adjusted it on the touch bar, I could see it got brighter. :/
I just made an appointment with the Genius Bar, hopefully they could get it fix in a day!

 

[Sanpete]

Good luck. Let us knows how it turns out.

 

[satirev]

Any update on this?

 

[Eileenleen]

UPDATE:
So I went to Genius Bar this afternoon, the staff advised me to return it initially, then he reset my the machine with the Shift+Control+Option +P+R? (Sorry I don't quite remember, but I hope this it is), then the machine reboot and it's working now.

I told him that this is the second time in a role (different computer, same model), and I really need the computer for my class, so he said to try it out for a few days and see if the problem reoccurs or not. I could return it any time within 14 days. And maybe he could swap the computer with me later, but mine is customized, so I'm not too sure.

NOW, I was wondering if I should return it and get a new computer without problem, or this reset has fixed the problem. I guess I have a few days to think about it.

Also, I read online that I could run an Apple Diagnostic to see if there are any issue with the hardware. I was considering to try it, but I'm a bit nervous since I'm new to MacBook.

What do you guys think?

 

[Sanpete]

Glad it's working. Won't hurt anything to run the hardware test, though I doubt it will turn anything up.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202731

Sounds like they reset the NVRAM. Here's how it's done if you need to do it yourself:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

In addition to the 14 days for return, you'll have a year to have it repaired if the problem shows up again.

 

[Eileenleen]

Glad it's working. Won't hurt anything to run the hardware test, though I doubt it will turn anything up.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202731

Sounds like they reset the NVRAM. Here's how it's done if you need to do it yourself:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

In addition to the 14 days for return, you'll have a year to have it repaired if the problem shows up again.

Thank you!! The MBP is working for the past three days, except that I'm still learning how to use the MBP and I just figured out how to sign in here.. I missed the page.. But hopefully that one thing fixed the issue. I will try to run the hardware test this weekend.

 

[Mr. Dee]

Sounds like you didn't know what you were doing.