MacBook Pro won’t wake up sometimes

displaymacbook prothunderbolt

Every once in a while when I plug in my MacBook Pro to my Thunderbolt Display and then press some keys on my external keyboard (laptop lid is closed) to wake it up, the computer won't wake up properly. The screen will either stay black or I will see a black screen and the beachball mouse cursor.

If I open the laptop lid in this situation nothing changes. If I then unplug the monitor nothing changes either. The laptop display is blank.

The only thing I can do at this point is to hold the power button until the machine turns off and then turn it back on.

This seems to happen about once or twice a week.

I'd rather not wipe the machine because it will take a while to reinstall everything.

Any ideas how to prevent this from happening?

Specs:

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)
OS X El Capitan 10.11.6

Best Answer

For me upgrading to macOS Sierra resolved the issue. I tried resetting NVRAM and SMC but that didn't help.

Update 8/2/2018: turns out this issue is still happening to me now, just much less frequently, about once every few months.

Related Solutions

MacOS – Macbook Pro 17″ Thunderbolt won’t output to LCD

Based on your hard labor so far :) and that the problem is not the cable.....it is time to try the:

1) Restart the computer in Safe Mode with display attached (shut down and restart while holding down shift key).

The display will show up without distortion.

2) Change the display to desired preferences (dimensions and refresh rate).

3) Restart computer.

================================

Since you mentioned the messages during the download, lets consider following.

From Apple:

This could occur when a self-powered Thunderbolt device (other than a directly-connected Thunderbolt display) is connected to a Thunderbolt port while installing the update.

To resolve this issue:

Shutdown your computer.
Disconnect all Thunderbolt devices.
Wait 10 seconds.
If you are using a Mac mini with a Thunderbolt display, reconnect the Thunderbolt display directly to your computer via the Thunderbolt port. Do not connect other Thunderbolt devices at this time.
Restart your computer.
If the Thunderbolt Firmware Update 1.2 is offered, download and install it and restart your computer when asked. If the Thunderbolt Update is not offered, the update has installed correctly.
Reconnect all Thunderbolt devices.

Why does the Thunderbolt display not wake from sleep

I have managed to isolate the problem.

It seems every time a mac connected to a thunderbolt display enters automatic sleep mode, it somehow screws up the PRAM and prevents it from operating normally.

There is a work around.

Set "Display Sleep" to "Never" from "Energy Saver" menu in "System Preferences".
Turn off "Automatically adjust brightness" from "Display Preferences" (Note: The settings will appear to reset and your brightness setting from keyboard will stop working"
Shutdown the mac.
Perform a PRAM reset by simultaneously pressing CMD+Option+P+R when booting up, keep keys pressed until you hear a second chime.
Power cycle your Thunderbolt Display by remove plug from socket, waiting 10seconds then plugging back in.

Your brightness keyboard button should be working now, and if you select "Sleep" from shutdown menu, the display will wake up upon key press normally.

You can also restart the station and it should perform normally.

SYSTEM Mac Mini Mid 2011 - High Sierra Thunderbolt Display 27inch

Best Answer

Related Solutions

MacOS – Macbook Pro 17″ Thunderbolt won’t output to LCD

Why does the Thunderbolt display not wake from sleep

Related Question