MacOS – MacBook pro (Early 2011) display backlight won’t turn on automatically after waking up from sleep

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My 15" Macbook Pro (Early 2011) has always had a problem where when I open the lid to wake it from sleeping the backlight doesn't turn on. I can easily turn it on by changing the brightness, which leads me to believe it is a software problem.

It isn't a huge problem, just a minor annoyance, but I'm paranoid about backlights ever since I had to replace my old MacBook due to a faulty inverter cable which caused the backlight to not turn on.

Update 1: I noticed that immediately after I open it, the screen is still on and it displays the unlock screen, and only then turns off. This was after being closed for only about 2 minutes.

Best Answer

I would try two things to start with:

Reset the SMC

  1. Shut down your MacBook Pro

  2. Plug in the MagSafe adapter and make sure it is charging

  3. Simultaneously press the shift + alt + control + Power buttons and hold them for about 10 seconds. Let go after that.

  4. Restart your Mac (and move on to the following suggestion):

Reset the PRAM

  1. Press the power button to start up your MacBook Pro

  2. Hold down the following keys:⌘ + alt + P + R until you hear the start up chime sound twice.

  3. Let go and boot normally.

Test that out and tell us what happens.

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