You don't need to shut down your Mac when connecting or disconnecting cables, such as USB-C, Thunderbolt, or Ethernet. Important: You can force a shutdown if necessary—for example, if your Mac becomes unresponsive—by pressing and holding the power button until your Mac shuts down. Reported today on The VergeFor the full article visit. Reasons: It happens on rare occasions, but the issue could result from over-used system resources, MacBook Pro uptime too long, hard disk errors, etc. How to Fix: You'll have to do a hard reboot. Press the power button for 3-5 seconds to force a shut-down of the computer. Press it again to restart. Laptop with removable battery — Shut down your computer. Unplug the power adapter and remove the battery, then hold down the 'Power' button for five seconds. Release the 'Power' button, reinsert the battery, and plug in your computer to a power source. Press the 'Power' button. Desktop — Shut down the iMac and unplug the power cord. Or choose Force Quit from the Apple menu in the upper-left corner of your screen. (This is similar to pressing Control-Alt-Delete on a PC.) Then select the app in the Force Quit window and click Force Quit. You can even force the Finder to quit, if it stops responding: Select Finder in the Force Quit window, then click Relaunch.
All-mighty Mac system monitor
If you've ever used a Windows computer before for comparison, you know that Macs in general are far more reliable and rarely let you down. But the inevitable happens with technology: computers get old, internal memory wears out, battery cycles get shorter and shorter.
So if one day you woke up but your Mac didn't, it might feel like your life has stopped when you think about all the lost in-progress work, photos, documents, etc. Don't worry — all you need to do is methodically follow a series of steps to bring your machine back to life.
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Solutions For MacBook Not Turning On
When your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro won't turn on, it's very rare that the problem is with the whole setup — more likely one of the components is misbehaving, which can range from your display to software glitches. Our task here is to isolate this problem to solve it.
The first step is to check, as obvious as it sounds, whether your Mac has any battery life left (or in the case of iMacs whether the cable is connected correctly). Try unplugging and plugging your Mac back in. If you have an older MacBook, your MagSafe cable will show you a green light if the computer is charged and amber if it's still charging.
As a rule, try to only use Apple-made cables. Even though they could be more expensive (check eBay or Craigslist for secondhand ones), they are more likely to be safe for your Mac and not put extra strain on your battery life. Also, don't forget to test your outlet — it might just be that you're using a faulty one.
1. Boot up your Mac
Once you know your Mac is powered properly, try turning it on by pressing the power button. Do you hear the fans or any sounds at all? If yes, it might be that your Mac's problem is with software. If your Mac won't boot at all, it might be something to do with hardware.
In both cases, when you MacBook Pro or MacBook Air won't turn on, make sure to disconnect all keyboards, mice, external HDs, and so on to make sure they are not part of the problem. If nothing has changed, you need to do a power cycle.
2. Go through a power cycle
If you're certain that your MacBook Pro won't boot, a good option is to enable a power cycle, which is basically a forced restart.
To do a power cycle:
Shut down your Mac by pressing the power button (keep pressing)
Unplug all the power cables
Hold the power button for 10 more seconds
Restart the Mac as usual
Hopefully, the Mac won't turn on issue is now fixed.
3. Rule out your display
In rare cases, it might be your display that's giving you all the trouble. Checking all the cables (if you're on a desktop) for proper connection should be your first option, of course, but sometimes there could be a glitch with a battery power circuit that for some reason won't trigger the screen light.
The thing is, your MacBook black screen is still working. One way to fix the problem, especially when your MacBook won't turn on this way, is to hold your laptop to a bright window to let the sun shine through the back of your screen. This way, you should actually be able to see enough to log in, after which your screen should turn on normally.
4. Repair your Mac in Recovery Mode
Going from cables to other external inputs to display, it's natural to turn to your hard drive next, which could now be broken in some way. The good news is your Mac features a handy way to try to fix this called Disk Utility, which you can access through Recovery Mode.
To initiate Recovery Mode:
Make sure your Mac is completely shut down
Hold ⌘ + R and turn your Mac back on
You'll see a new window pop up with some options to choose from. Click Disk Utility ➙ Continue.
Select your hard drive
Click First Aid
After the process is complete, turn your Mac off and on
5. Restart Mac in safe mode
If you're still experiencing problems, it's possible to restart MacBook in safe mode to bypass lots of small processes that might sidetrack your Mac from working properly.
Entering safe mode is easy:
Turn off your Mac
Power it back on while holding Shift
Release Shift when you see a login menu
Now that you know the situation with your Mac is not hopeless, you're getting closer to the finish line. Sometimes, you just need to restart MacBook once more for everything to work smoothly.
6. Reset your Mac's NVRAM
Even when your Mac is turned off, there's a special kind of memory that's keeping tabs. It's called non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM) and in very rare cases can lead to problems booting up. But if you've already tried all the tips above, it could be a very rare case indeed.
To reset NVRAM:
Turn off your Mac
Hold ⌘ + Option + P + R and turn on your Mac
Release the keys when you hear the second startup chime
7. Reset the SMC
Another vital operator in your Mac's ecosystem is the System Management Controller (SMC). It handles keyboard backlighting, responds to you pressing the power button, manages your battery, etc.
Resetting the SMC is essentially the last thing you can do before you completely reinstall the macOS:
If you've got a MacBook, press Shift + Control + Option and power up
For iMacs, simply unplug the cable for 15 seconds, plug it back in, wait five more seconds, and then power up
8. Back up with Target Disk Mode
Naturally, you don't want to lose any of your data while doing a clean macOS installation. But even if your Mac won't boot, you can still try to get the information out via a hack known as Target Disk Mode.
For this, you need a second Mac and a Thunderbolt cable:
Connect the two Macs
Turn off your Mac completely
Power your Mac back on while holding the T key until the cable icon appears on your screen
Now your Mac's hard drive should appear as an external one on the other Mac's Finder
Simply copy any files needed to the other Mac
Hopefully, if everything worked, your files are safe!
9. Get a new macOS
The final step of the MacBook Pro won't turn on saga is to reinstall the macOS, which should fix any software-related problems for sure.
How To Restart Macbook Pro
To do so, just restart your Mac in Recovery Mode as described above (holding down ⌘ + R) and select the Reinstall macOS option from the menu. If any problems persist beyond this point, your next stop should be an appointment at the Apple Store's Genius Bar.
Keep up-to-date backups and monitor your Mac
How To Force Shut Down Macbook
Truth be told, it's exhausting and frustrating to go through every step outlined above, but might be necessary if you don't keep regular backups and are not aware of the state your Mac is in. So, if the disaster hasn't struck yet, let's fix those things!
Recover lost data on Mac
Install Disk Drill and stop worrying about your files. The app creates secure backups and can even bring your content back in case you lose it.
As a rule, try to only use Apple-made cables. Even though they could be more expensive (check eBay or Craigslist for secondhand ones), they are more likely to be safe for your Mac and not put extra strain on your battery life. Also, don't forget to test your outlet — it might just be that you're using a faulty one.
1. Boot up your Mac
Once you know your Mac is powered properly, try turning it on by pressing the power button. Do you hear the fans or any sounds at all? If yes, it might be that your Mac's problem is with software. If your Mac won't boot at all, it might be something to do with hardware.
In both cases, when you MacBook Pro or MacBook Air won't turn on, make sure to disconnect all keyboards, mice, external HDs, and so on to make sure they are not part of the problem. If nothing has changed, you need to do a power cycle.
2. Go through a power cycle
If you're certain that your MacBook Pro won't boot, a good option is to enable a power cycle, which is basically a forced restart.
To do a power cycle:
Shut down your Mac by pressing the power button (keep pressing)
Unplug all the power cables
Hold the power button for 10 more seconds
Restart the Mac as usual
Hopefully, the Mac won't turn on issue is now fixed.
3. Rule out your display
In rare cases, it might be your display that's giving you all the trouble. Checking all the cables (if you're on a desktop) for proper connection should be your first option, of course, but sometimes there could be a glitch with a battery power circuit that for some reason won't trigger the screen light.
The thing is, your MacBook black screen is still working. One way to fix the problem, especially when your MacBook won't turn on this way, is to hold your laptop to a bright window to let the sun shine through the back of your screen. This way, you should actually be able to see enough to log in, after which your screen should turn on normally.
4. Repair your Mac in Recovery Mode
Going from cables to other external inputs to display, it's natural to turn to your hard drive next, which could now be broken in some way. The good news is your Mac features a handy way to try to fix this called Disk Utility, which you can access through Recovery Mode.
To initiate Recovery Mode:
Make sure your Mac is completely shut down
Hold ⌘ + R and turn your Mac back on
You'll see a new window pop up with some options to choose from. Click Disk Utility ➙ Continue.
Select your hard drive
Click First Aid
After the process is complete, turn your Mac off and on
5. Restart Mac in safe mode
If you're still experiencing problems, it's possible to restart MacBook in safe mode to bypass lots of small processes that might sidetrack your Mac from working properly.
Entering safe mode is easy:
Turn off your Mac
Power it back on while holding Shift
Release Shift when you see a login menu
Now that you know the situation with your Mac is not hopeless, you're getting closer to the finish line. Sometimes, you just need to restart MacBook once more for everything to work smoothly.
6. Reset your Mac's NVRAM
Even when your Mac is turned off, there's a special kind of memory that's keeping tabs. It's called non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM) and in very rare cases can lead to problems booting up. But if you've already tried all the tips above, it could be a very rare case indeed.
To reset NVRAM:
Turn off your Mac
Hold ⌘ + Option + P + R and turn on your Mac
Release the keys when you hear the second startup chime
7. Reset the SMC
Another vital operator in your Mac's ecosystem is the System Management Controller (SMC). It handles keyboard backlighting, responds to you pressing the power button, manages your battery, etc.
Resetting the SMC is essentially the last thing you can do before you completely reinstall the macOS:
If you've got a MacBook, press Shift + Control + Option and power up
For iMacs, simply unplug the cable for 15 seconds, plug it back in, wait five more seconds, and then power up
8. Back up with Target Disk Mode
Naturally, you don't want to lose any of your data while doing a clean macOS installation. But even if your Mac won't boot, you can still try to get the information out via a hack known as Target Disk Mode.
For this, you need a second Mac and a Thunderbolt cable:
Connect the two Macs
Turn off your Mac completely
Power your Mac back on while holding the T key until the cable icon appears on your screen
Now your Mac's hard drive should appear as an external one on the other Mac's Finder
Simply copy any files needed to the other Mac
Hopefully, if everything worked, your files are safe!
9. Get a new macOS
The final step of the MacBook Pro won't turn on saga is to reinstall the macOS, which should fix any software-related problems for sure.
How To Restart Macbook Pro
To do so, just restart your Mac in Recovery Mode as described above (holding down ⌘ + R) and select the Reinstall macOS option from the menu. If any problems persist beyond this point, your next stop should be an appointment at the Apple Store's Genius Bar.
Keep up-to-date backups and monitor your Mac
How To Force Shut Down Macbook
Truth be told, it's exhausting and frustrating to go through every step outlined above, but might be necessary if you don't keep regular backups and are not aware of the state your Mac is in. So, if the disaster hasn't struck yet, let's fix those things!
Recover lost data on Mac
Install Disk Drill and stop worrying about your files. The app creates secure backups and can even bring your content back in case you lose it.
Disk Drill is the ultimate app you need for timely and secure backups to an external hard drive. All done from a single and straightforward menu. What's more, the app is also world-class at recovering deleted files too, so you never lose any files whatsoever again.
iStat Menus is another must-have utility that's going to be responsible for your Mac's wellbeing. Just a few icons in your menu bar can tell you the exact state of anything, from your battery to CPU to RAM, in real time. Then if you see your processor underperforming or memory being frequently maxed out, you can take preemptive measures and avoid the catastrophe completely.
As you can see, taking care of your Mac shouldn't be hard — just two apps will do. And if you encounter a MacBook black screen or your Mac won't turn on, go through the checklist above to solve the problem in minutes.
Best of all, Disk Drill and iStat Menus are both available to you for free for seven days via Setapp, a platform with over 160 essential utilities and apps that your digital life productive and secure. Just over to the Setapp website to start your trial: sure, you could've been doing backups for years, but the second-best time to start is now!
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016) and later and MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) and later feature the Touch Bar, which changes automatically based on the application that you're using to show you relevant, familiar tools and controls. On some models, the Esc button appears on the left side of the Touch Bar, in the same place the physical Esc key appears on traditional keyboards.
Sometimes tools in the Touch Bar temporarily cover the Esc button:
After you tap or the Done button, Esc reappears.
How to use another key as Esc
You can choose a physical key to act as Esc, temporarily or permanently:
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences.
- Select Keyboard.
- In Keyboard preferences, click Modifier Keys.
- Use one of the pop-up menus to choose another key to act as Esc.
For example, if you choose Escape to the right of the Control (^) Key label, pressing Control has the same results as pressing Esc: it closes menus that are open, and pressing Control-Option-Command makes the Force Quit Applications window appear.
You can return your keyboard to its original behavior by clicking Restore Defaults.
How to force apps to quit using Esc alternatives
You might not be able to use the Esc button in the Touch Bar if the app you're using becomes unresponsive.
If you need to use Esc to force an app to close, you can switch to another app and try Option-Command-Escape. You can also choose Apple menu > Force Quit.
If that doesn't work, or if your Touch Bar doesn't respond in any app, restart your Mac. Choose Apple menu > Restart or, if your Mac isn't responding, press and hold Touch ID (power button) until your Mac turns off.
Using Esc in Windows
When you use Boot Camp to run Windows 10 on your Mac, Esc is in the same place on the Touch Bar as it is when you're using macOS.
You can also access Esc through the Windows on-screen keyboard. From the Windows menu, select the Windows Ease of Access menu item. Then select On-Screen Keyboard.
