Mac stuck on Apple logo: how to fix it

Is it installing an update?

While macOS updates or upgrades, the Apple logo and the progress bar can stay on the screen much longer than usual. The bar may move slowly and stop for long stretches. Leave it alone and let it finish. Apple suggests starting updates in the evening so they can run overnight if needed.

Restart and unplug accessories

1. Press and hold the power button for up to 10 seconds until the Mac turns off. On a laptop with Touch ID, hold Touch ID.
2. Turn the Mac on again.
3. If it stops at the logo again, turn it off the same way and disconnect everything you don’t need: printers, drives, USB hubs. Then turn it on.

Try safe mode

Safe mode starts macOS without login items and extra extensions, checks the startup disk and clears some system caches. On a Mac with Apple silicon, hold the power button, select the startup disk, then hold Shift and click Continue in Safe Mode. On an Intel Mac, hold Shift right after turning it on. Details are in how to boot Mac in safe mode.

If the Mac starts in safe mode, restart it normally. If it hangs again only in a normal start, an app or extension that loads at startup is the likely cause.

Repair the disk with First Aid in Recovery

1. Start your Mac in macOS Recovery.
2. Select Disk Utility and click Continue.
3. Choose View › Show All Devices.

4. In the sidebar, select the last volume under your startup disk, click First Aid, then Run.

5. When the check finishes, select the item above it and run First Aid again. Go up the list: volumes, then the container, then the disk itself.

6. Quit Disk Utility and choose Apple menu › Restart.

Reinstall macOS without erasing

Reinstalling macOS from Recovery replaces the system but keeps your apps and files. Back up first if you can.

1. In macOS Recovery, select Reinstall macOS and click Continue, then follow the onscreen steps.
2. If you see both Macintosh HD and Macintosh HD - Data, choose Macintosh HD.
3. Don’t put the Mac to sleep or close its lid until it finishes. It may restart several times, and the screen may stay dark for minutes.

If the Mac still stops at the Apple logo after this, it may need service: contact Apple Support.

Is the startup disk full?

An update needs free space to install. If the startup disk is almost full, start in safe mode: it clears some system caches, which Apple notes can free enough space for a while, for example to finish an update. Once the Mac starts normally, free up space on your Mac so it doesn’t happen again.