Mac not turning on: what to do
If your Mac is not turning on, the cause is most often the power: a damaged cable, a faulty adapter or outlet, or an accessory that blocks startup. Sometimes the Mac or MacBook is on and only its screen stays dark. This guide goes from the simplest checks to a forced restart, resets and firmware repair, and only the last resort, a firmware restore, erases the Mac.
Check the power and accessories
- Make sure the power cable is undamaged and firmly plugged into the Mac and into a working outlet. Try another compatible cable or power adapter if you have one.
- A Mac without a built-in display (Mac mini, Mac Studio, Mac Pro): make sure the display is plugged in, connected to the Mac and turned on.
- Disconnect all accessories: printers, drives, USB hubs, phones. One of them or its cable can stop the Mac from starting.
Is it the Mac or the screen?
If anything appears on the screen, such as an Apple logo, a question mark, a circle with a line through it or a globe, the Mac is on and the problem is in startup. See Mac stuck on the Apple logo and macOS Recovery.
If the screen stays black, the cause may be software. Force a restart as below, then try to start macOS Recovery. With an external display, check whether the display itself or its cable is the problem.
Force a restart
- Press and hold the power button for about 10 seconds. On a laptop with Touch ID, hold Touch ID.
- Release it, then press and release the power button normally.
- If the Mac still doesn’t start, disconnect every accessory and repeat both steps.
Intel Mac: reset the SMC
On an older Intel Mac, resetting the SMC, the controller that manages power, may help. The keys depend on the model: see how to reset SMC on Mac. A Mac with Apple silicon doesn’t need this.
Revive or restore the firmware
Rarely, a Mac with Apple silicon or the T2 chip needs its firmware repaired by another Mac, for example after a power failure during a macOS update. Signs: the Mac doesn’t start even into Recovery, or shows an exclamation point in a circle.
- You need a second Mac with macOS Sonoma 14 or later, connected to the internet, and a USB-C cable that carries both data and charging. Don’t use a Thunderbolt 3 cable.
- Both Macs are connected to power. You put the broken Mac in DFU mode with a key sequence that depends on its model, and the other Mac’s Finder shows it in a DFU window.
- Revive comes first: it repairs the firmware and doesn’t erase your Mac.
- Restore is for when revive fails: it erases the Mac and returns it to factory settings. Your data on it is lost.
Follow Apple’s article “How to revive or restore Mac firmware” step by step: it lists the keys for each model. Older instructions use the Apple Configurator app, the current ones use Finder.
When to contact Apple
If the Mac still doesn’t turn on, or you can’t revive it, it may need service. Contact Apple Support, an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider.
Keep your Mac tidy
MacWashing can’t help a Mac that doesn’t start. Once it runs again, back it up, and System Junk can clear app caches, logs and leftovers of deleted apps so the backup is smaller.
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Questions and answers
Why is my Mac not turning on?
Most often it’s the power: a damaged cable, a faulty adapter or outlet, or an accessory that blocks startup. Sometimes the Mac is on but the screen stays black, which points to software or the display.
Does a forced restart delete anything?
Files on the disk stay. Unsaved changes in apps that were open are lost, the same as after a power cut.
Will reviving the firmware erase my Mac?
Revive doesn’t erase your data. Restore does: it returns the Mac to factory settings, so use it only when revive fails and you have a backup.