MacBook Won't Start or Won't Turn On: Causes and Solutions

In short: plug in the charger, wait a few minutes if your MacBook has an M1 to M6 chip, then hold the power button for ten seconds. If the device stays silent even after a night on the charger, it is usually a hardware fault – in our workshop, most often the logic board. The diagnosis is free: in person in Hamburg-Altona, or by mail from anywhere in Germany via emonis.com, with free DHL shipping both ways.

Your MacBook won't turn on anymore, won't boot – or the screen just stays black? This guide walks you through what you can try yourself, step by step, and when it's time to call in a professional. It covers every model: from older Intel MacBooks to the current MacBook Air with the M5 chip and MacBook Pro with the M6 chip. For the iMac, a few things are different.

When is it a job for the workshop?

The steps below fix software problems – they can't fix a hardware defect. Typical signs: the MagSafe LED stays dark although the cable and charger work on another device; the fan spins up briefly and the machine shuts right back off; no response even after a night on the charger; the screen stays black although you hear the startup chime; or the MacBook came into contact with liquid. In roughly two out of three of our won't-start repairs, the logic board turned out to be the cause – on Apple Silicon, about eight out of ten.

That's what the free diagnosis is for: bring the device to our workshop in Hamburg-Altona (many customers also come in from the wider Hamburg area – from Norderstedt and Pinneberg all the way to Kiel) or mail it in from anywhere in Germany with free DHL shipping both ways. You get a fixed price and only then decide – with component-level repair, your data normally stays intact.

Step 1: Charge and wait

The most common reason for a "dead" MacBook is a completely drained battery. Plug in the charger and check:

• MagSafe: the LED on the connector should glow amber or green
• USB-C: check if the power adapter feels slightly warm
• Try a different outlet and, if available, a different cable or power adapter

On MacBooks with an M1 to M6 chip, keep in mind: if the battery is deeply discharged, the device often stays completely silent for several minutes after you plug it in, before the charging symbol even appears. That's normal – don't give up too early.

Leave your MacBook charging overnight. A deeply discharged battery can take several hours before the device responds at all. Try again the next morning.

Step 2: Force restart

Press and hold the power button (the Touch ID button on newer models) for at least ten seconds. Wait five seconds, then press it again. This clears a system freeze. On Macs with Apple Silicon (M1–M6), this forced restart replaces the SMC reset of the Intel era – nothing more is needed.

Step 3: Remove all accessories

Disconnect everything: USB drives, external displays, hubs, SD cards. Connected accessories can sometimes prevent startup. Try again with just the charging cable.

Step 4: Reset, depending on your Mac

The next steps depend on which Mac you have:

Step 5: Safe Mode

Safe Mode starts your Mac with only the bare essentials – this helps rule out software problems.

If the Mac starts in Safe Mode, the problem was likely software-related. Restart normally – it often works again after that.

Step 6: Reinstall macOS (without losing data)

Boot into Recovery Mode:

• On Intel Macs, hold Cmd + R while you turn the Mac on
• On Apple Silicon, hold the power button → Options → Continue

There you can first run First Aid in Disk Utility to check the disk. Then choose "Reinstall macOS". This only replaces system files – your data stays intact.

MacBook won't start: key combinations at a glance

MacBook won't boot: stuck on the Apple logo or progress bar?

If the Apple logo appears when you turn the device on but the progress bar freezes – or the machine keeps starting over – your Mac has found its startup volume but can't get through the boot process. That's different from a completely "dead" device, and it often has a software cause:

• Wait first: Right after a macOS update, the progress bar can sit still for 30 to 60 minutes while everything keeps working in the background. Never interrupt an update in progress.
• Force a restart (Step 2) and then boot into Safe Mode (Step 5) – macOS checks the startup volume along the way.
• Run First Aid in Disk Utility: In Recovery (Step 6), check and repair the startup volume.
• Reinstall macOS: This only replaces system files, so your data stays intact.

If startup still hangs at the same point every time, or First Aid reports errors it can't repair, that points to the SSD or its controller circuitry on the logic board – from here, the free diagnosis takes over.

Mac shows a question mark folder at startup

If a flashing folder with a question mark appears instead of the Apple logo when you turn on your Mac, it can't find its startup volume. This symbol mostly appears on Intel Macs – when the startup volume is damaged, MacBooks with M1–M6 usually go straight to the startup options or Recovery instead. The causes range from software to hardware problems:

If software solutions don't help and the drive isn't recognized, it's a hardware defect. Request a free diagnosis →

"A critical software update is required": what to do

This message appears when a firmware or macOS update couldn't be completed, for example due to an interrupted update, corrupted T2/Apple Silicon firmware, or hardware problems like corrosion on the logic board.

MacBook turns on, but the screen stays black?

The most common case behind the phrase "black screen": the MacBook seems like it won't turn on – but it's actually running. The fan spins, the case gets warm or the keyboard backlight comes on – there's just no picture:

• Press F2 or fn+F2 several times to check the brightness
• Connect an external monitor – if it shows a picture, the internal display or its cable is faulty
• Try the flashlight test: shine a light onto the screen at an angle. If you can faintly see outlines, only the backlight is broken

By the way: a MacBook Air with M1–M5 has no fan at all. Watch for the keyboard backlight, the startup chime, or warmth on the case instead.

Display problems usually point to a hardware defect. More about display repair →

Why won't my MacBook start? What's different on M1 to M6

Since Apple switched to its own chips (M1 in 2020 up to the current M6), startup problems have changed too:

• No more SMC or NVRAM reset: the classic reset rituals of the Intel era are gone. A forced restart (hold the power button for ten seconds) covers everything.
• Firmware damage after updates: if a macOS update is interrupted – for example, by a dead battery – the Mac may no longer start at all. The fix is DFU mode (Step 4); a "Revive" keeps your data intact.
• SSD and RAM are soldered: your data sits encrypted on the logic board. If the MacBook won't start because of a board fault, data recovery is only possible through a targeted logic board repair – simply removing the SSD like in the old days is no longer an option.
• This applies to the newest devices too: the MacBook Air M5 and MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max (2026) behave identically to M1–M4 at startup – every step in this guide applies.

MacBook Pro or MacBook Air won't turn on anymore?

The steps above apply to both lines – but the clues that tell you where the fault lies differ by model.

MacBook Pro won't turn on: read the MagSafe LED and the fan

On the 14" and 16" MacBook Pro (2021 and later), the MagSafe LED is your most useful diagnostic tool: if it stays completely dark with the charger connected, test the cable and charger on another device first – if it still won't light up, power isn't reaching the logic board. Amber means the battery may simply have been deeply discharged (Step 1: charge and wait). If the fan spins up briefly and the machine shuts right back off, that points to a power-delivery fault on the logic board. And if the screen stays black although you hear the startup chime, head back up to the "MacBook turns on, but the screen stays black?" section.

MacBook Air won't turn on: the silent one

The MacBook Air with an Apple chip has no fan – so you can't hear whether it's alive at all. Watch for the startup chime, the keyboard backlight and warmth on the case instead, and try the flashlight test from the section above. On the Air with M2 (2022) or later, the MagSafe LED helps just as it does on the Pro. The M1 Air charges via USB-C only – test it with a different cable and charger. If the Air no longer starts after an interrupted macOS update, DFU mode (Step 4) is the way back.

If the device also won't charge, the guide MacBook Pro or Air won't charge takes over from here.

iMac won't start: how it differs from the MacBook

The iMac has no battery, so the focus is on the power supply:

• Check the power cable at both ends (it sits looser than you'd think) and try a different outlet – without a power strip
• After that, the same steps as for the MacBook apply: forced restart, Safe Mode, Recovery – on iMacs with Apple Silicon they're identical
• If an Intel iMac stays completely black and silent, our workshop found the logic board to be the cause more often than the internal power supply – both are repairable faults

More about iMac repair →

Our services for MacBooks that won't start

• Logic board repair – when the fault is on the board itself
• Data recovery – in most cases we can still rescue your data
• Water damage repair – act fast after liquid damage
• Display repair – when only the screen stays black
• Battery replacement – for power supply issues

What actually turns out to be broken: numbers from our workshop

From our won't-start repairs: in roughly two out of three cases the logic board was the cause – on Apple Silicon, about eight out of ten. Battery, SSD (including data recovery), display and firmware account for the rest. Software causes barely appear in these numbers, because the steps above usually solve them.

As for timing: a repair usually takes 3–6 working days in the workshop, 1–3 of them for the free diagnosis up to the quote – details in How long does a MacBook repair take?

Frequently asked questions