When your Mac won't load or hangs on startup it’s not the end of the world. You still have pretty good chances of fixing it, even without a technician’s help. Before you read next, check if your Mac is plugged in. Your first guess should be your Mac has run out of battery. If it’s not the case, you are welcome to try some of the following easy tips.
How to turn on the Macbook Pro with a non-working power button. First try to plug in the adapter, then hold down Ctrl + option + command + power button for few seconds. If this doesn't work or the. According to The Verge’s Dieter Bohn, the new MacBook Pro now automatically powers on when you open it. And when you want to turn it off, you just hold down the Touch ID button found at the rightmost side of the Touch Bar. So technically, Touch ID is the power button. This bit about Touch Bar is.
1. Check your charger’s cable
Carefully examine the cable along its full length to see if the charger is intact and all connections are in place. Also, check the AC power socket is working. To isolate the source of the problem, look into the following:
- Does your Mac make any noise? If the fans are working but you can’t hear any other sounds, this might indicate logic board failure.
- Could it be the display? Press the Caps Lock to see if it lights on. If it glows, then your display is probably off.
Sometimes your Macbook wouldn’t start because of a broken application that affects the startup, quite possibly, an antivirus software. To solve the issue, uninstall the unwanted app with CleanMyMac (or similar app) while in the Safe mode.
2. MacBook won’t boot? Start it in a Safe mode
Safe mode limits the macOS to its most basic functions while allowing you to recover your Mac. Sometimes it’s the single most effective solution when your Mac won’t turn on, or continuously crashes.
Press the Power button while holding down Shift
Release the Shift key after login dialogue shows up
Release the Shift key after login dialogue shows up
Did your Mac wake up? Congrats, you’re in the Safe mode. At this point, you at least have some freedom of actions to investigate and troubleshoot the issue. While in the Safe mode, you might try running a couple of maintenance utilities. I've been using CleanMyMac for some years now because of its Verify Startup Disk tool, which may give you a clue why your Mac is not booting up. Verify Startup Disk tool, which may give you a clue why your Mac is not booting up.
1. Launch CleanMyMac (you can get its free version here)
2. Click section 'Maintenance'
3. Check 'Verify startup disk'
1. Launch CleanMyMac (you can get its free version here)
2. Click section 'Maintenance'
3. Check 'Verify startup disk'
3. Perform the special power cycle
There are cases when your Mac wouldn’t start despite being normally plugged in, even with a green power indicator glowing. You may try rebooting your MacBook in a special mode, called 'special power cycle' which involves the following steps.
- Unplug the power cable.
- Hold down the Power button for about 10 seconds.
- Without releasing the Power button connect the power cable.
- Wait 10 more seconds holding it.
- Let go of a button and start your Mac in a normal way.
4. Fixing a Mac booting to black screen
The common issue reported on many Apple forums is Mac’s screen going black on startup. This is typically followed by recurring “Reset Password” message. The problem appears to be somehow concerned with the battery power circuit with Mac failing to light up the screen. There is a fairly simple solution to it, though, quite an odd one — involving a flashlight or a lamp. The trick works because your login screen is still there but you can’t see it.
Shine the flashlight through the Apple logo on the back of your screen. Bringing this extra light should help you see the login icon and you’ll be able to put the cursor in the right spot and log in. The screen should light up normally right after that. A variant of this solution is to shine a flashlight across the screen from left to right (on the front side of the screen). Try this in a dark room for greater effect.
5. Reset System Management Controller (SMC)
System Management Controller is responsible for many ground-level functions of your Mac. Among those are battery settings, display reactions, and specifically the Power button functions. Use the following technique to reset SMC if your MacBook won’t load.
If your MacBook’s battery isn’t removable:
- Shut down Mac and plug in the power cord.
- Press Shift-Control-Option, then press Power button.
- Hold the keys for about 10 seconds.
- Release the keys.
- Press Power as you would normally start your Mac.
If you have a Mac with removable battery:
- Take out the battery
- Press and hold Power button for about 5 seconds
- Re-insert the battery and press Power button again
If you’re on a desktop Mac or Mac Pro:
- Unplug the power cable
- Give it 15 seconds
- Plug the cable back in
- Wait 5 more seconds and press Power again
6. Try Recovery mode when the Mac won't load
If the issue repeats and your Mac won’t turn on again, you can try some of these:
- Set your Mac back using Time Machine
- Reinstall the operating system
- Use Disk Utility to recover your drive
- Run some dedicated Mac maintenance app
All these options are available via Recovery mode—not to confuse with the Safe mode—and to enter it you’ll need to once again press a few spell-invoking special buttons. Needless to say, they are of no use if your MacBook won’t load in the first place.
![New macbook pro power off button New macbook pro power off button](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125875817/941517957.jpg)
How to enter Recovery mode:
Got to Apple menu > Restart
Wait for Mac’s startup sound
Immediately press and hold Command + R
Don’t release the keys until you see Apple logo
Wait for Mac’s startup sound
Immediately press and hold Command + R
Don’t release the keys until you see Apple logo
Give your Mac a bit of time to load and you’ll be taken to Utilities. From there on, you’ll see several to recover your Mac.
A few more reasons your Mac won’t turn on
Putting hardware-related issues aside, there would be still many explanations for your Mac's misbehavior. But to give you a perspective, here are a few more ideas to check:
- Corrupted caches: critical system files from the boot sector are corrupted.
- Incompatible Login Items: some apps may affect the boot process.
- Broken hard disk permissions: conflicting user accounts
Luckily, all these problems can be fixed using just software solutions. To get a health check for your Mac, start with a simple maintenance tool for Mac — a program of CleanMyMac type will do. It could help you locate hidden junk files and detect various hard drive errors which prevent your Mac from booting up. Most often than not, a quick digital garbage cleanup will do the job.
CleanMyMac is available for a free download here.
OK, that’s all there is to it. Feel free to share this article if you found it helpful.
These might also interest you:
Turn on (start up) your Mac
To turn on your Mac, press its power button, which is usually marked . Some Mac notebooks also turn on when you open them, connect them to power, press any key, or press the trackpad.
Learn more about turning on different Mac models below.
Mac notebooks
On MacBook Pro models from 2016 and newer, Touch ID (power button) is on the right side of the Touch Bar at the top of the keyboard.
On MacBook Air models from 2018, Touch ID (power button) is on the right side of the function keys at the top of the keyboard.
On Mac notebooks with physical function (F1–F12) keys and power button, the power button is a key in the top-right corner of the keyboard.1
Newer Mac notebooks also turn on when you do these things:
- Open the lid of your Mac, even if it's not connected to power.
- Connect your Mac to a power adapter while its lid is open.2
Additionally, MacBook Pro (2018) and MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018) turn on when you press any key on the keyboard or press the trackpad.
Mac desktops
Mac mini
The power button is a circular button on the back of the computer. With the back of the Mac mini facing you, the power button is on the far-left side.
iMac and iMac Pro
The power button is a circular button on the back of the computer. With the back of the computer facing you, the power button is in the lower-right corner.
Mac Pro
On Mac Pro (2013), the power button is a circular button on the back of the computer, just above the port where you plug in the Mac Pro power cord.3
Turn off (shut down) your Mac
The best way to shut down your Mac is to choose Shut Down from the Apple menu .
Just as your Mac follows a startup process after it turns on, it follows a shutdown process before it turns off. That process includes automatically quitting all open apps and logging out of your macOS user account.
If your Mac doesn't shut down, try Force Quit to close any apps that aren't responding. If that doesn't work, press and hold the power button until the Mac turns off.
Press and hold the power button to turn off your Mac only if it isn't responding. You'll lose unsaved changes to any documents that you have open.
If your Mac doesn't turn on
If your Mac doesn't turn on, check your power connection, and if you're using a Mac notebook, make sure that its battery has some charge. You can also try holding down the power button for ten seconds, then pressing the power button again to see if the Mac turns on. Learn more about what to do if your Mac doesn't turn on.
If your Mac turns on but doesn't start up completely, you can use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac.
Learn more
- You can also put your Mac to sleep, which is different than shutting down. Learn more about sleep and the other Energy Saver settings on your Mac.
- Learn keyboard shortcuts for sleep, log out, and shut down.
1. On earlier Mac notebook models, the power button is a circular button next to the keyboard.
2. To start up your MacBook Pro or MacBook by plugging it in, make sure to use an AC adapter that provides sufficient power, like the one that came with the computer. Your Mac notebook's battery must have some charge to start up when you connect it to power.
3. On earlier Mac Pro models, the power button is a circular button on the front of the computer, above the headphone jack.
2. To start up your MacBook Pro or MacBook by plugging it in, make sure to use an AC adapter that provides sufficient power, like the one that came with the computer. Your Mac notebook's battery must have some charge to start up when you connect it to power.
3. On earlier Mac Pro models, the power button is a circular button on the front of the computer, above the headphone jack.