Symptoms:

• Mac does absolutely nothing when pressing the power button.
• Tried both USB-C ports.
• Internal white LED stays solidly on when the charger is connected.
• Battery has been tested both connected and disconnected.
• The Mac can be put into DFU mode and is detected by Apple Configurator on another Mac.
• Both Revive and Restore fail at step 4/4, around 50%, with:

• gave up waiting for device transition from dfu state to dfu state

• and/or:

• Probably forced into DFU mode externally

• This happens with both Revive and Restore.
• Cable might be not good, I'm going to retry with an official Apple cable suited for a Revive/Restore purpose soon.
• The Mac have been dropped, so physical motherboard damage is possible.

With the Mac powered off, charger connected, battery connected, I measured:

PPBUS_G3H = 12.63V
PP3V3_G3H = 3.30V
PP5V_G3S = 5.11V
PP1V8_G3S = 1.80V
PP0V9_SSD = 0.90V

PP1V8_SSD = 1.80v

PP3v3_S5 to ground = 780 ohms

F3000 & F3001 = 19.94V on each side of the components

C7050 & C7056 = 12.63V

Main rails appears to be good, so I'm wondering what could have gone wrong.

If anyone has an idea,

Best regards,

Another official Apple cable did not fix the problem

Could it be the SSD?

⟐ Edited by author 8월 18, 2026 at 14:04 GMT-7

I'm looking for some advice or insights regarding a frustrating issue with my MacBook Air M2. I suspect it might be related to the T-CON board, lid angle sensor (ALS), or a loose display cable, but I wanted to share the full story and my troubleshooting steps along with a video clip showing the exact behavior.

Here is the timeline of what happened:

1. The Incident

Day 1 (Right before leaving): Before I even left for class, I was using my MacBook normally, watching YouTube. Suddenly, the mouse cursor froze and wouldn't move.

When I shook the mouse back and forth—using the macOS feature that temporarily enlarges the cursor so you can find it—the cursor did enlarge, showing the system wasn't totally dead. However, when I stopped shaking, the cursor stayed stuck in place and wouldn't respond. Interestingly, if I dragged the frozen cursor down to the Dock, the Dock icons still popped up and reacted as expected, even though the pointer itself wouldn't navigate normally.

Day 1: I brought my MacBook to class. It was packed inside a protective laptop bag, and I placed it under the seat of my motorcycle.

When I arrived at class, I opened the lid, but the screen was completely blank. Because the room was extremely bright, I couldn't see the keyboard backlight or any faint glow from the display, so I assumed the battery had run out.

Since I didn't bring my own charger, I tried using a friend’s iPad charging cable. However, the cable was too thin and didn't provide enough wattage, so it didn't charge.

2. Initial Troubleshooting

When I got back to my room and plugged it in properly, nothing happened to the built-in display.

However, the keyboard backlight turned on, and the trackpad responded normally (haptic feedback worked), meaning the system was actually running.

Later, I tried connecting it to an external monitor via USB-C/HDMI, and it worked normally. While using the external display, I updated macOS. Suddenly, during or after the update, the built-in laptop screen came back to life and worked normally again.

3. The Lid Angle & Sleep Issue

After that, I noticed a strange pattern: if I open the lid past roughly 90 degrees, the screen goes black.

As shown in the attached video, I have to lower the angle down to about 45 degrees for the display to turn on properly.

Crucially, I must not let the laptop go to sleep. If it goes to sleep, it reverts right back to the black-screen state.

When the screen finally wakes up or recovers, a Kernel Panic report pops up.

4. Apple Store Visit

I made a Genius Bar booking at the Apple Store. The technician told me that the display assembly might need to be completely replaced, costing around 26,000 THB.

Given the high cost, I decided not to repair it through Apple right away and took it back home.

5. Current State & Workarounds

For the first 2–3 days after coming back, it worked fine (as long as I managed the lid angle).

But now, as seen in the video, if I test putting it to sleep (e.g., pressing the Touch ID power button once, then pressing ESC), the screen shuts off with an abnormal flickering flash, and it gets stuck in that broken loop.

Right now, the built-in display is completely black again. My current workaround to revive it is purely a game of chance: I have to completely drain the battery (sometimes by using the MacBook's ports to charge an iPhone) until the battery dies completely, hoping it resets the SMC/display state upon reboot.

Has anyone experienced a similar issue with their M2 MacBook Air? Is this definitely a hardware failure with the physical display cable/T-CON/lid angle sensor, or could it be software-related? Any advice or workaround suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

(Please check the attached video to see the lid angle behavior and the flickering screen issue.)

Thank you so much!

⟐ Commented 8월 18, 2026 at 8:34 GMT-7

When I attach a second hand screen (genuine Apple) it gives me the option to finish the repair and it calibrates accordingly.

When I try a second hand Touch ID (genuine Apple) it fails to recognise it as being a genuine part.

My questions are - is it possible to calibrate a Touch ID now through Apple's program? And if so, would I need to buy a new button through the Self-Service Repair from Apple?

⟐ Answered 8월 18, 2026 at 1:41 GMT-7

⟐ Commented 8월 15, 2026 at 18:34 GMT-7

I'm considering buying a brand new 2015 or 2014 13" MacBook Air. I would prefer to upgrade the SSD myself.

1. Will any standard "M.2" (form factor) SSD module fit the socket connector on this logic board?

2. Or, is the socket connector a totally proprietary connection on on these 2014/2015 MacBook Airs?

I'm planning on purchasing the following "M.2" SSD:

Samsung XP941 Series [Generation 2 PCIe "4 Lanes"] 512GB M.2 SSD.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...

From iFixit's teardown of the 2015 MacBook Air it seems like it should be easy to simply pop out the factory "M.2" style SSD and swap in a new "M.2" style SSD module.

Please let me know if this is true.

Thanks!

⟐ Answer accepted 8월 14, 2026 at 10:26 GMT-7

A couple of hours later when he went to turn the Macbook and that's where he first noticed the problem with the backlight. He says that when he first turned it on, the screen was very dim, but he was able to make out a dialog box on MacOS. Then he said it flickered and went completely dim.

When he gave it to me, the screen was completely dark. However, by shinning a light through the Apple logo, I was able to see the MacOS desktop and confirm it was the backlight that was not-functioning and not the LCD. I connected his laptop to an external monitor and was able to confirm that everything else was working fine.

At that point, my initial instinct was to just replace the display. I found a couple of eBay listings of Macbook Air displays that came with the full display housing. However, in the course of my research, I've read a lot of support threads identifying the Fuse on the mainboard of the Mac as the reason why backlights on the MBA might fail.

Here's a picture of the (what I think is the) fuse on the mainboard:

My Question: How do I know which is the right solution? How do I know if the Fuse is blown or not? Will buying the display off eBay solve the problem regardless? Or will I end up wasting money if it turns out to be a problem with the Fuse?

⟐ Answered 8월 14, 2026 at 0:21 GMT-7

Today's problem: Diagnostics I received a 2015 13" Macbook Air and the customers problem was that the computer randomly shut off while his daughter was watching a youtube video and then it would not power back on after being plugged in.

They attempted to fix it themselves just by those steps i.e. (unplugging it and discharging and then plugging it in again to see if it powers on.

So far I have tried unplugging the battery from the logic board and powering on to see if the battery was the problem at hand. It still didn't power on. So my only thought is the IO port is bad and that needs replacing, I came here to see if anyone thinks that would be my best next step or if any of you had any advice for me on this project.

A friend of mine who does board repairs/ micro soldering suggested it might be the smc chip has lost its touch.

⟐ Commented 8월 12, 2026 at 11:17 GMT-7

Then it started turning off every 30 seconds, same thing closing display and opening again fixed it. At this point, connecting to an external monitor worked fine. So on the external monitor I could use it like regular (with mirrored or extended screen).

Then I restarted, tried a bunch of things on the https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT210905 and https://www.macbookproslow.com/fix-black....

I never got into safe mode or knew if things were working, but I tried all the keyboard combinations. Late into the night, it started working and then I used the Macbook regularly, I went to sleep happy that it was fixed.

Now I woke up and the screen is not working at all, not even showing the apple logo which it was last night. Also, it's not working on external monitor either. I can still see the external monitor and the mouse but it's a black background. The backlight is working and the keys and everything seem fine.

Very frustrating and I'm not sure what to do :(

⟐ Commented 8월 10, 2026 at 7:02 GMT-7

⟐ Answered 8월 10, 2026 at 5:35 GMT-7

⟐ Commented 8월 02, 2026 at 7:44 GMT-7

⟐ Answered 7월 29, 2026 at 6:34 GMT-7

Not much got everywhere, but some of it appears to have gotten stuck underneath at least 3 keys; mainly the "T" & "Y" keys, as well as the screen-brightness reduction key in the top left of the keyboard. The keys have since become stuck & it's become a bit harder than usual to push them down. I know it's possible to remove the keys on older models for cleaning, but I'm unsure how to go through with it/if there's a different process for the new 13" Air. Any help would be highly appreciated <3

⟐ Answered 7월 29, 2026 at 4:34 GMT-7

⟐ Commented 7월 28, 2026 at 11:41 GMT-7

As described in the title I can only charge my MacBook Air 2020 with an old (extremely slow) USB-A to C charger, I don't exactly know when the issue started because this MacBook was gifted to me not too long ago, but I think there were some smaller issues with charging prior to this one.

If anyone has any insight, it would be strongly appreciated!

⟐ Commented 7월 21, 2026 at 5:04 GMT-7

Here’s the full history:

I spilled coffee on it. I took it to a shop and they told me they couldn’t fix it. After about a week I opened it up myself and left it open to dry for another week. Now, in about week three, I started putting it back together — and to my surprise it turned on.

So it’s partially alive, but I have a few related issues I’m trying to sort out:

When I first booted it during reassembly — before screwing the trackpad bracket down — the trackpad worked and I could move the cursor and check the battery percentage. After I screwed everything down and rebooted, the cursor stopped moving and hasn’t come back.

The battery connector is plugged in and locked with its metal locking arm, so that one seems fine. The connector giving me trouble is a small board-to-board (mezzanine) connector near the battery connector — I believe it’s the keyboard/trackpad flex. It has no ribbon and no latch; the two halves just press together. When I press it down it clicks and holds for a few seconds, then pops back undone. I have not used any glue.

On power: the machine shows one fixed battery percentage that never changes, and it shuts off immediately the moment I unplug the charger. It only runs while plugged in.

What I’ve tried so far:

• Reseating that board-to-board connector multiple times

• Confirmed the battery connector is seated and locked

• Verified I haven’t damaged the battery connector’s locking arm

What I’m trying to figure out:

1. Why that board-to-board connector won’t stay mated — alignment, a bent/cracked contact from the spill, tension from the bracket/screws pulling the flex, or corrosion damage?

2. Whether the “shuts off when unplugged / stuck percentage” means the battery is dead/failed, or something related to the spill.

3. Whether tightening the trackpad down is what’s unseating the connector, and how to get it to snap and hold.

Given the coffee spill, I’m also wondering if I should be looking for corrosion on these connectors or the board.

Details:

• Model: MacBook Air M1, A2337 (EMC 3598), Late 2020

• History: coffee spill → shop declined repair → dried open ~2 weeks → reassembling in week 3, powers on

• Battery connector: seated and locked

• Problem connector: keyboard/trackpad board-to-board (mezzanine) connector, won’t stay mated

I can post close-up photos of the connectors and board on request. Any guidance appreciated.

We thought the issue was a bad SMC, We replaced the SMC, Connected the charger, Brief fan spin, no chime or boot. No water damage, clean board Technician cannot find any shorts. The issue remains even with no KB connected. We have reset & programmed the SMC with SMC tools / Unable to reset PRAM etc...... Only with SHIFT+OPT+Power I got it to boot into the system, fan at normal speeds, power button does shut it down....But the system Prefs wont load and it is dead slow. I have used 2 new keyboards shells and 2 good TP cables yet still the same, and with a fresh Monterey installed drive. Diagnostics no issues found. The KB & TP are functioning fine (Except to power up). In recovery mode the terminal sudo nvram -c command is not found. Firmware password is off. @danj @oldturkey03 What can be our issue here?

System Firmware 489.0.0.0.0 correct for Monterey.

SMC Version 2.27f2

No Audio devices are detected with 2 I/O boards, which maybe our issue? Although it did chime once before.... Charges battery OK .....I eventually have successfully clean installed a copy of Monterey on the unit but everything is still the same.... At least I thought so but it has stuck on 12 minutes remaining for quite some time now, I will have a sleep and see if it finished when I wake up.... And as expected it is stuck at under a minute.....

⟐ Edited by author 7월 18, 2026 at 0:36 GMT-7

⟐ Answer accepted 7월 17, 2026 at 20:01 GMT-7

When I click restore, it gets on the 4th step and stalls, then I get a message saying:

“The System cannot be restored on this device.

Unexpected device state 'DFU' expected

"RestoreOS (Probably forced into DFU

mode externally)“.

I have used different USBC cables and keep getting the same message.

⟐ Commented 7월 17, 2026 at 19:31 GMT-7

Debugger message: panic

Memory ID: 0x6

OS release type: Not set yet

OS version: Not set yet

macOS version: Not set

Kernel version: Darwin Kernel Version 25.4.0: Wed Mar 4 21:00:12 PST 2026; root:xnu-12377.101.14~1/RELEASE_ARM64_T8010

KernelCache UUID: D5918C78DE487948F02EC9C28C26C76E

Kernel UUID: 8988F27B-D524-3985-B6AC-E2F100747E6F

Boot session UUID: 8877C03C-24C3-4A04-B161-5BBB08005D29

iBoot version: iBoot-13822.101.1

iBoot Stage 2 version:

secure boot?: YES

roots installed: 0

x86 EFI Boot State: 0x0

x86 System State: 0x3

x86 Power State: 0x6

x86 Shutdown Cause: 0x80

x86 Previous Power Transitions: 0x70707070706

PCIeUp link state: not available

macOS kernel slide: not available

Paniclog version: 15

Kernel slide: 0x0000000022364000

Kernel text base: 0xfffffff029368000

mach_absolute_time: 0x76e2b9f

Epoch Time: sec usec

Boot : 0x00000000 0x00000000

Sleep : 0x00000000 0x00000000

Wake : 0x00000000 0x00000000

Calendar: 0x00000000 0x00000000

Zone info:

Zone map: 0xffffffdc024c0000 - 0xffffffe2024c0000

. VM : 0xffffffdc024c0000 - 0xffffffdce8b24000

. RO : 0xffffffdce8b24000 - 0xffffffdd357f8000

. GEN0 : 0xffffffdd357f8000 - 0xffffffde1be5c000

. GEN1 : 0xffffffde1be5c000 - 0xffffffdf024c0000

. GEN2 : 0xffffffdf024c0000 - 0xffffffdfe8b28000

. GEN3 : 0xffffffdfe8b28000 - 0xffffffe0cf190000

. DATA : 0xffffffe0cf190000 - 0xffffffe2024c0000

Metadata: 0xffffffe2024d0000 - 0xffffffe203cd0000

Bitmaps : 0xffffffe203cd0000 - 0xffffffe203dfc000

Extra : 0 - 0

TPIDRx_ELy = {1: 0xffffffdf026338c0 0: 0x0000000000000000 0ro: 0x0000000000000000 }

CORE 0 is the one that panicked. Check the full backtrace for details.

CORE 1: PC=0xfffffff028608218, LR=0xfffffff028608210, FP=0xffffffedb7d5be10

Compressor Info: 0% of compressed pages limit (OK) and 0% of segments limit (OK) with 0 swapfiles and OK swap space

Panicked task 0xffffffdd358b1f18: 0 pages, 165 threads: pid 0: kernel_task

Panicked thread: 0xffffffdf026338c0, backtrace: 0xffffffedb7ecf190, tid: 370

lr: 0xfffffff0295a2024 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecf200

lr: 0xfffffff0296f42ac fp: 0xffffffedb7ecf270

lr: 0xfffffff0296f2fe4 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecf360

lr: 0xfffffff02955d6b8 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecf370

lr: 0xfffffff0295a210c fp: 0xffffffedb7ecf850

lr: 0xfffffff029cff458 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecf870

lr: 0xfffffff02881ee30 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecf910

lr: 0xfffffff02881ef9c fp: 0xffffffedb7ecf930

lr: 0xfffffff02881e9b0 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecf980

lr: 0xfffffff028288bb4 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecf9a0

lr: 0xfffffff028288a10 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecf9d0

lr: 0xfffffff029c34714 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecfa30

lr: 0xfffffff028289cac fp: 0xffffffedb7ecfa90

lr: 0xfffffff02866ffc0 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecfb00

lr: 0xfffffff0287fdaa0 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecfb30

lr: 0xfffffff0287fbb28 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecfb60

lr: 0xfffffff0287fb9c8 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecfba0

lr: 0xfffffff028674f40 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecfc70

lr: 0xfffffff029c0466c fp: 0xffffffedb7ecfcf0

lr: 0xfffffff029c0412c fp: 0xffffffedb7ecfe00

lr: 0xfffffff029c03128 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecfe70

lr: 0xfffffff029c06f34 fp: 0xffffffedb7ecff20

lr: 0xfffffff0295686ec fp: 0x0000000000000000

⟐ Answer edited 7월 14, 2026 at 8:59 GMT-7