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A1706 / EMC 3071—Released in November 2016, this 13" Macbook Pro introduces the OLED Touch Bar. Features a dual-core "Skylake" Intel Core i5 CPU and four Thunderbolt 3 ports.

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MacBook Pro 2016 black screen but trackpad works

Hi,

I’ve been having a problem with my 2016 MacBook Pro 13" Touch Bar for several months.

  • This one no longer starts and the screen remains completely black without any display (I also tried to use a lamp to illuminate the screen but there are no displays at all).
  • No keyboard backlight, the Touch Bar also remains off and the green diode of the CAPS LOCK key does not light up either when I press it.
  • Strangely, the only functional thing is the trackpad since I still have the haptic feedback after I try to start the computer. I assume the computer's starting up, but there's something preventing a full boot for some reason.

Another detail that is surprising (and this is the reason why I indicated "for several months" at first), this same thing happened to me two other times before.

And after many attempts such as resetting the SMC and NVRAM, charging the MacBook for hours, trying to boot with or without the charging cable etc... the computer finally managed to boot these two times and everything was working normally.

The only reflex I had at that time was to check the state of the battery that seemed to be normal. After turning off my MacBook and not using it for 2 or 3 days, here I am again, facing the same issue but this time I'm not lucky enough to get it started again…

Would anyone have been confronted with the same situation or would at least know where it could come from?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you !

Update:

I tried a few things since I didn’t have any answer about my problem:

  • Disconnecting the battery with the power cable connected. The MacBook starts but still no display.
  • Disconnecting the trackpad with power cable connected. The fans run at full speed but no display either. I also checked the trackpad ribbon, which is not damaged (neither the pins of the ribbon, nor those of its socket on the motherboard).
  • I inspected the motherboard for long minutes. Looks like there is no oxidation.
  • Disconnecting the screen ribbon to check if it was potentially oxidized or damaged, which is not the case. The pins are not damaged either, and neither is its socket on the motherboard.

So despite several tests I still don't know where it can come from. If it only came from the screen, I think the touchbar would work as well as the keyboard backlight.

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Sorry for not catching your Q! I just didn’t see it until now.

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This is a bit tricky! As we need a USB-C power meter to measure the ports power to see if the charging logic is working correctly. The trackpad haptic feedback doesn’t pull that much power and is on its own circuit from the rest of the system so don’t read to much into that.

Given the age of the system your Battery is likely on its last legs and will need replacing soon the fact you disconnected it from the AC may have broken the camels back sadly.

Don’t forget this series had the Stage light and the butterfly keys issues. Apple was not kind to the people who bought this systems and made it quite hard to fix. Neither of these are easy fixes.

So not to be a downer I’m not sure if this system is worth the investment. So before you go to far see what you can get for a used 2018/19 system with equal if not better specs and options (RAM & Storage)

I don’t like telling people this news, it’s simply one of the worst systems Apple has produced. I still use a 2015 15” MacBook Pro as I just didn’t like what Apple did. I often get people just do simple stuff to get one if they can get a good price. Many people are holding tight to them until Apple wakes up!

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Thank you for your answer. To be honest, I’m not really into buying a new MacBook these days so this is why I wish I could fix this one but I understand your point of view.

Since I bought this computer in 2017, I have only used it a few times and not intensively so the battery seemed pretty fine when I checked battery settings.

Btw I didn’t understand this part I’m sorry: “the fact you disconnected it from the AC may have broken the camels back sadly.”

If I'm considering buying a USB-C power meter, what would you recommend me to do if the motherboard is properly powered and vice versa, if it's not?

Thank you!

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@middleditch - Batteries die from lack of use as well as just age. Just like your doctor tells us to keep moving! If we don’t we get stiff and our arteries get stiff leading us to our maker! Batteries are very similar.


Even if you had kept it in its box unused I would still press you to get a new battery. Then we have the two issues this system had from the start the https://www.ifixit.com/News/41330/class-... (Stage Light effect) and https://www.ifixit.com/News/14776/apples....

It still comes down which is the cheaper solution for your current plight? Frankly, an older (2015 system) or a newer (2018 and newer) would be the better investment.


Getting a power meter is a diagnostic tool to help isolate the issue you face as this system also had some charging issues. So while the tool is useful, unless you are going to repair the system which will likely cost much more than a good used system, it would be a bit of a waste. Either repair direction will be costly. Here’s MacBook Pro 13" Touch Bar Late 2016 Battery Replacement we don’t have a guide for it as it’s difficult to get a clean one due to Apples security TouchID system. Someone might be able to repair yours but again it’s not cheap.


Here’s what I use MakerHawk USB-C power meter

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