Apple Studio Display shows black screen on start up after updating to firmware 16.4 (Build 20E246)

I've connected two new studio monitors to a new mac studio. The right monitor works but the left monitor is blank. I have power it on and off by unplugging the power cord. It begins to power up and then goes blank again. I have done all the 101 troubleshooting I know. I need help. Any ideas?

I recently received a brand new Studio Display and also had this problem. When I plugged my laptop into the screen I would get three dots for about 3 seconds and then the screen would go blank. In my case, the issue was that I was trying to connect my laptop to the screen in clamshell mode. When I opened my laptop up the screen worked fine and it asked me permission to connect the device on the laptop screen. Since granting those permissions I am now able to connect in clamshell mode without the three dot issue.

Can't imagine Apple do anything other than plug another Mac into the display that has some custom software that can reload the firmware. I wonder why they don't give us mere mortals the opportunity to 'revive' a studio display using Apple Configurator. Very frustrating to have to drag a large display to an Apple Store.

I just returned from my local Apple Store. Everything is beautiful now. 😉 The tech had to restore the Studio Display after a brief diagnosis. He told me that sometimes a software update download doesn't go right or that there could have been a wifi interruption of some type. He had to perform a 10 minute SOFTWARE REVIVE, as my emailed receipt shows. Since the Studio Display is under warranty, there was no charge, of course.

As a note to everyone, including Apple, that suggests to disconnect the power cable or Thunderbolt cable for whatever period of time, those approaches don't always work. I'm glad it worked for you. It didn't for me, hence the need to go to the Apple store for a revival of sorts.

Perhaps an apple Tech would do us the courtesy of explaining how to perform a "software revive" on the Studio Display.

I am getting black-screen every time I power on my Mac Pro 7,1

I have the same problem. Updating the screen drivers and updating to sonora didn’t help. Been in touch with Apple support and they were unable to help. GD ridicuolus since Ive paid 12K for the lot. Shame on u Apple

Try disconnecting the Studio Display from power, wait five minutes, then plug it back in. First rule of troubleshooting, unplug the thing, wait a few minutes, plug it back in.

Mine did this today. We called Apple Care. Display was not working on either my Macbook Pro or Istudio. We were told to hit "f2" "brightness" button. The display started up. We were on the display up to going to bed. I have to think we did not do it for the brightness to go all the way down. But "f2" fixed it for now. Tomorrow is a new day.

This worked for me too, but it wasn't exactly smooth.

I unplugged the display for around five minutes, but initially when I plugged it in I got the black screen, icon and restore URL. About 30 or so seconds later the update resumed, showing the three dots and "updating" message. Once that finished the screen was black. I had to disconnect the Thunderbolt cable from my Macbook Pro and connect it again, and then it was back to normal.

Thanks so much for posting this! I drove away from the Apple Store after dropping off my monitor and they called me before I was half a mile away saying it was fine after the software revive. Glad I saw it coming and that your answer gave me hope! 😅

There have been at least two firmware updates to the Studio Display since 16.4 but they require macOS Sonoma to apply them. macOS 14 Sonoma is being released 9/26/23 so updating to Sonoma followed by updating Studio display firmware would seem the thing to do.

Around 2 months ago, I bought my first Mac Studio, came home and migrated my files over from my MacBook. Thereafter is the start of my first problem. The Mac Studio goes into a perpetual boot up cycle. All keystrokes were tried, test and does not work. So I had to make a trip to the Apple Store. It was within the 7 days, so they offer me a new one and I took it. I was then away for half and month and when I came home, I did not want to migrate my files, so I started it up and use it. Worked well and then after a month, I notice that occasionally the display goes blank and I had to force shut & reboot it back up; nothing I could do to wake it up. Now, after 2.5 months, it completely dies on me. The power light seems to indicate that it boot, but there is no display. I had plugged the display cable directly into the HDMI port. Again, no keystrokes could show up anything. I am scheduled to bring it in to the Apple Store (again) tomorrow. I will update if there is any good news. Otherwise, apart from this disappearing display issue, I am happy with the Mac Studio.

So what do you plan to do now with your 12K system? If it were me I’d take it to an Apple Store or authorized Apple service provider for examination and diagnosis. Can we assume your warranty is till in effect?

The current Studio Display firmware on 14DEC2023 is Version 17.0(build 21A329).

You can see this information in macOS Sonoma version 14.2 by going to System Settings> General> About and at bottom of page System Report> Graphics/Displays.

One should check this information after every MacOS update and make notes in case one needs to make a support call to do a recovery of the Studio Display.

Wonder what happens to these Studio Displays when Apple drops support for the A13 Bionic chip that is also in the iPhone lineup?

Same issue, after I unplugged Studio monitor power cable and plugged it back in, it stayed black. Had to unplug the usb-c cable from my MacBook Air and plug it back in to make the monitor display the desktop again. Not great. I am on the latest firmware 17. I also had a separate issue when I updated the firmware, the display showed an update error, had to unplug it from the laptop, power cycle the display, then it ran through the firmware update again and finally completed it.