Is your MacBook Air having an issue where you see a blank screen right after login? Does your screen stay white and does not display the desktop correctly? Are you thinking that your computer is dead and you need to buy a new one? Don’t worry! We have created this handy little guide in which we’ll discuss how to fix this issue quickly.

MacBook Air is a reliable machine. Very rarely, it can encounter a problem that prevents it from loading the desktop. You can end up paying a lot of money for a problem that can possibly be fixed with simple and easy to follow DIY methods.

The blank screen can be simple to troubleshoot if the problem is with the Mac software. However, if the problem relates to hardware, you might want to consider taking your MacBook Air to an Apple-authorized repair shop.

What Is The MacBook Air Blank Screen After Login Error?

Some users using MacBook Air experience a blank screen right after they type in their username and password. They can move the cursor around and get to the force quit power menu by holding down the power button. However, they are stuck afterwards.

What Are The Causes Of MacBook Air Blank Screen After Login?

macbook air blank screen after login causes

With a blank screen, your MacBook Air is pretty much unusable. Here are a few causes for this issue.

  • Updating Mac OS to a new version
  • Incompatible or corrupted drivers
  • Mac Apps failing to upgrade
  • Disk space reached maximum capacity for the OS to operate efficiently
  • Corrupted MacBook Air operating system
  • PRAM storing invalid system settings

How To Fix The MacBook Air Blank Screen After Login Error?

macbook air blank screen after login fix

Let us take a quick look at a few of the fixes to get your MacBook Air working again.

Check Brightness

The first thing you can do is to check the brightness on your MacBook Air that can get disturbed by accident. You can increase or decrease the brightness and see if that helps in bringing up the desktop after you log in.

Free Up Disk Space

You can try a simple method and free up disk space so that your Mac operating system works flawlessly. This can help prevent and fix the blank screen right after your login. You can:

  • Delete files you no longer need and move them to trash
  • Empty your trash
  • Move your music, video, and other media files to an external storage device or on iCloud
  • Compress your files

After you have cleared enough disk space, try rebooting your MacBook Air and see if you can get rid of the blank screen error.

Reboot In Safe Mode

The first thing you can do is to start your MacBook Air in safe mode to load Mac OS with minimum drivers. This process also clears some stored caches that can cause the error as well. To do this:

  • Press down the Power button and press and hold the Shift key
  • Let go of the Shift key on your MacBook Air when the Apple logo is visible
  • Once the safe mode is booted in, you’ll see a red “Safe boot” on the top right area of your screen
  • Verify the desktop loads in safe mode
  • Restart your MacBook Air in normal mode
  • Confirm that the desktop loads after login normal mode

Perform A PRAM/NVRAM Reset

PRAM holds the memory of certain settings even when the MacBook Air is powered off. If the safe boot fails to fix the blank screen issue, you can reset PRAM/NVRAM to clear settings for volume, sound, startup disk selection, time zone, and more. You can reset your Mac PRAM by doing the following:

  • Hold down Command+option+P+R to turn on your MacBook Air
  • Keep holding the keys until your MacBook Air restarts again
  • Let go of the keys when you hear the startup Apple chime
  • Verify that you can see the desktop after login

Reset SMC For A Quick Blank Screen Fix After Login

SMC stands for system management controller. You can try to reset it and check whether this quick fix can solve the blank screen error.

  • Shut down your MacBook Air
  • Unplug and reconnect the power cable
  • Press down Shift+Control+Option and the power button at the same time
  • Release all keys at the same time
  • You can see the light on the power cable flickering that confirms that you have reset your SMC
  • Reboot your MacBook Air to verify the fix

Run Disk Utility

You can pinpoint the issue that is causing the blank screen by running the Disk Utility. This feature can solve many MacBook Air problems. To do this:

  • Hold down Command+R+P keys to restart your MacBook Air
  • Release the keys when the Apple logo shows up
  • On the OS X utilities, select Disk Utility
  • Choose the default disk on which Mac OS is installed
  • Click First Aid to run the Disk Utility process
  • Restart MacBook Air and verify that you can see the desktop after login

Reinstall macOS On Your MacBook Air

If Disk Utility fails to solve your blank screen problem, you can try installing a fresh new Mac OS over the internet. You can do the following steps for this purpose.

  • Turn On your MacBook Air while holding down Command+R+P keys
  • When the Apple logo shows up, release all keys 
  • Under macOS utilities, select Reinstall macOS
  • Click continue to start the installation process
  • Confirm that the fresh OS install fixes the blank screen problem after login

Conclusion

You should be able to fix the blank screen after the login issue on your MacBook Air with the solutions mentioned above so that it can function like a new one. Good luck!