Mac OS X 10.6.3: MacBook LCD Backlight Off After Sleep; Fixes

Some users have reported an issue in which, after the update to Mac OS X 10.6.3, MacBook screens fail to power on the LCD backlight. This results in a faint, dim, barely visible image on the screen.

Fixes

Sleep corner. James Wang notes a workaround that allows recovery from the backlight failure, as follows:

1. Set up an active screen corner (Leopard: System Preferences, Expose and Spaces) as Sleep Display.


2. Remember which corner you set the Sleep Display as (preferably one out of the way so it doesn’t disturb your work normally—bottom right works well).


3. When the problem occurs, move your mouse to the screen corner.

Downgrade to Mac OS X 10.6.2. In extreme cases of this issue, a downgrade to Mac OS X 10.6.2 may be the only viable option.