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hky035
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

M1 MacBook Air screen turns black when switching desktops or opening Display Settings

Hi,

I am experiencing a strange graphical glitch on my M1 MacBook Air and would appreciate some help.

Here are the specific situations where the issue occurs:


  • When switching between desktops: When I have multiple desktops (Spaces) open and move from the second desktop back to the first desktop (using the Ctrl + ← shortcut), the wallpaper instantly turns entirely black for a brief moment before the screen loads properly. Please note that this issue occurs when the 'Reduce Motion' option is turned off (disabled).
  • When opening Display Settings: Whenever I first enter the 'Displays' menu in System Settings, the background preview of the monitor also shows up as solid black temporarily.


This issue started happening recently and is quite distracting. Has anyone else experienced this, or is there a known fix for it?

Thank you in advance!

Posted on Sep 16, 2026 7:10 PM

2 replies

WheelieNick
User level: Level 9 (74,110 points)

Sep 17, 2026 3:30 AM in response to hky035

If you are using a custom photo or an official Apple wallpaper, macOS might be glitching while trying to sync it across your separate virtual desktops. 


  1. Go to System Settings > Wallpaper.
  2. Look at your active wallpaper and ensure that "Show on all Spaces" is toggled Off.
  3. Switch your wallpaper to a completely different one (or even a solid color), restart your Mac, and then change it back to your preferred wallpaper


hky035 Author
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

Sep 17, 2026 6:54 PM in response to WheelieNick

Thank you for your reply!

I tried the suggested solution, and it resolved the issue temporarily.

However, the same issue occurred again after some time.


I’m not sure why this issue only occurs when switching back to the first virtual desktop.

Sometimes, rearranging the virtual desktops temporarily resolves the issue. However, even after changing their order, the problem still occurs only when switching to whichever desktop is in the first position.


The issue doesn’t occur when “Reduce Motion” is turned off, but that puts a bit more strain on performance, haha.

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256358609