How to Run Apple Diagnostics to Test Mac for Hardware Issues

Cassie Xie
Last updated: Jun 5, 2024
Summary: This post mainly introduces how to run Apple Diagnostics on Mac to diagnose your Mac’s hardware problems.
Apple Diagnostics

What Is Apple Diagnostics?

Apple offers a free Mac diagnostic tool named Apple Diagnostics (formerly known as Apple Hardware Test) to help users check their Macs for hardware issues. If you think your Mac has some hardware issues, you can run Apple Diagnostics to test your Mac hardware.

What does Apple Diagnostics detect?

Apple Diagnostics can check your Mac hard drive, graphics card, processor, RAM, power controller, battery, network hardware, Bluetooth, keyboard, mouse, touch bar, SMC, and other hardware components. It displays the error related to specific hardware and provides solutions to help you fix the issue.

Can Apple Diagnostics detect viruses?

No. Apple Diagnostics doesn’t detect viruses. macOS includes a built-in antivirus tool named XProtect to protect your Mac against viruses or malware. Related: Mac Virus Scan with XProtect | Top 5 Antivirus for Mac (Sequoia).

When to run an Apple Diagnostics on a Mac/MacBook?

If your Mac runs very slow, crashes a lot, or often shuts down unexpectedly, you may run a hardware test for your Mac with Apple Diagnostics.

How to Run Apple Diagnostics on Mac/MacBook to Check Hardware Issues

The process to run Apple Diagnostics on Intel-based Macs and Apple silicon Macs is a little bit different. Check the detailed guide below.

  • On Intel-based Macs:

    1. Press the Power button on your Mac, and immediately press and hold the D key during the startup.
    2. Release the D key when you see a progress bar saying “checking your Mac” or when you are asked to choose a language.
  • On Apple Silicon Macs:

    1. Press the Power button on your Mac to turn on your Mac. Continue holding the Power button until you see the startup options screen.
    2. Release the Power button. Press and hold the Command + D keyboard shortcut to run Apple Diagnostics on your Mac.
Apple Diagnostics
tip
If your Macbook won’t turn on, you can still follow the steps above to try to start Apple Diagnostics.

Check the Apple Diagnostics Test Results:

The checking process may take a few minutes. After Apple Diagnostics finishes checking your Mac, it will show the test results. If it finds some hardware issues on your Mac, it will display the issues and reference codes. It may also suggest solutions for issues.

Apple Diaganostics Test Results
  • If you want to test your Mac again with Apple Diagnostics, click “Run the test again” or press the Command + R keyboard shortcut.
  • If you want to restart your Mac, you can click Restart or press the R key on your keyboard.
  • If you want to shut down your Mac, you can click Shut Down or press the S key on your keyboard.
tip
To learn detailed information about the reference codes shown in the Apple Diagnostics test results screen, you may visit this page: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203747.

Other Tips to Repair Your Mac Issues

Aside from running Apple Diagnostics to troubleshoot Mac errors, you can also try the tips below to repair your Mac.

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Conclusion

This post mainly introduces how to run Apple Diagnostics on Mac. If your Mac has problems, you can use this macOS built-in diagnostic tool to check and fix issues with your Mac hardware components.

Cassie has been writing about technology for her entire career life - over 5 years. She enjoys diving into how Apple products work and then breaking it down in a way anyone can understand.