You can turn off the glowing Apple logo on the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, and Apple has now published the steps. The logo goes dark with a single Terminal command, and a second command brings it back.
Apple published the steps on its support website. When Apple teased the glowing Apple logo in October, it did not say whether the logo could be switched off. The command runs in Terminal and asks for an administrator password.
Turn off the glowing Apple logo with one Terminal command
The logo on the back of your display stays lit whenever the Mac is awake. The logo follows the brightness of the built-in screen and the ambient light sensor, so it looks dimmer in a dim room than in a bright one. Turning off the illumination makes the logo dark in all lighting conditions.
Open Terminal, which is in the Utilities folder inside your Applications folder, or find it with Spotlight. Paste the command below into Terminal and press Return.
sudo defaults write com.apple.CoreBrightness LEBacklightMode -int 0
Terminal asks for your administrator password and does not show it as you type, so press Return when you are done. The logo turns off immediately.
The change applies to every macOS user account on the Mac, including when you start up from macOS Recovery. The setting also moves to a new Mac when you migrate, so the logo stays dark after a transfer until you turn it back on.
To bring the glow back, run the command below in Terminal. Reinstalling macOS also turns the illumination back on.
sudo defaults delete com.apple.CoreBrightness LEBacklightMode
The logo steps apply to the 14-inch and 16-inch models that arrive today
The steps cover the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, which come with M5 Pro or M5 Max. Both sizes opened for pre-order on October 28 and start arriving to customers on Friday, November 6.
Apple sells the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display in 30 countries and regions, including the United States. The first units also reach Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers on November 6.
The command requires a MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, so it does not cover the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6, which has a Liquid Retina XDR display.
