Laptop turning off due to positioning relative to another one I was working on a MacBook Pro which was placed on top of a closed MacBook Pro. There is a precise position where the screen turns black and the internet stops working. I can repeat this phenomenon again and again with always the same output.



On the .gif, you can see (if you stare a little bit) the laptop is on top of another closed laptop. At the beginning of the .gif, everything goes fine. Then I pulled the laptop just a little bit and the screen turns black when a precise position is found. When I pull the laptop a bit further everything turns back to normal.

What is going on?
Magnets.

Sensors in the body of the awake MBP are detecting magnets in the lid of the closed MBP.  It thinks you've closed the lid, so it goes to sleep.