Skip to content

The Data Scientist

MacBook not sleeping

Is your MacBook not sleeping even if the lid is closed? Here’s what you need to do!

Have you tried to close your MacBook’s lid, yet your laptop doesn’t go to sleep anyway? That’s a problem that can appear at times, and it’s important to understand what causes it, but also how you can tackle it as fast as you can. Thankfully, there’s no need to panic. A lot of the time, it has to do with software. Here you have a list of fixes that you can try out!

What are the reasons why your MacBook is not sleeping?

Generally, there are different reasons that appear, each with a different cause. But a lot of the time, it has to be related to background apps that are still using system resources. Either that, or some interfering peripherals, system errors, corrupt sleep mode settings or hardware issues. It’s a good idea to try and narrow things down one at a time. That will help figure out the situation and it will provide a much better result in the end.

Ensure that your MacBook’s sleep settings are correct

If your MacBook is not sleeping when lid closed, then you have to configure its sleep settings. Go to the Apple Menu/System Settings/Lock Screen. Here you want to select the time preference to turn the display off either when you are on battery or power adapter. That way, you know that your screen will turn off automatically as you set it up. It’s a great idea, and it will provide a very good outcome.

See if the network settings are optimized

It’s a good idea to enter the Apple Menu/System Settings/Battery/Options. In here, you want to select to not wake for network access. Because if you do that, everyone will have access to use shared resources. It’s very important to turn that option off, if you can, as it will help save quite a bit of effort and eliminate any misunderstanding.

Disable the autoboot process

When the autoboot is enabled, the Mac will power on when you touch the mouse or keyboard. You can enter the Terminal, and here you write the “sudo nvram AutoBoot=%00” command. Add your password and confirm, then that’s it. The entire process is quite simple and easy to understand, and it’s one of those things that can provide a great result in the end.

Perform system updates

It might not seem like much, but ensuring you have all the system updates will help quite a lot. That’s because sometimes a file could be corrupted and it leads to issues. But if you keep the MacBook up to date, the chances of that thing happening are much lower. You always want to optimize and improve your system, and doing that can help much better than you might expect. Plus, you can also avoid vulnerabilities and other problems if you perform system updates, which is always a great thing to have.

Reset the NVRAM

Sometimes, the nonvolatile access memory can end up keeping your device on. if that’s the case, the best approach is to try and reset the NVRAM. Turn your Mac on and hold Option + Command  + P + R. Keep touching the keys for a few seconds, and then you can release. It’s a solid idea to consider, and it can provide a very good array of benefits.

Disconnect any external devices

A common issue that keeps your MacBook on can very well be an external device. If those devices are attached to your Mac, they will prevent it from going to sleep. And that’s why it makes a lot of sense to try and disconnect those devices as quickly as you can. You can easily mount them back again, so that’s definitely not an issue.

Use a Mac cleanup tool

The role of a Mac cleanup tool is to identify any existing problems and tackle them as quickly as possible. It really helps because you can remove malware, delete temporary files and do all kinds of other things. At the end of the day, it always comes down to delivering an excellent result, and you will be very happy with the way everything comes together. Yes, it can be tricky to manually remove all those files that cause problems. But with a Mac cleanup tool, you really get to sleep that up.

Closing thoughts

We are firm believers that using these tips will solve those issues when the MacBook is not going to sleep even if you closed the lid. Sometimes it’s a very simple fix, other times you may need to do a reset or go for a more complicated fix. But in the end, any issue is fixable and all you need is the right amount of patience. If you do it right and use these great tips, you should have no problem solving that!