Your MacBook is your go-to powerhouse for all things computing. Web browsing, graphic design, video editing, music production, you name it, the MacBook can do it. But like any good laptop, your MacBook has a number of battery-saving features built in and enabled by default. One of these functions is the macOS sleep mode, which optimizes battery life by decreasing power usage.
Sleep mode can do a few things to your Mac, such as turning its display off and winding down its internal drives. But if you’re using your MacBook for networking features that require constant full power, or you just want to turn off sleep mode because you don’t like it, there’s a simple way to disable it.
Turn off sleep mode via Energy Saver/Battery settings (macOS Ventura or later)
Some things changed with the introduction of macOS Ventura, with most of them being focused on the System Settings app that's used to adjust sleep mode settings. Nevertheless, it remains simple enough to turn off sleep mode in macOS Ventura and later.
Step 1: Open the System Settings app from your Mac's Dock or by selecting the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen and picking System Settings.
Step 2: Select the Lock Screen tab. You'll find two options: Turn display off on battery when inactive and Turn display off on power adapter when inactive. Next to each will be a dropdown menu for how long the display should be inactive before turning it off. In both cases, select "Never" to prevent your Mac from sleeping,
Step 3: You can also make sure your Mac doesn't go to sleep when plugged in and the display is off. To do so, select the Battery tab in System Settings' left-hand sidebar, then pick Options... at the bottom of the window. Now, enable the toggle next to Prevent sleeping on power adapter when the display is off.
Turn off sleep mode via Energy Saver/Battery settings (prior to macOS Ventura)
If you're running a version of macOS before macOS Ventura, the steps you need to follow are slightly different. You'll get similar results, though.
Step 1: Open the System Preferences app from your Mac's Dock or by clicking the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen and choosing the System Preferences option.
Step 2: Choose the Energy Saver icon (or Battery for newer versions of macOS).
Step 3: There are two tabs here: Battery and Power Adapter. The former will be selected automatically when opening Energy Saver, so let’s start with that.
By default, the Turn Display Off After section will already be set to a specific time, which is used when there’s no activity being detected on the Mac.
In order to disable this feature completely, drag the slider to the right where it says Never.
Step 4: A warning window will appear stating that the MacBook may consume more energy with these specific settings. Hit the OK button to confirm the change.
Step 5: Below the slider, there are a few additional settings that you can disable as well:
- Put hard disks to sleep when possible
- Slightly dim the display while on battery power
- Enable Power Nap while on battery power
Step 6: Select the Power Adapter tab and drag the slider to the right once again to Never, and also turn off some of the settings below (keep the first one turned on):
- Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off
- Put hard disks to sleep when possible
- Wake for Wi-Fi network access
- Enable Power Nap while plugged into a power adapter
Turn off Schedule (prior to macOS Ventura)
If your Schedule tool is enabled within Energy Saver, then you’ll need to turn that off as well to prevent your MacBook from sleeping.
Step 1: Select the Schedule button.
Step 2: Untick the Start up or wake and Sleep boxes, then select the OK button.
My MacBook sleeps when I don’t want it to
In the event that your MacBook dips into sleep mode, or wakes without you telling it to, there may be something afoot with your sleep settings. To troubleshoot, you should first head to your sleep settings. Maybe the amount of time it takes for your MacBook to enter sleep mode (when connected or disconnected from its power adapter) is too short a window.
Adjust the timespan to one you deem worthy. Additionally, you can pop into your MacBook’s Battery settings to disable Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off.
My MacBook wakes when I don’t want it to
This section is a bit more complicated, only because there are several features and programs that can wake your MacBook. Don't worry, though, because we have troubleshooting and fix-it tips for each potential culprit:
Step 1: If your MacBook’s shared resources are accessible to other users on your network, whenever one of them tries to open one of your MacBook’s assets, your laptop will wake. These resources can include a printer connected over your network, a shared Apple Music playlist, and more.
To prevent this, open System Settings, then click Battery > Options > Wake for network access > *Never.
You can also disable other sharing capabilities by clicking System Settings > General > Sharing. Locate the service you don’t want to share anymore, then toggle sharing off.
Step 2: Unbeknownst to you, your MacBook might be running an app or two in the background that is preventing it from sleeping. To keep tabs on this type of activity, open the Finder app, then click Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor.
Step 3: Now just click the CPU button at the top of the page and you’ll be presented with a breakdown of software and other tools that are currently talking to your MacBook’s processor. This might reveal an app that shouldn't be running, which you can close with the X button at the top of the app window. Be careful with what you close, though, and don't close any app that you don't recognize, as it might be important to macOS.
It’s important to highlight how your battery will be affected if there are no sleeping options enabled for your Mac. As Apple itself states within the Energy Saver window, never allowing your display to go to sleep may shorten its life.
If the Mac is always operational when it’s not completely shut down, then this will impact the overall health of your system’s battery. Should it fail, you may wish to get a replacement battery for your MacBook in order to keep using your computer.
To a pricey battery replacement, make sure you know how to care for your MacBook's battery and extend its overall lifespan.
