Mac mini M4 won't sleep

Question

Mac mini M4 won't sleep

I have just purchased a new Mini Mac M4. It runs Sequoia 15.1.

All seems great except I cannot get it to sleep reliably without shutting everything down. Is this a known problem? The screen goes off then after a few seconds comes back on. I have trawled various forums looking for solutions and have not found anything that works.

I’ve tried…

- Checking activity monitor to see for apps running that would prevent it sleeping (there are none)

- Shutting down all the open apps and relaunching Finder

- Logging out, then requesting sleep (no there are no other logged on users)

- Messing about with screen settings.

The account is set up with no screen saver, to shut down the display after 5 mins and request login a minute after shutting down the display. The apps I used most are Safari, MS word and MS Excel.

Occasionally if I just leave the mac for 5 minutes it will turn off the screen but definitely not always and I have no idea if that means it is asleep or has just switched off the display drivers.

One thing that seems to work (but I have not tried it enough to know if it is reliable) is logging off then restarting. If I do that then attempt to sleep it, it will sleep but as soon as I log in, I am back to square one.

Far from ideal, I would just like to sleep the computer on demand without having to shut down everything I am working on.

I have a pretty old Mac book pro (10 years plus old). Sleep works perfectly on that.

Can anyone confirm if this is a known problem or provide a reliable solution?

Mac mini, macOS 15.1

Posted on Nov 16, 2024 10:04 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

den.thed

Level 10

88,810 points

Nov 16, 2024 11:24 AM in response to Spendanddeliver

You're welcome. 👍

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Answer 2

lanstrad1

Level 3

556 points

Nov 17, 2024 10:30 AM in response to Spendanddeliver

Are you talking about displays sleep or computer sleep ?

Display sleep usually is a straightforward setting but there is no reason in my view to use computer sleep, as you will read i many posts here. Either leave it ON (it will not raise you energy bill and in my view, sillicon-based macs are less prone to heating as my intel-based 2018 sometimes). Or you could also shut it down for longer periods.

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Answer 3

Dec 8, 2024 08:43 PM in response to den.thed

i was having the same issue, and just wanted to thank den.thed for the solution

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Answer 4

90R

Level 1

12 points

Dec 9, 2024 06:38 AM in response to Spendanddeliver

My problem is my keyboard comes back on and stays on for a long time. My Max mini m4 will sleep as requested.

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Answer 5

Nov 17, 2024 12:48 PM in response to lanstrad1

Thanks Ianstrad1 for your response.

I guess there are a few ways to skin this cat. Basically I was looking for a way to turn off the screen, lock the account and minimise CPU use. I have migrated from a Windows environment and assumed the Mac sleep function was the equivalent of sleep on Windows 10.

I have the Mac behaving as I need it to so will leave it for now. Maybe when I get more familiar with the OS, I might revisit. For now I am just enjoying having a reliable, intuitive OS, not to mention, great performance. No more looking a the Windows rotating wheel of frustration, regular xxx is not responding messages and waiting an age for it to boot or wake up.

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Answer 6

den.thed

Level 10

88,810 points

Dec 9, 2024 07:53 AM in response to 90R

90R wrote:

My problem is my keyboard comes back on and stays on for a long time. My Max mini m4 will sleep as requested.

If requested Sleep is not causing a problem, then using that is fine.

Otherwise, just allow the Display(s) to turn off after 10 minutes, leave the Mac mini on during the day and only shut down for longer periods of non-use.

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Answer 7

Dec 9, 2024 10:16 AM in response to den.thed

Tricky one. The solution provided by den.thed worked fine for me until I installed Photoshop Elements. From that point it refuses to sleep at all, unless I shut down/restart. I guess that app starts something in the background that is preventing it sleeping.

I know on Windows 10 you can control which devices can wake your computer but I am not sure how to do that on the Mac. I guess sleep doesn't mean quite the same thing on PCs and Macs.

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Answer 8

den.thed

Level 10

88,810 points

Dec 9, 2024 11:17 AM in response to Spendanddeliver

Spendanddeliver wrote:

Tricky one. The solution provided by den.thed worked fine for me until I installed Photoshop Elements. From that point it refuses to sleep at all, unless I shut down/restart. I guess that app starts something in the background that is preventing it sleeping.

My original suggestion, was to only allow the Display to Turn Off and not use Computer Sleep.

If you insist on using Computer Sleep, open your Activity Monitor and check to see what is preventing sleep.

I know on Windows 10 you can control which devices can wake your computer but I am not sure how to do that on the Mac. I guess sleep doesn't mean quite the same thing on PCs and Macs.

The older Mac's and macOS versions used the terms Display Sleep and Computer Sleep.

The latest Mac's and macOS versions use the terms Display Off and Computer Sleep.

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