Issue with screensaver not starting - Sequoia 15.5

Question

Issue with screensaver not starting - Sequoia 15.5

I have a brand new Mac Mini M4 with a studio display running Sequioa 15.5. Just having constant trouble with turning off the display. I have the settings set to start the screensaver after 10 mins and then go dark after 20 mins. Right after a reboot, everything works great. The screensaver comes on and then the display does what it is supposed to do. This works for a day or two and then just stops working. I have monitored the Activity app to see if there any apps that are preventing sleep - and there aren't any that show up as doing so. I've swapped out the thunderbolt cable in case there was a problem there.

Frustrating since unless I manually drag the mouse to the hot corner to turn the display off, the display just stays on all night.

Anyone have any ideas? I have a wired keyboard and a magic mouse. Thanks

Mac mini (M4)

Posted on Jul 14, 2025 03:44 PM

Reply

Answer 1

den.thed

Level 10

88,606 points

Jul 14, 2025 06:33 PM in response to wormsaregreat

1) Move the Studio Display to the ThunderBolt/USB port next to the HDMI port.

2) Run EtreCheckPro as suggested by BDAqua.

EtreCheckPro is an excellent tool for finding and sorting out problems.

Download and run the free version of EtreCheckPro, from > https://etrecheck.com/en/index.html

Then post back here with your Report, as per > How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community

Reply

Answer 2

den.thed

Level 10

88,606 points

Jul 14, 2025 04:41 PM in response to wormsaregreat

What USB keyboard are you using with the M4 Mac mini..?

What USB external drives and other devices are connected to the M4 Mac mini..?

Some USB keyboards, external drives and other devices can prevent the display from turning off.

As a test: set Start Screen Saver when inactive to Never and Turn display off when inactive to 10 minutes.

Reply

Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

249,941 points

Jul 14, 2025 04:23 PM in response to wormsaregreat

We might find the cause if you post an etrecheck report…

https://etrecheck.com/en/index.html

Reply

Answer 4

Jul 14, 2025 04:56 PM in response to den.thed

I have a USB hub connected to the Mini (my wired keyboard plugs into that) and also an external HD for TimeMachine backups. Had them attached to my old Mini too and never gave me problems.

The test didn't do anything. Meaning display didn't turn off.

What I don't get is why it works for a couple of days and then just stops working.

Reply

Answer 5

Jul 15, 2025 02:04 PM in response to den.thed

EtreCheck report

Reply

Answer 6

BDAqua

Level 10

249,941 points

Jul 15, 2025 02:11 PM in response to wormsaregreat

May want to remove this…

Perian (? - installed 1970-08-16)

Delete this file & restart..

~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.adobe.ARM.***.plist

See if you can free up same RAM.

Reply

Answer 7

Jul 15, 2025 02:44 PM in response to BDAqua

Thanks. Did those and screensaver works now. But it does always work after a restart. Let's see if it continues to work after a day or two - that's the acid test.

Reply