mac wont wake from sleep after Catalina upgrade

I have the opposite problem - my iMac won't go to "sleep" no matter how many times I check the settings - the settings are correct, they are no different from the settings I had with the previous OS. My MacbookPro is having the same issues - it never goes to sleep now.

ive tried all the suggestions in this thread to no avail.. black screen when waking from sleep has been happening on my 2014 MBA, as well as a 2012 iMac just sharing my experience here..

i use the screen saver 'hot corners' to lock my screen easily when walking away.. BUT i noticed after upgrading to Catalina, when i went 'top right' to lock, the screen would turn off, and then instantly turn right back on with the password prompt. here's the 2 things i messed with..

---> EDIT nevermind! none of my efforts worked.

just to confirm 2 more macs, a desktop, and a laptop with this 'black screen waking from sleep' issue..

have tried enabling / disabling 'allow apple watch to unlock'... no change

reset SMC and NV/PRAM on both machines ... no change

played with lock screen settings, and timeout for password etc.. .... no change

and the big one - WIPED AND FRESH INSTALL! .. no change..

yea on BOTH computers...

hopefully this gets some attention, and an update is pushed out soon. not being able to use sleep mode b lows!

(and yes im aware i can set my machine to not sleep, etc etc.. BUT i cant have the thing turned on while its in my backpack.) and yes i know, it boots up quickly since i have to shut it down every time i walk away - (yes some of us cant leave unlocked computers on the desk at work) - but this is still a bad experience IMO.

here's to a quick path from apple! (hopefully)

(i had to edit this - apparently using the work 'suck s' gets censored LOL)

I have the same issue 2017 MBA and I've tried the workarounds, none of which works. It did look like some people had this issue in Beta, so surprised Apple hasn't put much attention around this. From a user standpoint, this is a critical issue. Maybe a tweet to Tim Cook might help, lol.

yes, user - myshoeisonfire - above tried a fresh install and got the same results. I didn't go quite that far, but I did try to reinstall with no luck and I have spent about 2 hours with support trying all of the things mentioned throughout this thread to no avail. Support did raise my issue to the engineers and they are scheduled to call me on Tuesday...we'll see. Results varied in safe boot where my problem reversed and Mac wouldn't stay asleep, but outside of safe mode my Mac locks up after about 10 sec of sleep on my account, and it takes about 2 min in an account I added to test this problem. My coworker has a 2018 MB and his update to Catalina worked just fine. I wish someone from Apple would jump on this thread and at least give us some news.

Fixed!!!!!

So I was having a similar problem... 2014 era MacBook Air with a fresh install of Catalina was not waking from sleep. It would go to gray screen, but no further. I'd have to hold the power button and restart the whole system. After wasting all day trying to figure it out on my own, I did a chat with the guru's at Apple Support and after being transferred to a supervisor, he nailed it. Turns out that one stupid little file with an outdated extension was causing issues. I had no idea what this file was for, so we moved it to the trash (not deleted completely just yet).

That solved the issue. I tested the sleep mode after 1, 3 and 5 minutes and it is back to working the way it should. Unfortunately I am not a techie, so trying to explain how he went about this process would not only confuse, but probably make things worse, so I apologize for that, but the first step was to create a new user (with admin) and restart using that login. If same issue occurs, it's a system wide issue versus a specific user issue. Mine was system wide. We then went hunting for non-apple extensions residing in an area used during startup, and somehow he spotted the right one immediately.

So far so good. Again sorry I cannot provide the details, but if you chat with support and mention this whole file extension issue perhaps you'll get lucky too.

Nope: this has failed again and I am back to no wake. The watch connection was NOT the solution. I've done more experimenting and discovered that, most of the time, my machine will wake if I sleep with no other apps running. This seems particularly true if I am running Microsoft. I am able to wake from sleep with a few Apple standard apps running, but as soon as I turn on Outlook, Word or Excel I cannot wake. Tested with only Chrome on and it didn't wake, either.

Does anyone know: is there an extension or place I can look that would hold files related to third-party apps?

I just got off the phone with Apple Support. So it sounds like their sending a bunch of tickets to the engineers to get a bug fix in for the next Catalina update.

Meanwhile, there's at least one workaround that worked for me.

Go to Security & Privacy in System Preferences and uncheck "Require password after sleep or screen saver begins." It sleeps fine now, but it's not ideal in the short term if you need your password lock every time.

OK, so I just got off the phone with an Apple advisor/technician and we solved this issue :-) Please be carefull when making any changes to your computer. I am just reiterating what the tech told me what to do so proceed at your own will :-) (Just covering my back side)

We found an unsupported file called Trigger5Core.kext and I moved it to my trash as well as copying it to my desktop (just in case I need to replace it later) then I removed it from my trash but again, keep a copy of it somewhere other than the library it was found, just in case' Then turned off the computer by going to  and selecting "Shut Down" which took a bit longer than normal, and in fact I ended up having to push and holding the power button, but the etch told me to do it this way rather than just pushing power off right away. Then power the computer back up which also took longer than normal, but then BINGO ! it works now!

The tech had files on this issue that some people that did this proceeder also lost compatibility there USB C hub if they had one but I don't so I went ahead and moved it any way.

1. Press Command Key(⌘) + Shift + C

2. Select "Macintosh HD".

3. Select "System".

4. Select "Library".

5. Select "Extensions".

6. Find the following: "Trigger5Core.kext"

7. If you find this file copy it to your desktop then delete it from the library.

8. Other files that caused a similar problem where "MCT_trigger2.kext" and "triggers.kext" I found them but left them in there as these did not effect me, but others have removed them (after copying them)

Hope this helps others out.

can you edit your comment to just say someone fixed it for me but don't know how they did it. you wrote a paragraph just to say a file was deleted but you dont know which one ? just put in the name of the file we can figure it out from there.

Trigger5Core.kext

Canelo8... As I explained in my original comment, I wasn't able to take notes as the tech was flying through all the different steps, actually three different techs, 2 chat sessions, one chatted command string, etc.

I only offered the comment to say that perhaps if you don't know how to fix it (which you obviously don't) it might be worthwhile to contact support and mention my situation.

Sorry (again) that I wasn't of more help, I don't utilize these forums enough to know what the proper protocol is, I guess next time I'll just keep my mouth shut so as not to bother you.

I am very curious to try this out as a possible fix/workaround. I have a client who's having the same issue, and he actually uses a J5create Dock (Trigger5Core.kext is one of their extensions). The dock no longer allows more than one external monitor, and their website actually cautions against upgrading to Catalina until they have updated their own drivers.

For others having the issue, if you happen to use J5create docks, or have used them in the past, the above location of the extensions is a little off. If you plan on looking for these extensions, they'll be here instead:

Macintosh HD > Library > Extensions.

You may find Trigger5Core.kext, MCTTrigger6USB.kext, MCTTriggerGraphics.plugin, and DJTVirtualDisplayDriver.kext.

These are all part of the J5create drivers. At least for the dock series that we're running.

They may be a little different, but if they start with MCT, it's usually a good sign they're from J5create.

I'm gonna see if he'll let me try this out and I'll post my findings if he does. He's gettin' ornery and we're probably going to have to downgrade him instead, but it'd be cool if this was all it needed to make things right. He can survive without the dock for a while.

Thank you sir288! You saved my day : )

I bought a J5create docks and installed its driver last week. After that I upgraded the Mac OS to Catalina. Then the "wake up" issues started to happened.

The exact folder for J5create driver is Macintosh HD > Library > Extensions.

I deleted those three extensions and it works perfectly now.

P.S. I returned the J5create Docks few days ago as well 😂

Thanks Dobxdog.

Deleting "Trigger5Core.kext" solved my issue. I use a J5 Create Boomerang docking station and I think the file relates to it in some way. Having thought about it I realized that when the computer was actually plugged in to the docking station I didn't have the problem, it only occurred when I was using the computer independently of the docking station.

I tried the NVRAM reset and the SMC reset, in addition to the safe mode approach. The NVRAM and SMC solutions did not work. When in safe mode, I could successfully put my Macbook Air to sleep. After messing with login items without much success, I turned to third party menu items. After disabling some of those, the Mac now wakes from sleep as it should. I'll keep monitoring to make sure the solution sticks for me.

I also use a j5create dock. I removed their extensions and that seems to have solved my problems. They also have posted on their website to not download their drivers if you've upgraded to Catalina. I think their products are great and their customer service is really good. Incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. Will wait for the updated drivers.