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Display won't turn off

I just bought a new iMac, and I have the following situation.


In the Energy Saver preference, I have "Turn display off after:" set to 3 minutes. But the display never turns off. Every time I walk past the room with my computer in it, the screen is blazing away, regardless of how long it's been since I've touched it.


What's making it stay on?


--Dave

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on May 2, 2020 9:57 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 2, 2020 10:46 AM

The keyboard shortcut Control–Shift–Media Eject will put your displays to sleep immediately. Mac keyboard shortcuts - Apple Support

A ‘hot corner’ can be set to sleep the monitor as one of the possible actions (instead of a regular screen saver), in the screen saver options. Use hot corners to start the screen saver on Mac - Apple Support


Use the Energy Saver settings on your Mac - Apple Support

If your Mac doesn't sleep or wake when expected - Apple Support

If your mouse pointer is a bit unstable because of micro trembling or because of the surface it is sitting on, then that may be perceived as activity to prevent the display from sleeping.

Some apps may do things that prevent sleep. Can you see different behavior depending on which apps are running?

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 2, 2020 10:46 AM in response to Dave Slaven

The keyboard shortcut Control–Shift–Media Eject will put your displays to sleep immediately. Mac keyboard shortcuts - Apple Support

A ‘hot corner’ can be set to sleep the monitor as one of the possible actions (instead of a regular screen saver), in the screen saver options. Use hot corners to start the screen saver on Mac - Apple Support


Use the Energy Saver settings on your Mac - Apple Support

If your Mac doesn't sleep or wake when expected - Apple Support

If your mouse pointer is a bit unstable because of micro trembling or because of the surface it is sitting on, then that may be perceived as activity to prevent the display from sleeping.

Some apps may do things that prevent sleep. Can you see different behavior depending on which apps are running?

May 2, 2020 10:01 AM in response to Dave Slaven

Hard to say, have you done any basic troubleshooting or have you installed any type of antivirus or cleaning apps? Please do the following and we can look for obvious issues.


Please navigate to the Mac App Store or navigate to www.Etrecheck.com and download the free version of EtreCheck. Once you have you downloaded the app and installed it, please run the report and save it. This report will help us get a good idea what has been installed on your system and help us be able to diagnose what may be wrong.


When you have your report, you can attach it when you reply to this message and we can then review it and help you determine what is needed to get your system running well again. 


For instructions on how to download your EtreCheck report and attach it to your reply to this message please click https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211


Display won't turn off

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