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graham_h Author

Level 1

43 points

Big Sur Screensaver activates in the middle of active session

Hi - I have a new MacBook Air 13 M1 with Big Sur 11.0.1. I am the main user but two members of my family also have accounts on the computer. Since setting up a new account yesterday I have a new problem:

after 20 minutes of usage in my account (even when active the whole time) the default screensaver kicks in and it cannot be dismissed with a key press or mouse move. The only thing I have found to dismiss it is but clicking the fingerprint key quickly (before to logs in again) and then switching account, then logging back into my account.

We've checked the new account added yesterday and turned off the screensaver (setting "never") but the problem is still happening.

It has happened 4 times so far this morning. I am also running an external monitor (LG Ultrasharp 4K) in case that is relevant. I can't find any other references to this bug.

Posted on Nov 19, 2020 5:04 AM

Top-ranking reply

graham_h Author

Level 1

43 points

Posted on Nov 21, 2020 12:52 AM

I’ve found a quicker fix when this happens: if I shut the MacBook lid and reopen then the screensaver goes away again. Quicker than switching accounts or restarting.

I also did one other check: for each of the three accounts I selected a different screen saver (but in each case “never” is still selected). When it next happened it was the screen saver selected for my main admin account that fired, not one of the other two (dormant) accounts. So I least I now know it is a glitch in the screensaver of my own account.

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26 replies

raneli

Level 1

8 points

Dec 15, 2020 3:30 AM in response to osakaflu

It seems Big Sur 11.1 update fixed the issue. Haven't experienced the issue since yesterday. Before 11.1 update the screensaver kicked in every hour or so.

raneli

Level 1

8 points

Dec 16, 2020 3:38 AM in response to cyclix86

I jumped into conclusions too quickly, I'm also experiencing the same issue still!! This is starting to be really really annoying.

Dec 16, 2020 10:56 AM in response to graham_h

Just spoke to Apple support.

They are working on a solution, and a software update should be out soon.

either way, they are aware.

MyMattes

Level 1

4 points

Dec 26, 2020 9:27 AM in response to graham_h

+1 ... no hot corners / screen savers activated. Thanks for the support info, waiting for the fix.

PTH14

Level 1

4 points

Jan 3, 2021 10:39 AM in response to raneli

I'm on a new M1 Air, running 11.1 and still experience this issue....often.

Jan 7, 2021 7:31 AM in response to graham_h

Hi, this issue is now 4 weeks old and this screensaver problem gets bigger and bigger. Sometimes I need to switch login up to 10 times a day to escape it. It is really decreasing productivity

raneli

Level 1

8 points

Jan 7, 2021 8:20 AM in response to marcofromseevetal

Same here. Typically this happens a few times per hour. Extremely frustrating. If this doesn’t get fixed very soon I’ll need to seriously consider returning the whole laptop.