Macbook frequently waken up by mDNSResponder (EC.DarkPME/Maintenance)

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Macbook frequently waken up by mDNSResponder (EC.DarkPME/Maintenance)

Hello,

From Jan 2 2022, My MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) can't sleep. Every several seconds, it was waken up and the battery drains. I checked syslog with the command

pmset -g log|grep "Wake"

and it shows:

2022-03-26 05:38:00 +0100 Wake Requests [*process=powerd request=TCPKATurnOff deltaSecs=16002 wakeAt=2022-03-26 10:04:42]

2022-03-26 05:38:12 +0100 Assertions PID 194(mDNSResponder) Created MaintenanceWake "mDNSResponder:maintenance" 00:00:00 id:0x0xd000099cb [System: SRPrevSleep kCPU]

2022-03-26 05:38:12 +0100 Assertions PID 194(mDNSResponder) Released MaintenanceWake "mDNSResponder:maintenance" 00:00:00 id:0x0xd000099cb [System: No Assertions]

2022-03-26 05:38:17 +0100 DarkWake DarkWake from Standby [CDN] : due to EC.DarkPME/Maintenance Using BATT (Charge:3%) 45 secs

2022-03-26 05:38:17 +0100 WakeTime WakeTime: 5.693 sec

I've tried everything I found on the Internet and everything Apple suggested, including the steps on apple.com, reset some options and even to erase the disk and reinstall MacOS as a new computer. Nothing worked. The Genius Bar in France told me they repaired it by updating to MacOS 12.3, but actually it didn't get any better with the new OS. Then they said the only thing I could do is to wait.

I heard this problem is related to some firmware conflicts(mDNS continuously wake up my Mac - Apple Community), but we can't solve it by ourselves. Some body suggested me to ban sth related to mDNSResponder in system files(https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7360292), but it didn’t work for me either. Then I tried this , but now even if we disable SIP, the plist file is still read only. I tried sudo nano, sudo mount -uw / and sudo cp. Nothing worked.

It’s really annoying to have an insomniac Mac who drains 100% battery overnight. Hope there’s someone that know about this mResponder Issue, or how to modify the plist file in /System/Library/Extensions/IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/X86PlatformPlugin.kext/Contents/Resources/

Thanks...

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 12.1

Posted on Mar 26, 2022 1:55 PM

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Answer 1

John Galt

Level 10

157,166 points

Mar 29, 2022 3:09 PM in response to LonelySwan

I'd expect to see that if you had an external display connected, but you obviously ruled that out a long time ago.

Examine System Preferences > Sharing. De-select entries with "sharing" in their names. If they are already de-selected, select one or more of them, then de-select them again. Test.

Reset the SMC. That goes without saying but I didn't mention it specifically: How to reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

157,166 points

Mar 26, 2022 4:24 PM in response to LonelySwan

Sleep / wake problems have been the bane of Mac existence for decades. In the end we may just have to wait for a macOS update like the Genius Bar said.

Please post the results of:

clear; printf '\e[3J' && echo Sleep/Wake\ events; egrep -i 'eep\ cau|ake\ rea' /private/var/log/system.log; echo Assertions; pmset -g assertions

Copy (Triple-click to select that entire line) and Paste.

... how to modify the plist file in /System/Library/Extensions/IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/X86PlatformPlugin.kext/Contents/Resources/

I don't recommend that, and it probably wouldn't help anyway.

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Answer 3

LonelySwan Author

Level 1

5 points

Apr 9, 2022 10:39 AM in response to John Galt

Thanks for your kind advice. Apple told me the solution is - to shut it down when I'm not using it. I'm totally shocked. It's really a crazy 'solution'...

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Answer 4

LonelySwan Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 30, 2022 1:38 AM in response to John Galt

I used to have external display with HDMI instead of wireless, but at the time it starts to unsleep, it wasn't connected.

For now this is a newly installed OS that I didn't change any of the options (except for languages and 'tap to click'), nor connect to any device. To my surprise, after tick and untick everything in Sharing, the rate of battery draining seems to be slower. However, pmset told me it's still unsleep during this period.

BTW, I have tried reseting all things, including SMC and NVRAM. It's newly erased and reinstalled by the Genius Bar, so I think it is something wrong in the default settings...Or as the other posts said, something conflict with firmware.

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Answer 5

LonelySwan Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 29, 2022 2:17 AM in response to John Galt

Hello,

Thanks for help. I haven't used it after this post. This is the result immediately when I turn it on. Do I need to let it sleep for some time and test again?

Sleep/Wake events

Assertions

2022-03-29 11:14:18 +0200

Assertion status system-wide:

BackgroundTask 0

ApplePushServiceTask 0

UserIsActive 1

PreventUserIdleDisplaySleep 0

PreventSystemSleep 0

ExternalMedia 0

PreventUserIdleSystemSleep 0

NetworkClientActive 0

Listed by owning process:

pid 141(WindowServer): [0x0000001e0009804e] 00:00:00 UserIsActive named: "com.apple.iohideventsystem.queue.tickle serviceID:1000002ba name:AppleHIDKeyboardEve product:Apple Internal Keyb eventType:3"

Timeout will fire in 120 secs Action=TimeoutActionRelease

pid 114(apsd): [0x00000068000b814e] 00:00:00 ApplePushServiceTask named: "com.apple.apsd-lastpowerassertionlinger"

No kernel assertions.

Idle sleep preventers: IODisplayWrangler

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Answer 6

John Galt

Level 10

157,166 points

Mar 29, 2022 7:05 AM in response to LonelySwan

Run that command after you think it should have entered sleep mode, and back it up with another pmset -g log|grep "Wake" command to confirm it had not entered sleep mode during that time.

It's not going to fix anything, but it might suggest a cause.

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Answer 7

LonelySwan Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 29, 2022 2:12 PM in response to John Galt

Hi,

it's almost the same:

Sleep/Wake events

Assertions

2022-03-29 23:00:06 +0200

Assertion status system-wide:

BackgroundTask 0

ApplePushServiceTask 0

UserIsActive 1

PreventUserIdleDisplaySleep 0

PreventSystemSleep 0

ExternalMedia 0

PreventUserIdleSystemSleep 0

NetworkClientActive 0

Listed by owning process:

pid 141(WindowServer): [0x0000234b00099e20] 00:00:00 UserIsActive named: "com.apple.iohideventsystem.queue.tickle serviceID:1000065cd name:AppleHIDKeyboardEve product:Apple Internal Keyb eventType:3"

Timeout will fire in 120 secs Action=TimeoutActionRelease

No kernel assertions.

Idle sleep preventers: IODisplayWrangler

The DarkWake is still there. About 2/min. When I check with command

log show  --last 10m| grep -i "wake reason"

It shows

2022-03-29 22:56:05.170850+0200 0x112a Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleACPIPlatform) AppleACPIPlatformPower Wake reason: EC.DarkPME (Maintenance)

2022-03-29 22:56:05.170854+0200 0x112a Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleACPIPlatform) AppleACPIPlatformPower Wake reason: EC.DarkPME (Maintenance)

2022-03-29 22:56:14.089894+0200 0x3b2 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleTopCaseHIDEventDriver) [HID] [ATC] AppleDeviceManagementHIDEventService::processWakeReason Wake reason: Host (0x01)

2022-03-29 22:56:17.532008+0200 0x1df7d Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleTopCaseHIDEventDriver) [HID] [ATC] AppleDeviceManagementHIDEventService::processWakeReason Wake reason: Host (0x01)

2022-03-29 22:56:47.043318+0200 0x3b2 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleACPIPlatform) AppleACPIPlatformPower Wake reason: EC.DarkPME (Maintenance)

2022-03-29 22:56:47.043321+0200 0x3b2 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleACPIPlatform) AppleACPIPlatformPower Wake reason: EC.DarkPME (Maintenance)

2022-03-29 22:56:56.095372+0200 0x1e239 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleTopCaseHIDEventDriver) [HID] [ATC] AppleDeviceManagementHIDEventService::processWakeReason Wake reason: Host (0x01)

2022-03-29 22:56:57.971957+0200 0x1e163 Default 0x0 0 0 kernel: (AppleTopCaseHIDEventDriver) [HID] [ATC] AppleDeviceManagementHIDEventService::processWakeReason Wake reason: Host (0x01)

and with

pmset -g log|grep "Wake"

it looks similar with the former output:

022-03-29 22:52:40 +0200 Wake Requests [*process=powerd request=AdaptiveWake deltaSecs=71782 wakeAt=2022-03-30 18:49:02]

2022-03-29 22:52:52 +0200 Assertions PID 190(mDNSResponder) Created MaintenanceWake "mDNSResponder:maintenance" 00:00:00 id:0x0xd00009d5a [System: PrevIdle]

2022-03-29 22:52:52 +0200 Assertions PID 190(mDNSResponder) Released MaintenanceWake "mDNSResponder:maintenance" 00:00:00 id:0x0xd00009d5a [System: PrevIdle]

2022-03-29 22:52:58 +0200 DarkWake DarkWake from Standby [CDN] : due to EC.DarkPME/Maintenance Using BATT (Charge:23%) 6 secs

2022-03-29 22:52:58 +0200 WakeTime WakeTime: 6.133 sec

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Answer 8

John Galt

Level 10

157,166 points

Mar 30, 2022 10:11 AM in response to LonelySwan

I think you should contact Apple again and tell them you're still waiting for a fix.

At some point they may ask you install a data-gathering app so they could remotely inspect what's going on with your Mac. If everyone's were doing the same thing I think they would know about it by now, but perhaps they don't.

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Answer 9

John Galt

Level 10

157,166 points

Apr 9, 2022 12:48 PM in response to LonelySwan

Yes it's crazy.

It's not a solution. They should be made aware of it, and if you agree to send Mac Analytics information to Apple they should eventually come up with a macOS update to address it:

 (Apple menu) > System Preferences... > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Analytics & Improvements > Share Mac Analytics > select.

One would think the problem is common enough and there would be plenty of complaints, but some combination of hardware and software may be an edge case.

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Answer 10

LonelySwan Author

Level 1

5 points

Apr 9, 2022 3:01 PM in response to John Galt

Thank you for your patience. This option was on, but I'm afraid it looks working normally...battery draining and maintenance service seems to be happen in a usual MacBook...Now I'm waiting for another call from Apple and hope it would work...

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Macbook frequently waken up by mDNSResponder (EC.DarkPME/Maintenance)

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