Studio Display Will Not Wake From Sleep

Hi everyone, I'm the original poster who made the video and started the thread, and I'd like to follow up with some information that might be helpful.

In my case, it's a confirmed hardware issue with the Studio Display monitor itself. The monitor is being repaired by Apple. They are replacing the logic board and thunderbolt ports. I went through 2 levels of tech support with Apple, and shared data from my system with the Apple engineering team. Also did the firmware update for the Studio Display when that came out. The whole thing has been quite an ordeal, so I'd like to share the info below to make it easier for others with the same issue.

How to confirm that you have the same issue

Testing Procedure: log in to your computer. Then put it to sleep via Apple Menu -> Sleep. Wait 2-3 mins. Then wake by clicking your mouse or pressing a key on your keyboard. Repeat this procedure 4-5 times as it can be intermittent. And make sure that you wait 2-3 minutes after sleeping before waking.

Testing Specifications

• Test with just the single Studio Display monitor and your computer, without anything else connected (except mouse and keyboard). In other words, leave all other monitors or accessories disconnected.
• Test with different thunderbolt cables to confirm it's not an issue with your cable.
• Test the same monitor with different computers to confirm it's not an issue with your computer.

If you perform the testing procedure as above and the issue persists, then you may have the same hardware issue that I did. If that's the case, then your best bet is to get it repaired under the 1 year AppleCare Warranty. Get started on that sooner rather than later because it takes a lot of time to go through the process: calling AppleCare, getting a case number, taking it to your nearest Apple Store so the Genius Bar can confirm it in person, ordering the parts, bringing the monitor back home, waiting for the store to tell you that the parts have come in, taking the monitor back to the store, and waiting for them to actually perform the repair.

If you have a different monitor sleep/wake issue

If you do not have a Studio Display, but are having sleep/wake issues with your monitor then you have a different problem. If you try the steps above and can't get the issue to show up in each setup, then you have a different problem. If you have a different problem, please start a different thread instead of posting a reply to this one, because this only causes confusion for others.

Finally, if everyone could please mark this post as "Helpful" so the testing steps above can be shown more prominently to people who might also be having this issue. Thank you everyone who contributed and tried to help solve the problem.

Same problem. I find this completely unacceptable from Apple.

I've a brand new Mac Studio and Studio monitor - I connected it up all fine.

The next day I was doing some work on it - went away to do something else for half an hour, came back. I couldn't wake it.

Eventually it turned on but the time to wake it lengthened until I just had to do a crash reboot (or whatever you call it)

Then the computer went into a start up loop. I ended up going into diagnostics and reinstalling Monterey.

I got it happening again and then I turned off the computer sleep etc in Energy Saver. That worked for a morning. Now here I am in the afternoon and the computer won't wake again.

I have a ten yr old iMac that I was waiting to upgrade (but nooo, Apple aren't doing new 27 inch iMacs, pfft) I bought the Mac studio and then with the computer just sitting in its box I had to wait 2 months for the monitor to turn up and now this.

Yeah, I'm somewhat annoyed.

I have the exact same issue.

New Mac Studio with 2 Studio Displays. Never happens with both monitors at the same time but happens almost daily with one or the the other. Unplug power, wait one minute, plug in, good to go. Software is up to date. No response from Apple. Major drain on my creative focus and productivity overall. I've owned Macs since 1986 and loved them all but, based on this experience, I will not buy another - certainly not for work.

I highly recommend Stay for managing window arrangements for different monitor configurations. I know this does nothing to address the issue with the display, but it would at least save you the hassle of rearranging your windows every time. Works great alongside any window-snapping utilities you might be using like Moom, Magnet, etc.

The OP of this thread, TechnicallyInclined, had posted that they pursued this with Apple but did not have it fixed. I wonder if they have an update.

User jspence444 (who claims to be the OP but doesn't appear to be) had posted that they pursued this with Apple, and it was determined a hardware problem. They give steps to confirm you have the same issue, but I have not yet tried the steps.

Quick summary:

• Make sure both ends of the Thunderbolt 4 cable are plugged into the Thunderbolt 4 port on the Mac Studio Display (there is only 1) and Mac Studio.
• When it does not wake, try turning off your Magic Track Pad and Keyboard, then turning them back on. When they reconnect, see if it wakes up.
• Try resetting the SMC and PRAM.
• Try resetting your Bluetooth interface on your Mac Studio (option click on it in the menu bar) and re-pair your keyboard and mouse by cabling them.

I would like to add:

• Try connecting your keyboard and mouse by cabling them directly to your Mac. If the issue goes away, then it must be something with Bluetooth.
• Try not running your MacBook in clamshell mode. Run it with it open as a test and see if the issue goes away.

Dear Technically Inclined:

I am wondering what your power settings are. I have had the same issue with my older late 2014 iMac with waking from sleep and since I used it for work, it would present quite a problem when I say returned from lunch and go to wake it up.

Maybe an option of never sleep would be more appropriate for your workflow?

I have a similar setup: Mac Studio with Studio Display (only one monitor) and it seems to work with the following settings:

I run no screen savers and when I leave my Mac Studio, I do not "put it to sleep", instead I press Control+Command+Q on the keyboard which locks the screen and it almost immediately goes black after doing that.

Sometimes however it does lock or go to sleep on its own. I never notice the power light on front slowly 'blinking' like it did with the MacBooks I've owned in the past so I am unsure as to whether my Mac Studio ever goes to sleep.

Another option may be to use Amphetamine (not free). But it can prevent your Mac from sleeping while a certain program is running or during certain hours, etc. I have found that to be a real time-saver for me.

I also try to never leave an app running 24/7 and will quit all of my programs when I am finished using my Mac. Just a habit for me - unless it is necessary to keep a particular app running. I would never say leave Safari running or Music or any other app unless I forget to quit the app.

I also restart once a week. Was thinking of trying to keep my Mac running for a month, just to see how it fares, but have been unsuccessful so far due to things changing and updates and had one crash where it restarted without warning over night.

It is usually fairly stable.

Hope this is helpful and though it may not be a solution you are looking for, might prove to be a work-around to the frustration as it sounds like you are doing work on your Mac and it is being interrupted.

Best regards,

Mark

My workaround: unplug the thunderbolt cable after the computer goes into sleep and if the display does not turn on, plug it into another port on MacBook Pro.

I bought a magnetic thunderbolt adapter for it, so I can easily plug/unplug it, which is still terrible workaround compared to Studio display price tag, I know...

I have MacBook Pro 2020 with Magic Mouse and Bluetooth keyboard and connected to the Studio display only. The computer wakes up without a problem, but if I leave it plugged into the Studio display overnight, it is over 50% chance that next morning I need to change the thunderbolt port to which it is plugged in, otherwise the screen of Studio display will not turn on. The sound usually works and the MacBook's screen works as well, it just behaves like there is no external display.

I have also experienced a blinking screen couple of times and had to put computer into sleep mode again and wake it up once again without Studio display connected. Which brings me to conclusion, that issue could be rather related to MacBook/MacOS side.

Unplugging the Studio display has one more positive side effect - without unplugging the fans in it keep going all the time.

I love the picture, sound, microphones and camera quality of the Studio display, but I still can not believe we have to experience these very basic issues, especially with such a price tag...

I'm having a similar issue with my Mac Studio, but I'm using a Huawei MateView monitor, not the Studio Display. Sometimes the monitor will wake from sleep and sometimes it won't. I have to take the Thunderbolt cable out of the monitor and reconnect it to get the monitor working again. I wonder if this might be more of a Mac Studio / Thunderbolt / Sleep issue rather than a Studio Display issue.

What type of keyboard, mouse, trackpad are you using ?

3rd party devices may not awaken the Studio.

I have the Apple wireless keyboard and mouse that works flawlessly every time I wake up the Studio Mac.

I also use dual displays: Studio Display + Apple 27" TB display w/ TB3-TB2 adapter.

I find it necessary to power down the studio, then power it up, login anew and wait for all the open app windows to appear on their respective desktops, open them to my preferred size for working, and then get to work. So, the power down, power up, login does wake the display, but this is a serious, frustrating inconvenience.

I was having a similar issue and believe I have resolved it.

My setup:

Apple Studio Display (no other monitors connected)

2018 MacBook Pro in clamshell mode

Bluetooth Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse

Magsafe charger connected to one of the USB C ports on back of Studio Display (this was my only connected peripheral)

Solution:

I would notice that if the Mac had been sleeping for extended period of time (over night), I was not able to wake the clamshell laptop and Studio Display by tapping on the bluetooth keyboard or mouse. I would have to open the laptop and then disconnect/reconnect the included TB cable for the Studio Display to work. The problem with waking would not seem to happen if I manually sleep the mac and then immediately wake it with keyboard. It seemed to only occur after prolonged sleep.

The problem has been resolved after I disconnected (and never reconnected the Magsafe charger). I recall seeing some vague macOS notification (on the laptop screen) once when the problem occurred that a USB connection was drawing too much power or something. This gave me the idea to disconnect the Magsafe charger from the Studio Display. So perhaps try disconnected any peripherals from the Studio Display USB C ports, especially if they draw power, to see if that fixes the problem.