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Stop Mac sleeping while playing music

Until I 'up'graded to Ventura with my new 2022 M2 Mac music just went on playing when the display went to sleep. Now the music stops when display closes.


There are postings about this issue going back 15 years but none seem to have solved the problem.


Is it something to do with the relationship between Display closing delay and Sleep delay settings?

MacBook Air, macOS 13.0

Posted on Jan 1, 2023 8:52 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 24, 2023 7:24 PM

I think I've figured out the issue. Just got a new Ventura MB, and had the same issue with it going to sleep on battery while playing music. I am also missing some of the energy saving/hard disc sleep settings as others have mentioned.


Under System Settings/Privacy & Security, there is an auto-logoff setting, but it wasn't visible just by selecting the "Privacy & Security" tab. I had to type "Log" into the System Settings search bar, and "Log out automatically after inactivity" showed up as a sub-tab under Privacy & Security. It was defaulted to 15 minutes. Just deselect it or adjust to a longer period.

8 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 24, 2023 7:24 PM in response to Daveypez

I think I've figured out the issue. Just got a new Ventura MB, and had the same issue with it going to sleep on battery while playing music. I am also missing some of the energy saving/hard disc sleep settings as others have mentioned.


Under System Settings/Privacy & Security, there is an auto-logoff setting, but it wasn't visible just by selecting the "Privacy & Security" tab. I had to type "Log" into the System Settings search bar, and "Log out automatically after inactivity" showed up as a sub-tab under Privacy & Security. It was defaulted to 15 minutes. Just deselect it or adjust to a longer period.

Feb 25, 2023 6:18 AM in response to Daveypez

My suggestion to Apple would be to:


A) Fix the issue where the auto-logout setting isn’t visible unless searched for.


B) Classify playing music or video (including background Airplay streaming) as legit “Activity” so the “Inactivity” settings aren’t triggered. After all, I like the idea of auto-log off after inactivity.


C) As an alternative, recognize outbound Airplay streaming as “Network Activity” so the “Wake for Network Activity” setting kicks in. I believe “Network “Activity” is only currently considered to be inbound traffic like push notifications or inbound email.

Jan 1, 2023 9:05 AM in response to R4FTY

Grateful for such a prompt response but these instructions seem to all be pre-Ventura. There are no Preferences now - they're Settings - and there are no icons there. And what's more, the options are not in similar places even - eg the Battery tab doesn't give any access to turning the display off or hard disc sleep timings.


I find Ventura's settings much more confusing and difficult to follow. For example if I enter "Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off" into the Settings search bar I get no results.

Jan 15, 2023 3:14 PM in response to Daveypez

Search settings by "possible".

The setting is supposed to exist in "Battery" label. That's what Apple's official doc says.

Set sleep and wake settings for your Mac - Apple Support


However the setting doesn't exist to some people, which is discussed here:

Put Hard Disk to Sleep option missing aft… - Apple Community


Welcome to join the discussion if yours is missing too. The issue apparently affects only the most recent MacOS. Not sure if it's a bug or the outcome of some policy restraint yet.


Song

Jan 1, 2023 8:56 AM in response to Daveypez

If your Mac is stopping music playback when the display goes to sleep, you may be able to fix the issue by adjusting the energy settings on your Mac. Here are a few steps you can try:

  1. Open the "System Preferences" app on your Mac.
  2. Click on the "Energy Saver" icon.
  3. In the "Power Adapter" tab, you can adjust the "Turn display off after" and "Put hard disks to sleep when possible" settings to determine when the display and hard disks should go to sleep. You can also turn on the "Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off" option to keep your Mac from going to sleep while music is playing.
  4. In the "Battery" tab, you can adjust the "Turn display off after" and "Put hard disks to sleep when possible" settings to determine when the display and hard disks should go to sleep when your Mac is running on battery power. You can also turn on the "Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off" option to keep your Mac from going to sleep while music is playing.

I hope these steps help! If you continue to have issues with your Mac stopping music playback when the display goes to sleep, you may want to try contacting Apple for further assistance.

Jan 15, 2023 3:50 PM in response to song-2000

Thanks Song - under Options in the Battery section I have 'Put hard disks to sleep etc' and 'Wake for network access' also 'Optimise video streaming on battery'.


However, I do not have the specified 'Update your system while it's asleep' or 'Allow your Mac to wake briefly so users can access shared services'.


I have though achieved a workaround so my music continues to play using the Amphetamine app. It's great.

Feb 25, 2023 2:53 AM in response to cmet1

That just shows how awful Apple's System Settings presentation is now - what were they thinking?!

I tried your answer - got the setting up as you said but it was already switched off - perhaps that's how the Amphetamine app does it? Since installing that app and forgetting it I've had no trouble with continuous music play.


Also found by the 'Log' search was a switch: "Require an administrator password to access system wide settings". This was off on my system - apparently by default. That's nuts too.

Stop Mac sleeping while playing music

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