Screensaver seems to be permanent; thus presumably harming the screen.

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Screensaver seems to be permanent; thus presumably harming the screen.

I selected "sleep" on my iMac, unplugged the Mouse and turned off the keyboard and shortly after the screen was active; can't recall whether the screensaver msg. was there immediately or a while later. I waited for a few minutes and the screensaver msg. didn't disappear. I've checked under Sys. Prefs. and there is no option regarding timing (apart from how long before the screensaver activates) so two questions: Is the "screensaver" an obsolete term which really means screen degrader and if used does it ever turn off and/or is there some setting to arrange that?

Posted on Mar 29, 2023 7:55 AM

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Answer 1

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desm1 Author

Level 1

23 points

Mar 30, 2023 3:32 AM in response to desm1

My screen already has the "pink edges" - which may be screen deterioration or red adhesive which ran during SSD insertion; either way I presume a screen saver may cause some degradation unless this is mostly caused by having pixels "lit" in the same location for a sustained time only. I just noted that the clock/time remained in the same position while the other elements moved often so I've turned that off.

From recollection Apple keep it a secret as to what the duration is between "Display off" and "sleep" commencing - and maybe it changes after updates but the screensaver is only on for the "display off" period which remains an unknown period. I discovered the area that shows Apps. that prevent sleeping and none were recorded but I did discover Diagnosis which hasn't worked using the startup shortcut; the outcome is incomprehensible but at least I now know how to run it.

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Answer 2

tbirdvet

Level 6

14,417 points

Mar 29, 2023 4:36 PM in response to desm1

Screen saver should not hurt the screen if left running. However, if you have sleep (or turn off display) set it should turn off unless you have some app that is waking it up again (or preventing). I had an app that did this. Check your Utilities, Activity monitor and look at the column that shows apps that will prevent sleeping. There is no need to turn off the keyboard or remove the mouse. They will not impact the function unless tapped.

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Answer 3

desm1 Author

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23 points

Mar 30, 2023 3:06 AM in response to tbirdvet

My screen already has the "pink edges" - which may be screen deterioration or red adhesive which ran during SSD insertion; either way I presume a screen saver may cause some degradation unless this is mostly caused by having pixels "lit" in the same location for a sustained time only. When I put the device to sleep there is no screen saver but it does seem prone to "waking up" for no apparent reason (mouse and keyboard off notwithstanding). From recollection Apple keep it a secret as to what the duration is between "Display off" and "sleep" commencing and maybe it changes after updates but the screensaver is only on for the "display off" period which remains an unknown period.

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Answer 4

Mar 30, 2023 3:36 AM in response to desm1

The first question I have for you is: what model of mac is this? iMac? Mini? A laptop?

There is nothing forcing you to have a screensaver if you don't want to. You can just put your mac to sleep, or you can turn the screen brightness all the way down if you want.

So what mac is this, and why are you detaching a keyboard and mouse? If this is a laptop, you can use the built-in keyboard to set it to sleep. And if it is a desktop mac, like an imac, is there any reason to disconnect the keyboard and mouse? This change in the usb bus is waking it from sleep, probably, and then you don't have any input device to set it to sleep again.

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Answer 5

desm1 Author

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23 points

Mar 31, 2023 3:19 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

My "screensaver" (which I'm sure it isn't) has a nice msg. I like to read often; while its an ongoing mystery I discovered today that turning on my Laptop wakes the iMac; presumably owing to a Bluetooth connection. Moving the mouse or keyboard doesn't currently awaken the iMac but it seemed to earlier; if I knew how long it takes between "Display off" and "sleep" it would ease my mind that the "screensaver" wasn't doing too much harm but it looks like its safer to delete the screensaver msg.

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Screensaver seems to be permanent; thus presumably harming the screen.

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