Mac mini won’t awake from sleep

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Level 1

14 points

Mac mini won’t awake from sleep

I’m using a Mac mini as a media server running plex, connected to my Samsung tv via HDMI connected to surround receiver. Even though I’m able to access plex content through the tv app (love, love, love that, before my new Samsung I had to run directly of the Mac mini which required a reboot to access) I’m unable to access my mini as it’s a sleep and will not awake unless I do a hard reboot. I have a wired key board, tapping key board should awaken the Mac it does not. I’ve adjusted energy settings to no avail. I’ve tried to schedule an awake time and it worked for about an hour then returned to sleep. I’ve read many of the threads related to this issue, especially with Mac mini nobody has had any real success. I don’t believe it has anything to do with the tv, I believe it is the mini. I’ve upgraded the drive to an SSD so that I could continue to upgrade the OS to Catalina 10.15.7 and beyond. This is crazy there has to be a reasonable solution. Never had a Mac that couldn’t awaken from a key board tap. Any Gurus out there with some suggestions? I’ve been chasing this issue for quite a while. Thanks for reading!

Mac mini, macOS 10.15

Posted on Oct 3, 2023 6:39 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

den.thed

Level 10

91,174 points

Oct 4, 2023 8:52 AM in response to currydog

Using the Energy Saver settings that hcsitas has recommended.

I would reset the System Management Controller,

as per > Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support

Desktop computer

Shut down your Mac, then unplug the power cord.
Wait 15 seconds, then plug the power cord back in.
Wait 5 seconds, then press the power button to turn on your Mac.

Reset the NVRAM,

as per > Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

How to reset NVRAM

Shut down your Mac.
Turn on your Mac, immediately press and hold these four keys together: Option, Command, P, R.
Release the keys after about 20 seconds, during which your Mac might appear to restart.
When your Mac finishes starting up, you might need to adjust any system settings that were reset.

Startup in Safe Mode followed by a normal restart,

as per > Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

If you're using an Intel-based Mac

Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key as your Mac starts up.
Release the key when you see the login window, then log in to your Mac.

You might be asked to log in again. On either the first or second login window, you should see ”Safe Boot” in the upper-right corner of the window.

Then retest the function of the setup.

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Answer 2

den.thed

Level 10

91,174 points

Oct 8, 2023 4:28 PM in response to currydog

currydog wrote:

Thanks to you and the community to help solve my issue. I tried your suggestion I don’t know if it worked but I do know this. When using my mini for my media server I never put it to sleep as it was working in the background, when it completed its task it put itself in a comatose slumber that made it impossible to waken without a reboot. I have since put it to sleep manually and now I’m able to wake it with a tap of the keyboard. Solved my problem I hope this helps others experiencing the same problem.

You’re welcome.

I concur with your evaluation and work around. In fact, I run all of our Mac mini’s with “Auto computer sleep” disabled and “manual sleep” from the drop down menu. None of them, Intel, Silicone, running Catalina, Monterey or Ventura every crash or become unresponsive over night or even after several days of sleep.

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Answer 3

hcsitas

Level 6

13,964 points

Oct 3, 2023 9:14 PM in response to currydog

Sleep is unnecessary and should be disabled. Shut for long absences/idle overnights (i.e. do not manual-sleep), and for regular operation, use the settings exactly as shown here Wake up a remote Mac mini - Apple Community, should fix.

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Answer 4

hcsitas

Level 6

13,964 points

Oct 3, 2023 11:00 PM in response to currydog

Uncheck “Put” and “Wake” and separately set a time for Displays to switch off on inactivity say 15 minutes, should fix.

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Answer 5

currydog Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 8, 2023 2:00 PM in response to den.thed

Thanks to you and the community to help solve my issue. I tried your suggestion I don’t know if it worked but I do know this. When using my mini for my media server I never put it to sleep as it was working in the background, when it completed its task it put itself in a comatose slumber that made it impossible to waken without a reboot. I have since put it to sleep manually and now I’m able to wake it with a tap of the keyboard. Solved my problem I hope this helps others experiencing the same problem.

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Answer 6

hcsitas

Level 6

13,964 points

Oct 4, 2023 9:50 AM in response to currydog

Upgrade to Ventura. Even better, Sonoma. That just might “do the trick”.

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Answer 7

currydog Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 3, 2023 10:54 PM in response to hcsitas

Thanks for your reply. I saw that posting and I don’t think it’s applicable. Those screen captures are from OS Ventura. I’m running Catalina 10.15.7. Although some of those system settings are available not all. I think I could upgrade to Ventura if it will do the trick. Here’s my capture

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Answer 8

currydog Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 4, 2023 8:28 AM in response to hcsitas

Tried it and it’s a no go. Results are the same. Thanks for trying. I’ll keep searching for solutions.

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Mac mini won’t awake from sleep

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