MacBook Pro repeatedly wakes from sleep with message "systemWokenByWiFi: System wake reason: "

My MacBook Pro M5 running MacOS 26.6.2 keeps waking up from sleep every one to ten minutes.


When I run % log show --last 3h | grep -i "Wake reason" in terminal I get the message "systemWokenByWiFi: System wake reason: <smc.sysState.Wake(0x70070000) wifibt SMC.OutboxNotEmpty nub-spmi-a1.0x0B E_RX_IP_PACKET ARPT>" over and over again.


Turning off Bluetooth and Wifi does not work. Closing all programs does not work. Wake for Network access is "Never."


Any thoughts?

MacBook Pro (M5 Pro, 2026)

Posted on Sep 4, 2026 1:03 PM

Reply
3 replies

Sep 4, 2026 1:32 PM in response to MeetchK

Hi,

A MacBook Pro wakes up due to systemWokenByWiFi when background network traffic, Power Nap, or TCP keep-alives trigger the Wi-Fi/airport card during sleep.

Fix Wi-Fi Wake Issues

  • Disable Wake for Network Access: Go to System Settings > Battery (or Energy Saver) and turn off options like "Wake for network access" or Power Nap if available on your macOS version.
  • Disable TCP Keep-Alive via Terminal: If network packets continue to wake the machine, you can disable TCP keep-alive during sleep by running sudo pmset -a tcpkeepalive 0 in the Terminal app (note that this disables Find My network tracking while sleeping).
  • Turn Off Wi-Fi Before Sleeping: Manually disconnecting Wi-Fi before closing the lid can help isolate if router broadcast packets or local network devices are pinging your Mac.
  • Check Official Guidance: Follow troubleshooting steps from Apple Support to diagnose unexpected wake behavior.


Sep 4, 2026 5:49 PM in response to MeetchK

You need to look at more of the system logs from that time period on waking for WiFi/Bluetooth and going to sleep again. Unfortunately you will likely see thousands if not tens of thousands of log entries every second so even if the system was only awake for a few seconds, that is a lot of entries.......imagine if the system is awake for minutes. Plus there will be lots of junk non-sense log entries....many times repeating that will create a lot of noise making it hard to find the needle that might give you a clue to what the system was doing.


I also wonder if some app's process may be waking the system for network access, such as trying to sync files or check for updates. Just because you close all your apps doesn't mean those apps or others are not running hidden processes in the background.


Trying to find clues in the macOS system logs is usually a waste of time and will drive people crazy. The macOS system logs these days are no longer meant for troubleshooting purposes since they tend to be full of repeating scary sounding meaningless junk....I'm not even sure the developers can even make sense of them these days.



What started you looking at the laptop waking up? Why is this a problem? This is very critical information for us to know in order to help you resolve this issue.


I see my organization's Macs wake up every 5 minutes sometimes for just a few seconds. I also see a pattern of regular wakes at about 15-20 minute intervals as well. Even if the Mac sleeps longer than this, the Mac almost always wakes up multiple times a night even if it is hours apart. Most of these times the computer is only awake for less than a minute. It all depends on how the computer is configured, along with how various apps & services are configured.


You may want to run the third party app EtreCheck and post the complete report here so we can examine it for possible clues.


How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting an EtreCheck Report - Apple Community



MacBook Pro repeatedly wakes from sleep with message "systemWokenByWiFi: System wake reason: "

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