MacBook Pro wakes from sleep at connect/disconnect AC power

It's not a hardware issue. It's how it works now. Apple is moving towards more systems with SSD drives in them and with those speedy drives, you don't notice this as much or at all because people don't pay close enough attention to it. For those picky enough to notice this on slighly older units, learn to deal with it. I have enabled Standby and set to 1 hour as well to gain better battery life and under the newly updated version of Mavericks, when you do unplug and it does wake up, if it was previously hybernating (not sleeping, but the deeper autopoweroff setting), it will return to that state, so at least they fixed that issue.

So far, so good after a clean install of OS X Yosemite...

mstaessen wrote:

So far, so good after a clean install of OS X Yosemite...

Can you elaborate more? What macbook do you have? With HDD or SSD? When you attach/detach power plug doesn't the white LED/diode change blink rate and you hear no fan rotating sound? Can you provide "pmset -g" output for both battery and AC modes?

I've upgraded Maverics to Yosemite and the problem still exists - I don't want to re-install everything just to find out that the problem didn't disappear.

Can you please confirm if you have a HDD drive (not SSD) and if you see the white led blinking during sleep even after connecting/disconnecting the AC power? Thnx!

SwankPeRFection wrote:

It's not a hardware issue. It's how it works now. Apple is moving towards more systems with SSD drives in them and with those speedy drives, you don't notice this as much or at all because people don't pay close enough attention to it. For those picky enough to notice this on slighly older units, learn to deal with it. I have enabled Standby and set to 1 hour as well to gain better battery life and under the newly updated version of Mavericks, when you do unplug and it does wake up, if it was previously hybernating (not sleeping, but the deeper autopoweroff setting), it will return to that state, so at least they fixed that issue.

I purchased a 2012 MacBook Pro 15" i7 in November 2013, clean-installed the then current version of OS X Mavericks, and experienced the same issues mentioned in this thread.

I went through a long, painful process with AppleCare via phone and my local Apple Store that included fresh OS installs, SMC / NVRAM / PRAM resets, a power adapter replacement and 2 logic board replacements (1 in-house and 1 shipped out). None of the "repairs" fixed the problems. After the second logic board replacement, the in-house Genius Bar team was able to reproduce the problems described in this thread using 6 in-house 2012 MacBook Pro 15" machines used for their business/enterprise customers. It is most certainly not a hardware issue.

I am part of the Apple Developer program and submitted 4 detailed Bug Reports for each of the issues to Apple Engineering. Apple Engineering responded in April 2014 to all of the Bug Reports saying that they had been closed because they were duplicates of existing issues. In other words, Apple is well aware of the issue, but is doing nothing to resolve it.

I'm really surprised and disappointed with Apple letting massive issues like this go unfixed. I'm even more surprised that these issues have been around since Mountain Lion. As anyone reading this thread knows, these issues create major hassles for anyone with HDD (non-SSD) machines. Most importantly, these sleep/wake/hibernate issues are potentially dangerous (overheating) and devastating (overheating + HDD damage = data loss) for the vast majority of users who are not aware of the issues and the need to work-around them.

Shame on Apple. "The most advanced operating system in the world" and they won't even resolve seemingly basic 3-year-old sleep/wake/hibernate issues that effect the vast majority of their laptop machines.

P.S.

I am on OS X 10.10.1 (upgraded from OS X Mavericks) and none of the issues have been resolved. A clean install of OS X 10.10.1 is next, but I am not hopeful for a resolution.

vince730 wrote:

OP, here. Two years later and thus problem still persists, though it's not nearly as noticeable or worrying since I've recently upgraded the MacBook in question to an SSD. But yes, at any time after the computer goes to sleep with AC power plugged in, removing the MagSafe connection causes the computer to wake from sleep as noticed by both the sounds of the logic board and from the indicator light going from pulsating to steady on. The issue I still have with this is that it tends to lead to erratic sleep behavior - i.e. If I disconnect AC power and allow the computer to go back to sleep without opening it, sometimes I will find it has gone into hibernation mode the next time I wake it. There's no consistent pattern to when or how often that occurs and is random from what I can tell.

Sorry to hear that. I also consistently experience similar, seemingly sporadic, sleep/hibernation behavior when I disconnect AC and allow the machine to go back to sleep on its own whether the lid is open or closed.

Since upgrading to Yosemite, I also run into seemingly sporadic occurrences of being unable to wake my machine from sleep / hibernation without multiple tries - it hangs on a black screen and is unresponsive, forcing me to put the machine back to sleep by closing the lid and try again (indicator light showing everything from blinking, to off, to solid, to dim - I didn't look for any patterns). The worst occurrence rendered the laptop completely unresponsive and forced me to use a hard shut down.

I haven't done any thorough testing for these particular issues because I've given up on Apple fixing it any time soon, if ever.

It's disheartening to hear you're still experiencing these issues with the SSD swap, the hibernation issue being particularly frustrating.

I wonder what the best way to get Apple to fix this is? I've already gone through AppleCare, Apple's web-based feedback form, Genius Bar, and the Apple Developer's Bug Reporter. Considering starting a petition using one of those online petition websites.

Hello!

I don´t know how current this issue still is for people out there but for me it is and I want to share my experience with the apple support about this with you!

I have a MacBook Pro 13" Mid-2012 (Non-Retina) and every time I plug it in more than 4 hours (in my case overnight), It makes a sound when I either open the screen or unplug the charger and then it takes in total 2 minutes for the computer to start - first a black screen appears with the Apple-sign and a loading bar, then I have to wait until fully loaded. Once the computer shows my password I am able to type it in but it immediately wants me to type in my password again - but nothing except the mouse reacts! (i can't type, I can't click, nothing) Once the screen turns black again, i have to wake up the computer again and can type in my password and everything is normal. I have to do this every day...

I was pretty concerned about the noise since my hard drive was changed in early 2013 (after just a couple of months of using it!!) and I thought maybe something was wrong there but my apple service provider told me that I don`t have to worry - this is just the "Superdrive" waking up.

Anyway, i`ve been going back and forth for two month to the apple store - first they thought it was the battery, then they thought it was the charger - then they told me to install the system new on my computer.

So I did and finally! the problem was not there any more.

This magical feeling lasted about 3 days... and back to the Apple Store I went.

They took it in for the next two weeks and what happened next was just unbelievable! Somehow they figured out, that the Macbook Pro Mid-2012 Modell has this new "Hypernate"-Function and since I had "FileVault" turned on when I installed the system new, they think that this together with the new OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) Update causes my problem.

I called apple to let them know that I think this is a Production-Issue (Am I the only one that thinks it is weird that Apple offers updates for computers that their computers can't handle, not even in the time the warranty covers the product!?) and they should please change my computer or at least upgrade the hard-drive to an SSD hard drive where this problem doesn't occur any more.

I had a 30 min fight with a guy from apple over the phone, his only suggestions where "to turn off FileVault" or "that this is just how it is". At some point he even told me that because not a lot of people have already complained about this issue, that my issue is not business-threatening to apple and therefor they don´t really care about it.

So now not only does Apple completely not care about its customers, they don't even offer solutions to fix this problem except to just ignore it and to turn it off. And the work of my service provider wasn't even covered by applecare so that I had to pay now 100 Euro to the service provider just to get my computer - in the same state that I gave it to them - back!

So I have to ask - has anyone else experienced this issue? If yes, please tell apple and complain about the issue as I already did by sending them a big letter of complaint! I think it is unacceptable to treat customers like that and by not even offering them solutions.

Have a nice day,

Valerie

Yes....many of us have this issue. I got so tired of dealing with it, that I now only charge my computer when I'm on it and I unplug it if I know I will be away for more than two hours. Otherwise it goes into a deep sleep that takes several minutes to wake from. I just assumed it was by design for some reason since Apple has never fixed it. It's very annoying though. I have been wanting to buy a Crucial SSD just for relative speed, but haven't yet. Thanks for your post as I still subscribe to this thread (hopeful.)

Thanks for your quick response!

I have been dealing with Apple about this for a week now, the only thing that I hear is that this "is suppose to be like that" and I can't really accept that - why else would I buy an apple product that advertises with a quick "wake-up/response-system" if it just doesn't work?

I think it is absurd that Apple does not care how many people have this issue and that it has been affecting how people use their computers!

Have you tried complaining to apple? I have.. they have been really rude about this (maybe the react differently in the states but in the german customer service they`re somehow not as customer-oriented as I would like them to be..) I have been on the phone with so many apple-support people to ask them to please change my hard-drive into an SSD since this seems to fix the issue but they`re just blocking my requests by saying that this "is suppose to be like this". I cannot believe how they treat their customers.

Sorry to hear Apple is not as friendly in Europe. My experiences with Apple have always been really positive. They have even helped me after my AppleCare was expired.

Maybe it's time to sell your laptop and upgrade, since all of the new ones have SSD's installed from the factory. Or, if you're brave, there's really good instructions on installing a hard drive on sites like ifixit.com https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Hard+Drive+Cab le+Replacement/10379

Thank you for the link and advise!

I am still covered by applecare (for 20 more days) and I want them to fix the issue. I´m just really afraid that this will effect the computer in the long run so that after my warranty is over I have a bigger issue than just the sleep mode. This is my first Mac so I am rather afraid to follow some instructions on the internet so I am hoping that maybe the apple support can offer me a - a little bit more satisfying - solution then to just ignore the issue and turn "file vault" off.

Thanks for your replies, it`s good to see that there are more people out there with this issue, maybe we get apple to change our hard drives if we complain a little louder 🙂

I decided I needed an Intel Mac again after being out of the game since around the time of Lion's release. I just recently got my hands on a new 2012 13" MBP non-retina from the online Apple store and have run into this issue. I even took the dive and replaced the HDD with the Samsung 850 EVO I had in my Dell because I decided I wanted the speed and other SSD benefits in this rig over the Dell since it's more portable/less gaming capable.

Anyways, all that aside, I've noticed this issue both with the HDD and the SSD. So I'm not quite sure what trying to get Apple to swap the HDD to a SSD will actually solve. From my experience it doesn't solve anything and instead would just eliminated the mechanical aspects of the HDD having to wake up more than intended. Of course I still get the annoying SuperDrive noises whenever the machine wakes, has me tempted to remove the ODD just because. Never use it anyways.

It seems to be 100% software related from the research I've done, and it all started back in 2012 with Mountain Lion and some 2.0 graphics(?) update. That update was included in the 10.8.3 combo update, so it couldn't be avoided for very long by ignoring the 2.0 update unless you just never advanced beyond 10.8.2 since this issue even happens with the latest 10.11.2 update.

I have a friend with a 2012 Retina 15" MBP, and I've asked him if he has noticed this issue as well, but his doesn't have anything mechanical in it and doesn't have the power LED either. I need to test it out next time I see him.

This isn't the only sleep related thing I've noticed though that doesn't behave as it should. I've toyed around with terminal commands because I decided I wanted to eliminate Safe Sleep (Hibernate) mode. Yet from time to time, I get the Safe Sleep grey loading bar screen when I open the lid. It seems to happen if I unplug the machine from the wall while the lid is closed and it's asleep, and then continue to take it with me without manually putting it back to sleep. When I then get to my destination and open it (after it's gone back to sleep on it's own), I get the loading bar screen.

I don't see how any of these behaviors would be beneficial on modern Macs without any mechanical components, and they definitely are not beneficial to those with HDDs and ODDs. No other laptop I own wakes from sleep if I unplug it while it's asleep, so I don't see why a Mac would need to in order to switch from AC to Battery power settings. The fact Apple seems to know about the issue and isn't doing anything is pretty bothersome to me, and seems to go right along with the direction Apple seems to be heading IMO. Something like this would have been fixed in the past instead of being ignored.

I've tossed around the idea of installing Windows or Linux with Boot Camp to see what happens when the MagSafe is removed while asleep in one of those OS, but I've not found the time to do so yet. Has anyone else here tried this maybe?

Found some time to install Windows on my MBP and do some testing. After taking the time to make sure everything is up to date and there aren't any hardware issues in device manager, I started my tests. I'd put the MBP to sleep, wait a few hours, and then pull the plug. I'd vary things like if I'd leave the lid open or close it, manually sleep it or let it doze on its own, stuff like that. And I've come to a conclusion.

No matter what I did, the MBP would not wake from sleep from having the MagSafe pulled.

Push the power button? Sure.

Open the lid if it was closed? Yes.

Pull the MagSafe? No way, not gonna happen, impossible...

So this has to be an issue with OS X and not hardware related.

Hi Valerie,

thought I'd reply to your post out of the many similar reports here. Your description of the need to re-initiate the computer involving "and then it takes in total 2 minutes for the computer to start -" is reminiscent of my frustrating experience of this issue which only commenced after I installed Yosemite (I call it VEGEMITE as I'm an Aussie but don't like that black muck!! YUKK! 👿).

In my case the annoying, slow return to operation is more like 4 minutes with the repeated screen changes and locked cursors. I'd be interested in your comment on my video record of my experience. We have another MBP which is an earlier (2011) build and runs the El Capitan OSX 10.11.1 and does NOT do this. It would appear this issue is a combination of later hardware builds (yes I have an optical drive and HDD) and (later - Yosemite>>>)OSX versions, and as many have suggested here (and this was one of my first conclusions after installing troublesome Yosemite) seems to reflect on the progress to SSD "Air" devices which have no HDD or optical drives. But I remain concerned about the suggested, potential, overheating risks when "worlds collide" and the battery/sleep modes change.