MacBook Pro not asking for password on lid open.

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Level 3

524 points

MacBook Pro not asking for password on lid open.

Hello, I am running 10.9.2 on a late 2013 MacBook Pro, 13" Retina. (Haswell model)

Under System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General tab, I have the option "Require password after sleep or screensaver beigns" enabled and have the time set to 5 seconds. When I am done using my Mac, I shut the lid and when I come back to my Mac and want to use it again, I open the lid and it SHOULD be taking me to the "lock screen" where I need to enter my account password before I can start using my Mac again. The problem is about half of the time, it does NOT ask me for my password and takes me right into my desktop. (huge security risk)

I've done standard troubleshooting like resetting the PRAM, etc. but still it randomly will fail to ask for my password. (sometimes it does, sometimes it does not, and I can't seem to find a pattern)

I was wondering if anyone else has had this issue or if someone had ideas on other thigns I can do to toubeshoot.

Thanks,

Scott

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2)

Posted on Apr 13, 2014 5:34 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

matt00

Level 5

4,041 points

Apr 16, 2014 12:13 PM in response to sdschramm

Hey sdschramm,

Thanks for the question, and great troubleshooting so far. It sounds like something may be preventing your computer from actually sleeping. While you have already reset PRAM, how about the SMC? The following resource outlines various other solutions as well (See the Additional troubleshooting towards the bottom):

OS X: When your Mac doesn't sleep or wake

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5357

Thanks,

Matt M.

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Answer 2

sdschramm Author

Level 3

524 points

Apr 16, 2014 6:13 PM in response to matt00

I'm pretty sure the system is sleeping or otherwise I would notice a large battery drain.

I just reset the SMC as well as the PRAM again, I'll see if it happens again over the next few days.

Thanks,

Scott

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Answer 3

Apr 17, 2014 12:46 PM in response to matt00

I'm having the exact same problem, and I'm almost certain it is going to sleep. On opening the lid, the screen is black. Plus, even after letting the laptop sit for several hours, the battery indicator is still at 100%.

Same configuration as sdschramm (running 10.9.2 on a late 2013 (Haswell) MacBook Pro, 13" Retina).

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Answer 4

sdschramm Author

Level 3

524 points

Apr 27, 2014 1:22 PM in response to sdschramm

I haven't had the issue in a while. I'm not sure if the SMC reset fixed. I'm pretty sure I had tried that in the past. Or maybe one of the recent security updates fixd it.

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Answer 5

Oct 24, 2015 12:26 AM in response to sdschramm

I had a similar issue: after a reboot, the screensaver would not ask for a password anymore.

In the end, it looks like the file ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.screensaver.plist was corrupted / read-only.

I noticed the file does not get updated when I change the options in the Preference dialog.

I deleted the file (with sudo), and after rebooting I was able to configure "Require password after sleep or screensaver begins" properly.

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