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Level 1

34 points

macOS Sierra - hold down power button to enter sleep mode

I recently updated my MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015) model from El Capitan to macOS Sierra v10.12. Before the update, holding down power button for 2 to 3 seconds put the machine in to sleep mode. It doesn't work properly after the update. Holding down power button to enter sleep mode works only once after every start of the machine.

I know there is an option to enter sleep mode using Ctrl + Power button and then selecting one of the three options from Restart, Sleep and Shutdown, but that needs 3 more clicks and taps and is not quick. Also, irrespective of any app that is open, pressing power button worked well before the update, but now I need to be on the desktop to even make Ctrl + Power button work.

Any fixes available to this? I am missing the old way of putting my Mac to sleep 😟 I don't remember whether I did some tweak in my Mac or was it a default functionality..

MacBook Air, macOS Sierra (10.12)

Posted on Sep 23, 2016 1:28 AM

101 replies

Dec 9, 2016 7:08 AM in response to DylanFE

I think I figured out something. It came back - so I reset everything, and it went away again. As long as I am not using Flash - it seems to not recur. I believe it may be a Flash issue.

gvocca

Level 1

4 points

Dec 11, 2016 3:05 AM in response to jainam2209

Hi all,

I have the very same problem with my MBP Retina 13" so a couple of days ago I started playing a little bit with the settings, specifically with PowerButtonSleepsSystem, a key which was available in the past MacOS (aka OSX) versions to configure the behaviour of the Power Button.

What I found is that, in Sierra, if the key merely exists, it messes up everything in the sense that the button doesn't lead to sleep anymore and the confirmation dialog appears all the times, regardless the boolean value it has.

I removed it and "magically" the expected behaviour is back, now the MBP sleeps when I push the button and I get the dialog when I hold it. It has been working for several hours till now, not sure it means it will work forever, I will keep on checking.

To verify if the key exists, from the Terminal prompt:

defaults read com.apple.loginwindow PowerButtonSleepsSystem

To remove the key:

defaults delete com.apple.loginwindow PowerButtonSleepsSystem

DylanFE

Level 1

12 points

Dec 12, 2016 3:25 AM in response to gvocca

Will try this as the previously reset stopped working after 48 hrs.

Dec 30, 2016 8:58 AM in response to jainam2209

Same issue here MBP 15 2015, power button working randomly, sometimes put mac to sleep, but most time - need to hold 3 sec before menu appeared. Single push doesnt have any effect. 10.12.2 installed.