Keep your Mac awake and stop it going to sleep

Why it happens

To save power, your Mac turns the display off after a while with no keyboard or mouse use, and then goes to sleep. Sleep pauses downloads, uploads and other long jobs. One switch keeps the Mac awake while the display is off, and the Lock Screen timers decide when the display turns off.

How to fix it

1. Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings, and click Battery in the sidebar. On an iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio or Mac Pro, click Energy instead and go to step 3.

2. On a MacBook, click Options… and turn on Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off. Click Done. This works while the charger is plugged in.

   Battery›Options…›Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off

3. On a desktop Mac, turn on Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off in Energy.

   Energy›Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off

4. To keep the screen on longer too, click Lock Screen in the sidebar and choose longer times for Turn display off on power adapter when inactive, and on a MacBook, Turn display off on battery when inactive.

   Lock Screen

Still not fixed?

1. On battery, a MacBook still sleeps when it's idle, even with the switch on. Plug in the charger for long jobs.

2. Closing a MacBook's lid puts it to sleep. To work with the lid closed, plug in power, connect a monitor and a keyboard or mouse, and close the lid only once the external screen shows your desktop.

3. If you want your Mac to wake for network tasks while it sleeps, such as file sharing, turn on Wake for network access in Battery > Options…, or in Energy on a desktop Mac.

   Battery›Options…›Wake for network access

4. If your Mac still sleeps with these settings on and the charger connected, restart it and check the settings again. If it keeps sleeping or shutting down on its own, contact Apple Support.