How To STOP Mac from Sleeping and Keep Screen ON (FAST & EASY) - Macbook settings
Learn how to stop your Mac from sleeping and keep the screen on. Adjust your MacBook settings to disable the screen saver, plus learn a handy bonus trick.
Key Takeaways
Are you tired of your Mac going to sleep or your screen automatically turning off while you're trying to work? Fortunately, changing your MacBook settings to keep the display active is fast and easy.
In this guide, we will walk you through exactly how to stop your Mac from sleeping, disable the screen saver, and ensure the screen stays on. We also have a bonus workaround for keeping your Mac awake without touching your system settings at all.
How to Prevent Your Mac from Sleeping via Battery Settings
To keep your Mac awake, the first thing you need to adjust is your Battery settings. This ensures your computer remains active while plugged into a power source, even if the display is off.
FAQ
Is there a way to temporarily keep my Mac awake without changing system settings?
Yes! If you only need to keep your Mac awake temporarily, you can play a long YouTube video. Running a video in full screen prevents the macOS display from shutting off. For best results, you can use a silent 12-hour screensaver video playlist to mimic a standard screen saver while keeping your device fully active. You can also find more macOS tips in this recommended video.
Click the Apple menu in the top left corner of your screen.
Open System Settings.
Select Battery from the sidebar.
Scroll down to the bottom of the Battery menu and click Options....
Find the option labeled Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off.
Make sure the switch is toggled ON.
Now, your computer will not go to sleep as long as it is plugged in. However, to keep the screen itself from turning off, you still need to adjust your Lock Screen settings.
How to Keep the Screen On and Disable the Screen Saver
To stop the screen from going black and to completely disable the screen saver, you will need to configure your idle timers.
From System Settings, navigate to Lock Screen.
Locate the screen saver and display shut-off options.
Adjust the following dropdown menus to configure how your Mac behaves when idle:
Setting
Action to Take
Result
Start Screen Saver when inactive
Set to Never
Disables the screen saver completely.
Turn display off on battery when inactive
Set to Never
The display will never shut off when running on battery power.
Turn display off on power adapter when inactive
Set to Never
The display will never shut off when plugged in and charging.
Once you have set all of these options to "Never," you can safely close System Settings. Your Mac will never go to sleep, and your screen will stay on indefinitely.
Bonus Trick: Keep Your MacBook Awake Using YouTube
If you only need to keep your Mac awake temporarily and prefer not to mess with your system settings, there is a widely used but rarely talked about workaround: play a really long YouTube video.
Simply pulling up a lengthy video and leaving it running will naturally keep your computer awake and stop the display from shutting off.
To make the most of this trick, you can use silent, long-form videos and set them to full screen. It will look just like your computer is running a standard screen saver, but the active video player will prevent your Mac from sleeping.
If you found these macOS tips helpful and want to learn more, check out this recommended video:
Watch next
Will my Mac still go to sleep if it is plugged in but the display is turned off?
Your Mac may still go to sleep even when plugged into a power source. To prevent this, go to System Settings, select Battery, click Options, and toggle on 'Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off'. This ensures your computer remains active in the background even if the screen goes black.
Can I configure my MacBook display to stay on only when it is charging?
Yes. In your Lock Screen settings, you can adjust your idle timers independently based on your power source. Simply set 'Turn display off on power adapter when inactive' to 'Never', while leaving a standard time limit for the 'Turn display off on battery when inactive' option. This keeps your screen awake when plugged in while conserving battery life when disconnected.
