How to Fix Mac Not Going to Sleep or Waking from Sleep on macOS Tahoe (2026 Guide)

Your Mac should automatically go to sleep after a period of inactivity — dimming the screen, cutting power to the display, and eventually putting the processor into a low-power state. But on macOS Tahoe (and Sequoia before it), many users are reporting that their Mac refuses to sleep, wakes itself up seconds after the screen goes dark, or constantly toggles between sleep and wake all night long.

This guide covers every proven fix: from checking your Energy Saver settings and running pmset diagnostics to silencing Wake for Network Access, tracking down rogue apps, and resetting NVRAM. Follow each method in order and your Mac will be sleeping reliably again.

Why Your Mac Won't Sleep or Keeps Waking Up

macOS uses a layered sleep/wake system managed by the Power Management daemon (powerd). Before the system can sleep, every active "sleep assertion" must be cleared. A single app, USB device, or system setting can hold an assertion indefinitely and prevent sleep entirely.

The most common culprits in macOS Tahoe are:

• Wake for Network Access / Power Nap — macOS periodically wakes to sync iCloud, fetch emails, and check calendars.
• Apps holding sleep assertions — Media players, video-conferencing tools, backup software, and even web browsers can block sleep while running.
• USB or Bluetooth devices — A mouse movement, a USB hub sending power events, or a Bluetooth keyboard pairing attempt can wake the Mac.
• Background processes — Time Machine backups, Spotlight indexing, and software update downloads all prevent sleep temporarily.
• macOS Tahoe bugs — A specific kernel or driver bug in a Tahoe point release can cause systemwide sleep regression until Apple ships a patch.
• Corrupt NVRAM/SMC settings — Stored power management parameters can become stale after OS upgrades.

Method 1 – Check Energy Saver / Battery Settings

The first thing to check is whether your sleep timers are actually set. macOS Tahoe moves these settings to System Settings > Battery (on laptops) or System Settings > Energy Saver (on desktops).

On a MacBook:

1. Open System Settings → Battery.
2. Click Options (top-right of the Battery panel).
3. Check "Turn display off after" — set this to 5–15 minutes for battery and 10–30 minutes for power adapter.
4. Make sure "Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off" is disabled.
5. Switch between the Battery and Power Adapter tabs and verify both have reasonable sleep timers.

On an iMac or Mac mini:

1. Open System Settings → Energy Saver.
2. Set "Turn display off after" to 10–30 minutes.
3. Ensure "Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off" is unchecked.
4. If you see a Schedule button, click it and verify no conflicting wake/startup schedules are set.

If these settings look correct and sleep still fails, proceed to the pmset diagnostic below.

Method 2 – Find What's Preventing Sleep with pmset

pmset is macOS's built-in power management command. It can reveal exactly what is blocking sleep right now and show a history of all past wake events.

Step 1 — See active sleep assertions:

pmset -g assertions

Look for lines under PreventUserIdleSystemSleep or PreventUserIdleDisplaySleep. Each line shows the process name and the reason it is holding the assertion. For example:

Listed by owning process:
   pid 412(coreaudiod): [0x00071e0100012345] 00:04:23 PreventUserIdleSystemSleep named: "com.apple.audio.AppleHDAEngineOutput"

In this case, Core Audio is blocking sleep — often caused by an audio device that macOS thinks is still active.

Step 2 — See the history of wake events:

pmset -g log | grep -i wake

This lists every recent wake event with a timestamp and the wake reason — for example RTC (Power Nap schedule), HID (Bluetooth/USB device), EHC1/XHC (USB controller), or EC (lid open or power button). Identify the pattern and match it to the fixes below.

Step 3 — View current pmset configuration:

pmset -g

This shows all active power management flags — powernap, womp (wake on network), sleep timeout, and more. Note any values that look unexpected.

Method 3 – Disable "Wake for Network Access" and Power Nap

Two of the most frequent silent wake causes are Wake for Network Access (also called "Wake on LAN" or womp) and Power Nap. Both instruct macOS to wake the machine on a schedule or in response to network requests.

Via System Settings:

1. Go to System Settings → Battery (or Energy Saver).
2. Click Options.
3. Set Power Nap to Off or Never.
4. Disable "Wake for network access" (toggle it off).

Via Terminal (applies to all power sources at once):

sudo pmset -a powernap 0
sudo pmset -a womp 0

The -a flag applies the setting to all power sources (battery, AC adapter, and UPS). After running these commands, verify with pmset -g — both values should read 0.

Also disable:

sudo pmset -a tcpkeepalive 0

tcpkeepalive keeps TCP connections alive during sleep (used by iMessage, FaceTime, and iCloud), which can trigger wake events. Disabling it may delay some push notifications but will significantly reduce unintended wakes.

Method 4 – Identify and Quit Apps Blocking Sleep

Once pmset -g assertions shows you which process is blocking sleep, the fix is usually to quit that app or adjust its settings.

Common offenders and their fixes:

• Zoom, Teams, FaceTime, Skype — Any active or recently ended call can hold an audio assertion. Quit the app completely (Cmd+Q, not just close the window).
• Safari, Chrome, Firefox — Web pages with autoplay audio/video or background tabs using the WebAudio API block display sleep. Close idle tabs or quit the browser.
• VLC, IINA, QuickTime — Paused media players still hold a PreventUserIdleSystemSleep assertion. Quit the player when not in use.
• Time Machine — Active backups prevent sleep. Open System Settings → General → Time Machine and check if a backup is running. Let it finish or pause it.
• Caffeine, Lungo, Amphetamine — Third-party "keep awake" utilities work by holding sleep assertions. Check your menu bar for these icons and quit them if you don't need them.
• coreaudiod — If Core Audio is the culprit, try unplugging any USB or Bluetooth audio devices and then check if the assertion clears. You can also restart the daemon: sudo killall coreaudiod

Finding the app by PID:

The pmset -g assertions output shows the process ID (pid). Find the app name with:

ps aux | grep <pid_number>

Method 5 – Check for USB and Bluetooth Devices Waking the Mac

Hardware devices are a very common wake source. The pmset -g log | grep -i wake output will often show HID (Human Interface Device) or a USB controller identifier as the wake reason.

USB devices:

1. Disconnect all non-essential USB devices (hubs, external drives, USB headsets, dongles).
2. Put the Mac to sleep and watch whether it stays asleep.
3. Reconnect devices one at a time to isolate the culprit.
4. For USB hubs specifically: cheap unpowered hubs often send power-negotiation signals that macOS interprets as a wake event.

Bluetooth devices:

1. Go to System Settings → Bluetooth.
2. Click the i icon next to each paired device.
3. Disable "Allow Bluetooth devices to wake this computer" for any device you don't need to use as a wake trigger (e.g., your Magic Mouse or keyboard if you're using a laptop lid open/closed workflow instead).

You can also disable Bluetooth wake globally via Terminal:

sudo pmset -a btswake 0

Thunderbolt and USB-C displays:

If you use an external monitor connected via Thunderbolt or USB-C, the display's own power management can wake the Mac when it exits its own standby mode. Check your display's settings for any "wake on LAN" or "auto-power on" features and disable them.

Method 6 – Reset NVRAM/PRAM and SMC

NVRAM (non-volatile RAM) stores system settings like startup disk, display resolution, and power management parameters. The SMC (System Management Controller) handles low-level power functions. Both can store stale or corrupted values after a macOS upgrade that cause sleep anomalies.

Reset NVRAM (Intel Macs):

1. Shut down your Mac completely.
2. Press the power button, then immediately hold Command + Option + P + R.
3. Hold for approximately 20 seconds (you may hear the startup chime twice on older Macs).
4. Release the keys and let the Mac boot normally.

Reset SMC (Intel MacBook with non-removable battery):

1. Shut down the Mac.
2. Hold Shift + Control + Option + Power button simultaneously for 10 seconds.
3. Release all keys, then press the power button normally to start the Mac.

Reset SMC (Intel Mac desktop — iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro):

1. Shut down and unplug the power cable.
2. Wait 15 seconds.
3. Plug the power cable back in, wait 5 seconds, then press the power button.

Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4) Macs:

There is no manual NVRAM or SMC reset procedure for Apple Silicon. The system resets these automatically during shutdown. Instead, shut down your Mac completely (Apple menu → Shut Down), wait 30 seconds, then power it back on. This is the equivalent of an SMC/NVRAM reset on Apple Silicon.

After the reset, re-apply your pmset settings and disable Power Nap/Wake for Network Access again, as NVRAM reset clears these values.

Method 7 – Check for macOS Tahoe-Specific Sleep Bugs and Updates

macOS Tahoe introduced several architectural changes to power management, including tighter integration with Continuity features (Handoff, Universal Control, iPhone Mirroring) that can create new sleep assertion patterns not seen in Ventura or Monterey. Apple has shipped sleep-related fixes in point releases, so keeping Tahoe updated is critical.

Check for and install updates:

1. Go to System Settings → General → Software Update.
2. Install any available macOS Tahoe update, even minor ones (e.g., macOS Tahoe 26.1 or 26.2).
3. After updating, reboot and monitor sleep behavior for 24 hours before concluding the issue persists.

Check for Tahoe-specific sleep bugs:

• iPhone Mirroring daemon — On Tahoe, the iPhone Mirroring feature runs a background daemon (MobileDeviceDaemon) that can hold network-related sleep assertions when an iPhone is nearby. Disabling iPhone Mirroring in System Settings → General → AirPlay & Handoff may resolve this.
• Continuity Camera — If your iPhone is set up as a Continuity Camera, its Bluetooth proximity detection can trigger wake events. Disable it via System Settings → General → AirPlay & Handoff → Continuity Camera.
• Focus mode sync — Focus status syncing across Apple devices uses wake-capable background activity. Disable cross-device Focus sharing in System Settings → Focus → [Your Focus] → Options → Share Across Devices.

Diagnostic log review:

log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.powerd"' --last 1h | grep -i "wake\|sleep\|assertion"

This pulls the last hour of powerd logs and shows every sleep/wake event with process names and assertion reasons — useful for pinpointing a Tahoe-specific daemon.

If your Mac still won't sleep reliably after all of the above, it's time to get professional eyes on the system. CloudHouse expert Mac support can remotely review your pmset logs, assertion history, and Tahoe-specific daemon activity to diagnose the exact cause — usually within 30 minutes.

FAQ

Q: Why won't my Mac go to sleep?
Your Mac may not sleep due to an app holding a sleep assertion (check with pmset -g assertions), Wake for Network Access being enabled, Power Nap being active, a USB or Bluetooth device sending wake signals, or a background process like Time Machine or Spotlight indexing keeping it awake.

Q: How do I find out what is preventing my Mac from sleeping?
Open Terminal and run pmset -g assertions to see all active sleep assertions. If you see PreventUserIdleSystemSleep listed, an app is blocking sleep. Run pmset -g log | grep -i wake to see a history of wake events and identify their source.

Q: How do I stop my Mac from waking up by itself?
Go to System Settings → Battery (or Energy Saver) and disable "Wake for network access" and "Enable Power Nap". You can also run sudo pmset -a womp 0 && sudo pmset -a powernap 0 in Terminal. Check for Bluetooth mice/keyboards waking the Mac via System Settings → Bluetooth.

Q: What is Power Nap and should I disable it?
Power Nap allows your Mac to periodically wake to check email, calendar, and iCloud while sleeping. If your Mac wakes too frequently, disabling Power Nap (System Settings → Battery → Power Nap → Off) stops these scheduled wake events and can fix unexpected waking.

Q: How do I reset SMC and NVRAM to fix Mac sleep issues?
For Intel Macs: shut down, then hold Shift+Control+Option+Power for 10 seconds to reset SMC. For NVRAM: restart while holding Command+Option+P+R for 20 seconds. Apple Silicon Macs (M1/M2/M3/M4) reset SMC automatically and don't need manual NVRAM resets — a full shutdown for 30 seconds achieves the same effect.