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Portable Macs waking up from sleep while closed, not going to sleep; "hot laptop in bag" syndrome (#4): Another fix

Portable Macs waking up from sleep while closed, not going to sleep; "hot laptop in bag" syndrome (#4): Another fix

CNET staff
2 min read

We continue to report on an issue where some Mac portables fail to go to sleep automatically when the lid is closed, or wake up from sleep involuntarily while the lid is closed.

This problem affects both Intel-based and PowerPC-based Mac portables. In many cases, it can be caused by interaction from peripheral devices: USB, FireWire, Bluetooth, Displays, even power connection.

Yesterday we posted an extensive list of fixes, including modification of the lidwake variable, deletion of power management-related .plist files and more. Today we've identified two more:

Turn off AirPort Yesterday we noted that turning off Bluetooth and un-pairing any associated devices can obviate the failure-to-sleep problem. It now appears that turning off any built-in AirPort hardware (via the AirPort menu item or using Internet Connect, located in Applications/Utilities) can have a similar effect.

Quit applications Some applications, when active at sleep time, can cause machines to either not fall asleep or wake up soon after going to sleep. Though it's inconvenient, try quitting all third-party applications before putting your portable Mac to sleep and check for persistence of the issue.

Previous coverage:

Resources

  • extensive list of fixes
  • Portable Macs waking up from sleep while closed, not going to sleep; "hot laptop in bag" syndrome (#3): More fixes
  • Portable Macs waking up from sleep while closed, not going to sleep; "hot laptop in bag" syndrome (cont.)
  • Portable Macs waking up from sleep while closed, not going to sleep; "hot laptop in bag" syndrome revisited
  • More from Late-Breakers