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 (cont.)
We continue to report on an issue where some Mac portables -- particularly MacBooks and MacBook Pros -- fail to go to sleep automatically when the lid is closed, or wake up from sleep involuntarily while the lid is closed.
Analysis of reader reports and in-house experience indicates that this issue may be machine-specific in some cases rather than effected by other circumstances.
MacFixIt reader Charles Reeves writes: "I had this problem with the second of the three MacBook Pro's it took to get one that worked properly. It was asleep when I put it in the bag, not Safe Sleep mode, and when I took it out of the bag some time later the fans were running at full speed and it was so hot I could hardly touch it. I don't recall exactly what I did at that point, but it seemed OK after I charged the battery. But it died soon thereafter (would not boot) and the local Apple Store replaced it. As I mentioned, this was the second unit; the first had problems with the SuperDrive. The third has worked flawlessly in the six months or so I've had it."
Again, it is imperative to make sure your portable Mac has actually gone to sleep before putting it in a bag or otherwise ignoring it. Sleep is indicated by a gently pulsating status light. However, this does not guarantee obviation of the problem:
"I just wanted to report that my MacBook (2GHz Intel Core Duo model) will often not sleep correctly. I have safe sleep disabled. I have started waiting until I have visually confirmed that the computer has gone to sleep (by waiting for the pulsating status light)."
Other tips for preventing this issue from happening include:
Unplug/plug first Avoid connecting or disconnecting devices, or connecting/disconnecting power after your portable Mac has gone to sleep. USB devices in particular can trigger a wake from sleep.
Turn off safe sleep Try disabling safe sleep as described in this article and check for persistence of the issue.
Previous coverage:
Resources