IMac wakes itself up, WHY!?

I have an intel-based iMac and have noticed that it has a problem with waking itself up everytime it automatically goes to sleep. I have checked everything I can think of. The energy saver is set right with no weird schedule, I have unchecked any box I can find that says something about waking up the computer when an action happens. The only things that are plugged in are my printer, keyboard, and wireless mouse receiver. I have no idea why it is doing this.
Exactly what happens is after it has gone to sleep, I hear some small motor movement (must be the HD, or CD drive checking availability or something), and the fan runs for about a second. The screen does not come on, only all the noises present when a computer wakes up for real are heard. This is very weird I know, but I wonder if anyone else has this problem.

This might sound weird, but on both an iBook G4 and an Intel iMac I have experienced a wake from sleep when I turned on my desk lamp (fluorescent bulb) that was connected to the same power strip as the machines. I assume electrical line noise could trigger the computer to wake in some situations, or possibly frequency noise from the bulb? I never really tested other power strips or bulbs and just made sure to turn the light off for the night before I put the machines to sleep. FWIW.

Similar Messages

My iMac wakes itself up!

My iMac G5 has started to wake itself up (from sleep mode) at 7:06 every morning and I can't figure out why.
The only account on the system is the administrator.
The only active applications are Finder and Dashboard.
I've checked in the Energy Saving preferences and there's no Schedule set to wake the Mac up.
The active Login items set in the Accounts preferences are: SpeechSynthesisServer, iTunesHelper, MicrosoftMouseHelper and Microsoft Database Daemon.
In the Network Preferences I've made sure that nothing can wake the computer from sleep.
I just can't think why it should wake up as it doesn't do anything when it wakes.
Any thoughts, cheers

I had this happen to my old iMac G3. Every morning I'd come down and it would be running even though I knew I had put it to sleep the night before. Then one day I was getting ready to use it and my wife turned on the hairdryer and it woke up the iMac. It seemed that the hairdryer outlet and the iMac shared the same circuit. There must've been just enough voltage change that it woke up the Mac.
UPS took care of it.

Imac wakes itself

How do I stop my imac waking itself everynight at midnight?

This is discussed in some other places here, but I start to post the solution here:
My iMac also starts to wake up every night at 1 a.m. - even if I shut it down, it starts up at exactly this time. The different times (midnight, 4 a.m., etc.) seem to have something to do with time zones or daylight savings time settings. I searched here for an answer, and there was one that I tried (and only this one, so I can tell that this is really the solution for this annoying problem).
All I did was to activate the automatic startup in the "Energy saver" prefs, then *changed the time* (wich was per default at 0:00) to something else (I choosed 9 a.m., but everything else should work). Then I disabled the automatic startup again. And now my Mac sleeps well.
Nothing like "delete prefs" or "repair permissons", that was the only thing I did.
I hope this helps all other people here.
Thanks to the one who gave this hint!
Greetings from Hamburg, Germany - Tom

Mid 2006 intel iMac wakes itself up

I have a 17" 1.83 Ghz dual core intel based imac. very recently, after upgrading to version 10.5.5, when I put my computer to sleep it immediately wakes itself up, and it will not go to sleep by itself. the screen will dim like it usually does before sleeping, but full sleep will never occur.
I have tried rebooting, as well as resetting the SMC. I have tried sleeping with no running applications. I have set a hot corner to sleep the display, and that works, but I cannot get thee computer to sleep. its pretty frustrating. any ideas?

whoops found the problem. My wireless USB mouse was waking it up for some reason. I guess Ill just unplug it when I put my comp to sleep from now on.

IMac wakes itself up, then puts itself back to sleep

My iMac constantly wakes itself from sleep. The problem seems to have started around the time that I upgraded to Yosemite. If I leave the computer in sleep mode overnight, it will happen dozens of times throughout the night. The computer wakes up, but the monitor never comes on. I hear the hard drive spin up, I see my mouse’s LED turn on, then after a few seconds it goes back to sleep.
I have tried everything in this KB article (https://support.apple.com/en-gb/TS5357) with no luck. I have done SMC and PRAM resets with no luck. I’ve tried unplugging all USB devices prior to sleep in case one of them was waking the machine, with no luck. I have no Bluetooth devices, and Bluetooth is turned off. “Wake for network access” is turned off. I have no scheduled power or wake/sleep events. I have no file or device sharing enabled.
If I do a “wake reason” terminal command, I have page after page of the following message with varying timestamps: “Mar 28 11:45:20 iMac kernel[0] <Notice>: Wake reason: RTC (Alarm)” The info I’ve found about this says, “Real Time Clock Alarm, is generally from wake-on-demand services like when you schedule sleep and wake on a Mac via the Energy Saver control panel. It can also be from launchd setting, user applications, backups, and other scheduled events.” Again, I have no scheduled wake settings, “wake for network access” it off, and I have no applications that should be waking the computer.
I’m at my wits’ end with this problem. At this point, the only thing I can think to do is a full reinstallation of OS X, but I’d really rather not have to go that far. Any suggestions?
Specs:
iMac (20-inch, Mid 2007)
OS X 10.10.2
Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro 256 MB

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually login automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

IMac wakes itself up.

Hello, can anyone help. I have an iMac running on all the up to date software, will be upgrading to Mountain Lion when it arrives. I have found that the iMac seems to be waking itself up through the night. I put it to sleep, and normally about 4 hours later, it will wake up, although the screen stays black. You can here the hard drive running for about 5 seconds, and then loudly clicks itself to sleep again. I have been running a WD back up hard drive, but only connect it once every 3 days or so. Any ideas?
Thanks Mel

Spotlight may be indexing.
Spotlight tips

HT3964 My intel based IMac wakes itself immediately when put to sleep and the

I have an intel based i-mac which is about 4 years old. Recently when I have pressed the sleep button it has gone to sleep then immediately turned back on. The volume control also turns itself down to 0 at random times. Some months ago I had a drive appear in finder labeled as 0 and all my applications are on this drive.Anybody have any idea what might be going on?Any help would be greatly appreciated.I was running Snow Leopard when this first happened but upgraded to latest Lion operating system yesterday but problem is still exactly the same.

I have an intel based i-mac which is about 4 years old. Recently when I have pressed the sleep button it has gone to sleep then immediately turned back on. The volume control also turns itself down to 0 at random times. Some months ago I had a drive appear in finder labeled as 0 and all my applications are on this drive.Anybody have any idea what might be going on?Any help would be greatly appreciated.I was running Snow Leopard when this first happened but upgraded to latest Lion operating system yesterday but problem is still exactly the same.

Wake itself up?

I've checked settings of Energy Saver in System Perferrence; I haven't set a schdule for a wake up, I haven't checked "wake for ethernet network administrator access" (because I'm using a large shared network in a university hall). I've got EyeTV and I haven't checked the "wake computer up if necessary" option for remote schduling. So, there's no way my iMac wakes itself up. It's very annoying because it tends to wake up in the middle of the night. Can someone help me?
P.S. I usually keep Safari, Mail (and very rarely Skype) turned up in the dock when going to sleep (the mac, not me!). Does that cause the problem?

My iMac does the same thing.. Nearly every night around 11:45. What's even more odd is that I travel with the iMac, from west coast to east coast.. Even though I change the time zone when I'm back east, it happens around 2:45..
It's very annoying and wakes me up when it happens.. It seems to go through rest periods though, maybe for a couple weeks without waking, then goes through a heavy period waking every night.
I checked the other forum referenced above my post. My computer doesn't 'start up' by itself, but always wakes itself from sleep mode. I have tried it with bluetooth turned on and off. I don't have any ical alerts and no schedules set. I don't have EyeTV. No alarm software.

HT1349 Why would my intel imac wake at night unattended?

Why would my intel imac wake at night unattended?

Hey alexander1071,
I found an article that goes over some tips for when your computer won't stay in sleep mode:
If your Mac doesn’t go to sleep when you expect it to, or if it wakes up unexpectedly, you may need to change your sleep preferences or something may be waking your computer.
Make sure your computer’s sleep settings are set the way you want. In Energy Saver preferences, use the slider that controls the computer’s sleep.
Other users may be waking your computer remotely to use its shared resources. If you don’t want this to happen, open Energy Saver preferences and deselect “Wake for network access.”
Bluetooth devices can wake your computer. If you don’t want a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse to be able to wake the computer, open Bluetooth preferences, click Advanced, and then deselect “Allow Bluetooth devices to wake this computer.”
Key presses and mouse or trackpad clicks can wake your computer. If your computer wakes when you’re not present, something may be pressing the mouse button or keyboard.
Apps that access a disk can keep your computer from going to sleep. For example, iTunes accesses your disk to read the songs it plays, and DVD Player accesses the optical disc drive to play movies.
People using shared services on your computer can prevent it from sleeping. For example, they may be using a printer connected to your computer or accessing shared files stored on it. In Sharing preferences, turn off any services you don’t need to use by deselecting the On checkbox next to the service.
If Spotlight is indexing your hard disk, your computer won’t go to sleep. Click the Spotlight icon on the right side of the menu bar and check whether it says it’s indexing. Indexing your files can take several hours, depending on the number of files on your computer.
Malfunctioning USB, FireWire, and Thunderbolt devices may keep your computer from going to sleep. Disconnect those devices and see if your computer goes to sleep. If it does, reconnect each device, one at a time, until you find the one that’s malfunctioning. Contact that device’s manufacturer for more information.
Some PCI extension cards intentionally prevent a computer from going to sleep. Refer to the documentation that came with your card.
via: OS X Mountain Lion: If your Mac won’t go to or stay in sleep
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11080
Welcome to Apple Support Communities!
All the best,
Delgadoh

Imac 2011 wakes itself up

I have this problem where I would put my imac to sleep and it will wake itself up. Before I use to hear it waking up without ighting up the screen and after a few seconds will go back to sleep Now it will continue to be awake although my external drives seem to be asleep still. I already unchecked the 'wake for network access' and put the computer to sleep once it reach 20 mins. I even turned off Time Machine Editor and it still wakes itself. So what else is causiing it?

Open Console - it is in your Utilities folder.
Under System Log Queries in the left column, select All Messages
In the search field at the upper right, type wake reason
Copy and paste the text that appears. If there are hundreds of log entries, don't paste all of them, just select the dozen or so last entries.

Fan starts while sleeping - also wakes itself up sometimes.

I've got a Mac Pro 2.66 ghz with 16 gigs of ram. I'm running 10.6.8.
The computer is doing 2 strange things:
1. Every few hours, while asleep, the fan starts up for about 5 seconds - even though the computer is cool.
2. Every now and then it wakes itself up.
I've ignored this problem for a long time but now I'm going to be moving the computer into the bedroom and this is not condusive to sleeping.
Anybody know what's going on and how to fix it?
Thanks.

Neal Fox wrote:
Do you think that's why the fan would start up when it's supposed to be asleep?
It is the simplest explanation but there could be other causes.
Even if there is no device requesting your iMac's attention "wake for network access" will still cause it to wake periodically, just to inform your router that it is still present. It should do this then return to sleep fairly quickly. The display will remain dark.
Whenever you suspect a problem related to fan operation or power, including sleep, an SMC reset is also recommended. It should not be necessary for the fan to run so fast as to be objectionably loud, but some people are lighter sleepers than others. Perform the SMC reset; it may help.

IMac wakes up randomly using 10.5.2 - console log dump provided

Hi,
I've been having issues with my iMac for a while now in that every day it wakes itself from sleep at around 1am.
It is not scheduled to wake up at any specific time either.
Below is a dump from my console system.log file...
As you can see, I put it to sleep at 17:19 yesterday afternoon and it woke itself at 1am this morning.. internestingly, it has errors etc.. from com.micromat.smsdaemon but doing a spotlight search reveals nothing
I hope someone can help..
Thanks
Apr 28 17:19:11 my-Mac kernel[0]: System Sleep
Apr 29 01:00:09 my-Mac kernel[0]: System Wake
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac com.apple.launchd[134] (com.micromat.SMSDaemon[72308]): posix_spawnp("/users/mymac/Library/Application Support/Syphone/SMSDaemon", ...): No such file or directory
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac com.apple.launchd[134] (com.micromat.SMSDaemon[72308]): Exited with exit code: 1
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac com.apple.launchd[134] (com.micromat.SMSDaemon): Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
Apr 29 01:00:00 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: ERROR: mDNSPlatformTCPConnect - connect failed: socket 12: Error 50 Network is down
Apr 29 01:00:11 my-Mac kernel[0]: AppleYukon2 - en0 link active, 1000-Mbit, full duplex, symmetric flow control enabled port 0
Apr 29 01:00:00 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: ERROR: mDNSPlatformTCPConnect - connect failed: socket 12: Error 50 Network is down
Apr 29 01:00:12 my-Mac kernel[0]: AFPSleepWakeHandler: waking up
Apr 29 01:00:00 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: ERROR: mDNSPlatformTCPConnect - connect failed: socket 12: Error 50 Network is down
Apr 29 01:00:00 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: ERROR: mDNSPlatformTCPConnect - connect failed: socket 12: Error 50 Network is down
Apr 29 01:00:00 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: ERROR: mDNSPlatformTCPConnect - connect failed: socket 12: Error 50 Network is down
Apr 29 01:00:13: --- last message repeated 5 times ---
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: setsockopt - IPMULTICASTIF error 10.0.1.195 -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address)
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: mDNSPlatformSendUDP sendto failed to send packet on InterfaceID 0083F400 en0/4 to 224.0.0.251:5353 skt 7 error -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address) 669530909
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: setsockopt - IPMULTICASTIF error 169.254.55.131 -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address)
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: mDNSPlatformSendUDP sendto failed to send packet on InterfaceID 00811800 en3/4 to 224.0.0.251:5353 skt 7 error -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address) 669530909
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: setsockopt - IPMULTICASTIF error 169.254.55.131 -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address)
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: mDNSPlatformSendUDP sendto failed to send packet on InterfaceID 00837E00 en2/4 to 224.0.0.251:5353 skt 7 error -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address) 669530909
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: setsockopt - IPMULTICASTIF error 10.0.1.195 -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address)
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: mDNSPlatformSendUDP sendto failed to send packet on InterfaceID 0083F400 en0/4 to 224.0.0.251:5353 skt 7 error -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address) 669531159
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: setsockopt - IPMULTICASTIF error 169.254.55.131 -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address)
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: mDNSPlatformSendUDP sendto failed to send packet on InterfaceID 00811800 en3/4 to 224.0.0.251:5353 skt 7 error -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address) 669531159
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: setsockopt - IPMULTICASTIF error 169.254.55.131 -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address)
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: mDNSPlatformSendUDP sendto failed to send packet on InterfaceID 00837E00 en2/4 to 224.0.0.251:5353 skt 7 error -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address) 669531159
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: setsockopt - IPMULTICASTIF error 10.0.1.195 -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address)
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: mDNSPlatformSendUDP sendto failed to send packet on InterfaceID 0083F400 en0/4 to 224.0.0.251:5353 skt 7 error -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address) 669531409
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: setsockopt - IPMULTICASTIF error 169.254.55.131 -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address)
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: mDNSPlatformSendUDP sendto failed to send packet on InterfaceID 00811800 en3/4 to 224.0.0.251:5353 skt 7 error -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address) 669531409
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: setsockopt - IPMULTICASTIF error 169.254.55.131 -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address)
Apr 29 01:00:08 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: mDNSPlatformSendUDP sendto failed to send packet on InterfaceID 00837E00 en2/4 to 224.0.0.251:5353 skt 7 error -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address) 669531409
Apr 29 01:00:09 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: setsockopt - IPMULTICASTIF error 10.0.1.195 -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address)
Apr 29 01:00:09 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: mDNSPlatformSendUDP sendto failed to send packet on InterfaceID 0083F400 en0/4 to 224.0.0.251:5353 skt 7 error -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address) 669531659
Apr 29 01:00:09 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: setsockopt - IPMULTICASTIF error 169.254.55.131 -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address)
Apr 29 01:00:09 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: mDNSPlatformSendUDP sendto failed to send packet on InterfaceID 00811800 en3/4 to 224.0.0.251:5353 skt 7 error -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address) 669531659
Apr 29 01:00:09 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: setsockopt - IPMULTICASTIF error 169.254.55.131 -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address)
Apr 29 01:00:09 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: mDNSPlatformSendUDP sendto failed to send packet on InterfaceID 00837E00 en2/4 to 224.0.0.251:5353 skt 7 error -1 errno 49 (Can't assign requested address) 669531659
Apr 29 01:00:10 my-Mac /System/Library/CoreServices/NetAuthAgent.app/Contents/Resources/NetAuthSysAgen t[72310]: Warning: accessing obsolete X509Anchors.
Apr 29 01:00:12 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: Note: Frequent transitions for interface en0 (10.0.1.195); network traffic reduction measures in effect
Apr 29 01:00:14 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: ERROR: socket closed prematurely tcpInfo->nread = 0
Apr 29 01:00:15 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: Note: Frequent transitions for interface en2 (169.254.55.131); network traffic reduction measures in effect
Apr 29 01:00:16 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: Note: Frequent transitions for interface en3 (169.254.55.131); network traffic reduction measures in effect
Apr 29 01:00:17 my-Mac mDNSResponder[16]: ERROR: socket closed prematurely tcpInfo->nread = 0
Apr 29 01:00:18 my-Mac com.apple.launchd[134] (com.micromat.SMSDaemon[72317]): posix_spawnp("/users/mymac/Library/Application Support/Syphone/SMSDaemon", ...): No such file or directory
Apr 29 01:00:18 my-Mac com.apple.launchd[134] (com.micromat.SMSDaemon[72317]): Exited with exit code: 1
Apr 29 01:00:18 my-Mac com.apple.launchd[134] (com.micromat.SMSDaemon): Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds

Hi tele_player
I just ran those 2 commands in Terminal (copied & pasted like you recommended)..
The only things connected via USB to the iMac is wired Alu keyboard, wireless MX Revolution mouse, a Card Reader and a USB hub which my Time Capsule is connected to.
The only Energy Saver option which may have any impact was "Wake for Ethernet Network Administrator Access"... my mac is connected via Ethernet.. I've now unchecked that option, but not convinced that is the culprit..
There are no timed options in the Energy Saver to wake or sleep either.
Why would a USB device wake the computer?

Imac switches itself On even though it's been shut down!

Hi,
My imac switches itself on even though it has been shut down properly (i:e not sleeping)!
Any reasons why or ideas please?
iMac 2 Ghz Intel Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.6) 20" screen
iMac 2 Ghz Intel Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.6) 20" screen

Hi Spenny,
Do you have any Apps that are not working properly or Apps that appear open from the Dock and shows the menu bar but no App window?
Have you looked here (System Profiler): Go to Apple Menu > About this Mac > More Info > Contents > Hardware > Diagnostics... you can see what kind of Power up info is contained...
If it were me, I would go ahead and try resetting the SMC and pay careful attention to the instructions. If this does not help, I believe your machine is not actually turning off. So, if were me, I would force a shut down by holding the POWER BUTTON till machine turns off, this may take a few seconds but it will shut down and then go through resetting the SMC again....
Let us know, good luck, Rick
iMac G5 iSight 20" - 30G iPOD in Slimming Black - Mac OS X (10.4.7) - HP Pav 15" WS and Toshiba Sat 17" WS LP's - Canon 20D & A620

While trying to use iTunes on my iPad, it keeps closing itself. Why?

While trying to search on iTunes, it just keeps closing itself. Why?

Try a Reset...
Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time for at least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears. Release the Buttons.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1430

IMac wakes from sleep on its own with Yosemite

After installing Yosemite, my iMac wakes from sleep all on its own multiple times throughout the day and night. The screen does not turn on when this occurs and it goes back to sleep on its own. I figured the my energy settings may have changed after the upgrade, but nothing is different. I have no schedule set and the "wake for network access" is unchecked.

To my knowledge, any Mac that is 1. connected to power and 2. not powered down will wake periodically for the reasons I explained, and perhaps for additional reasons known only to Apple. If disabling "wake for network access" does not change anything, all I can say is that it's working as Apple intends it to work. Before you ask, I strongly discourage you from finding clever system "hacks" or workarounds to prevent your Mac from working as designed.
It may or may not be a bug. Whether it is or not though, if it bothers you, consider providing feedback to Apple.
When questions such as yours arise, it helps to look at iOS. iPads and iPhones will all periodically connect themselves for the purposes of downloading emails, Messages, alerts etc. There is no way to disable that, other than to completely power down the device, which almost no one does. Apple has been inexorably changing OS X to effectively implement iOS design features such as this – for better or worse is not for us to say.
May I ask why this concerns you? Perhaps that would lend some insight regarding possible solutions.

IMac wakes itself up, WHY!?

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