Have you made multiple attempts to put your iMac into sleep mode but been unsuccessful? Can’t understand why your iMac won’t sleep and what should you do to come out of this problem? Here, we present you with the best solutions.
A Mac that doesn’t go to sleep normally or wakes unexpectedly is a sign of several major problems. So, whenever you experience any Mac sleeping issues, look for potential solutions. Let’s discover why Mac would not go to sleep and how to fix it.

Why Won’t My Apple Mac Sleep?
Apple Mac sleeping issues can be encountered due to some apps interfering with the sleep process. The problem can also relate to a print job that is stuck in the queue. A Bluetooth device might be waking up your Mac.
When you put Mac into sleep mode, some bugs trigger the Bluetooth function to irregularly wake up the device. It leads to low battery life and other issues, such as quick battery drain. To fix the problem, remove the system distractions by implementing the following tips:
Check Sleep Settings
Before you try other troubleshooting tips, check the sleep settings of your Mac. Generally, Mac computers automatically sleep after a specified time. If it would not help, check the settings and make the necessary changes.
Hit on the Apple icon and click System Preferences. On iMac, click the Energy Saver option. However, if you’re using a MacBook with macOS Big Sur, tap Battery and select the Battery tab. Check Computer Sleep and Display Sleep options are not set to Never.
Tweak Energy Saver Settings
The energy-saver settings on your Mac allow you to schedule when your Mac cannot go to sleep. In the settings, make sure that the ‘Turn display off after’ option is not set to Never. Also, ensure Wake for network access is unchecked.
Your system would not sleep if the “prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off” option is unmarked. Check these three options to make your iMac go or remain in sleep mode. Tap’ Schedule…’ to ensure you have not set any schedule accidentally.
Stop Bluetooth Option
There is an option in the Bluetooth settings that automatically wakes your Mac. If you’re using any Bluetooth device, such as a mouse or keyboard, it’ll wake your Mac when you click a button. So, disable this option.
To turn off this option, click the Bluetooth button (or icon) in System Preferences. Now, tap on the Advanced button from the lower right. Next, unmark the box next to Allow Bluetooth devices to wake this computer.
Find Resource Consuming Apps
Sometimes certain apps don’t allow the Mac to go to sleep. So, when your Mac won’t sleep, find these apps and kill their processes. If it doesn’t help, force quit all unnecessary apps. Access your Dock and tap on Launchpad. Find the Activity Monitor and hit on it.
This will show a list of all processes actively running on your computer. Tap View, choose Columns and hit Preventing Sleep to get the app that prevents Mac from sleeping. If you see Yes on a column, the processes are causing the issue. If it says No, there is no issue.
Force Quit Unnecessary Apps
Once you find the list of apps that don’t allow your Mac to go into sleep mode, force quit them. This tip is recommended when a certain app is not closing normally. For this, press the keyboard shortcut of Command, Option, and Esc.
Next, simply tap on the app you wish to force close. Now, click on the Force Quit button. It will force quit or close all the selected processes on your system. Before force quitting any app, check if you have saved all the work in them.
Check Sharing Preferences
Another thing that can wake your Mac from sleep is sharing your computer resources with other users. It may be shared files, a connected printer, and others. So, to keep your Mac in sleep mode, turn off the sharing options.
To check the sharing preferences, such as hard disk or printer, and disable sharing options, click System Preferences. Press the Sharing option and disable the service you don’t want by tapping the box next to the option.
Restart the Device
Restarting the iMac is also a possible solution to the problem. It is known that restarting the computer helps with solving various issues, and the same applies to iMac sleeping issues.
You might be reluctant to restart the computer on a regular basis because it takes too long to load. It is another sign of a performance issue that is often related to clutter on the iMac’s desktop or having too many startup items hogging resources and delaying the load time.
Check for Missing iOS Updates
Make sure that your iMac is up to date. iOS updates are not that frequent, but it is still possible that you might have missed one. Check manually and confirm that the operating system is up to date. And if you see a notification about a new version available, then do not delay and download the update to install it.
Scan for Malware
The last bit of advice is to scan iMac for potential malware and other cybersecurity threats. Computer viruses can snowball out of control when not managed, affecting the computer system.
The struggles of the iMac not falling asleep could be related to malware. Use reliable antivirus software to thoroughly check each individual file on the device to confirm that the data is not corrupted.
To Sum Up
If your Apple iMac won’t sleep due to any reason, fix the problem quickly. This may have a bad impact on the longevity of your machine, as sleep mode is the power-saving option. All the methods listed above are properly tested.
If your Mac still would not go to sleep mode, reset the SMC, NVRAM, or PRAM. And, if that doesn’t help, then your Mac might be having some hardware problem with the lid. In that case, tap on the Apple icon and select Sleep.