Miya Pearson
There are several reasons why you might want to turn off your MacBook screen without putting your laptop to sleep. For instance, you might want to conserve battery life, or you could be running processes in the background, like playing music or downloading large files. Whatever the reason, there are several methods to turn off your MacBook screen without putting your laptop to sleep.
Characteristics and Values
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Using Keyboard | Press Control + Shift + Eject/Power Key at the same time |
| Using Keyboard with Touch Bar | Press Control + Command + Q, then press Escape at the login screen |
| Using Touch Bar | Select System Preferences from the Apple menu, open Keyboard, and click Customize Control Strip |
| Using Mouse | Select System Preferences, open Mission Control, click Hot Corners, and choose Put Display to Sleep from one of the corner dropdowns |
| Using Terminal | Open a new Terminal window and enter the command "pmset displaysleepnow" |
| Using System Settings | Go to System Preferences > Battery > Power Adapter, and adjust the "Turn display off on power adapter when inactive" setting |
| Using Hot Corners | Go to System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver > Hot Corners, and set a corner to "Put display to sleep" |
| Prevent Automatic Sleeping | Turn on "Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off" in System Preferences > Battery |
| Caffeinate Command | Use the "caffeinate" command in Terminal to prevent Mac from sleeping during long processes |
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What You'll Learn
Using your keyboard
If you want to turn off your MacBook screen without putting the entire computer to sleep, there are several methods you can try. Here's how to do it using your keyboard:
Using the Control, Shift, and Eject/Power Keys:
If your keyboard has an Eject key, simply press Control + Shift + Eject simultaneously. The Eject key usually looks like ⏏. If you don't have an Eject key, you can use the Power key instead by pressing Control + Shift + Power at the same time. This will immediately turn off your display while keeping your MacBook awake.
Using Control, Command, and Q Keys with Touch Bar:
If you have a MacBook with a Touch Bar, you can press Control + Command + Q simultaneously, followed by the Escape key at the login screen. This will turn off your display while keeping your MacBook active.
Adjusting Brightness Keys:
Another way to turn off your MacBook screen without putting it to sleep is by adjusting the brightness. Locate the brightness buttons on your keyboard, usually identified by sun icons. The button with shorter rays decreases the brightness, while the button with longer rays increases it. Keep pressing the decrease brightness button until the screen turns off. However, this method may still cause your MacBook to sleep after a while, unless you adjust the settings.
Using the Keyboard with an External Display:
If you're using an external display with your MacBook, you can turn off the MacBook's screen while keeping it awake. First, connect your MacBook to a power source, such as a power cord or a display with a USB-C connection. Then, use an external mouse, trackpad, or keyboard to operate the laptop. Close the lid of your MacBook, and it will enter macOS clamshell mode, turning off the screen while keeping the laptop active.
Using the Lock Screen Shortcut:
You can also use the Control + Command + Q shortcut to lock your MacBook's screen. After pressing these keys, click "Cancel" on the screen or press the Escape key. This will turn off the display while keeping your MacBook awake.
Please note that while these methods will turn off your MacBook's screen, you may still need to adjust your MacBook's sleep settings to prevent it from automatically sleeping after a period of inactivity. You can do this by going to System Preferences > Battery and adjusting the sliders or enabling the "Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off" option.
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Using your mouse
If you want to turn off your MacBook screen without putting the computer to sleep, you can do so by using your mouse. Here's how:
First, connect your MacBook to a power source. This can be a power cord or a display that powers the computer through USB-C. You will also need an external mouse or trackpad to operate the laptop. Ensure that your MacBook is connected to an external monitor. Depending on the ports on the display and laptop, you may need an adapter.
Next, go to System Preferences. You can do this by selecting it from the Apple menu at the top left of your screen. From System Preferences, select Mission Control. Click on Hot Corners, which is located at the bottom left of the Mission Control settings window. Here, you can choose one of the corner drop-down options and select Put Display to Sleep. Now, when you move your mouse to that chosen corner, your MacBook's display will turn off without putting the system to sleep.
Additionally, you can set up a "hot corner" to turn off your display. To do this, go to System Preferences, then select Desktop & Screen Saver, and click on Hot Corners. From here, you can assign a corner of your screen that, when your mouse is moved to it, will turn off your display.
It is important to note that turning off your display this way will not lock your screen. If you want to lock your screen, you will need to press the power button or use a keyboard shortcut. Also, remember that while turning off your screen can improve privacy and conserve battery life, your MacBook will still go to sleep after a while if left idle, and your processes may stop.
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Using Terminal
You can turn off your MacBook screen without putting your MacBook to sleep by using the Terminal app. To do this, follow the steps below:
- Open the Terminal application. You can find it by opening the Launchpad and typing "Terminal" in the search bar.
- Once the Terminal window is open, enter the following command: `pmset displaysleepnow`
- Press Enter to execute the command. Your MacBook display will immediately turn off, but the system will remain active.
Alternatively, you can use the caffeinate command in Terminal to prevent your MacBook from automatically sleeping. This method will keep your MacBook awake for as long as the Terminal window is open. Here are the steps:
- Open the Terminal application.
- Enter the following command: `caffeinate -d`
- Press Enter to execute the command.
You can also specify a time duration for your MacBook to stay awake by using the -t flag followed by the number of seconds. For example, to keep your MacBook awake for 600 seconds, you would use the command `caffeinate -t 600`.
Note that these Terminal commands may not work on all MacBook models or operating system versions.
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Using a hot corner
Hot Corners is a feature available on all versions of MacOS and Mac OS X. It allows you to quickly start actions when you move your pointer to a corner of the screen. For example, you can set your Mac to start the screen saver when you move the pointer to the top-left corner of the screen, or lock the screen when you move the pointer to the top-right corner.
Here's how to use a Hot Corner to turn off your MacBook screen without putting the computer to sleep:
- Launch System Preferences by selecting it from the Apple menu at the top left of your screen.
- Open Mission Control.
- Click on "Hot Corners" in the bottom left or bottom right corner of the Mission Control settings window.
- For each corner you want to use, click the pop-up menu, then select "Put Display to Sleep" from the dropdown menu. You can also choose other options, such as "Notification Center", "Launchpad", or "Lock Screen".
- To use a modifier key with the hot corner, press and hold the Command, Shift, Option, or Control key, or a combination of these keys, while viewing the pop-up menus.
- Click "Done".
Now, when you move your mouse cursor to the specified corner, your display will go to sleep without putting your MacBook to sleep.
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Using System Preferences
To turn off your MacBook screen without putting the computer to sleep, you can use the System Preferences feature on your MacBook. Here's how to do it:
- Go to the Apple menu, which is located at the top-left corner of your screen.
- Select 'System Preferences' from the menu.
- Once the System Preferences window appears, click on 'Mission Control' or 'Keyboard'.
- If you chose Mission Control, click on Hot Corners in the bottom-left corner of the Mission Control settings window. Then, choose Put Display to Sleep from one of the corner drop-downs. Now, when you move your mouse to that corner, your display will go to sleep.
- If you chose Keyboard, click on 'Customize Control Strip' and make your desired changes.
- Additionally, you can go to 'System Preferences' > 'Battery' > 'Power Adapter' to access settings that control how your MacBook behaves when it's plugged in. Here, you can find the Prevent your Mac from automatically sleeping when the display is off toggle. Turn this on to prevent your MacBook from sleeping when the display is off.
- In the same Battery settings, you can adjust the Turn display off after slider to your preferred duration. This setting controls how long your display stays on before turning off when your MacBook is inactive.
By using the System Preferences on your MacBook, you can easily configure your display and power settings to turn off your screen without putting the entire system to sleep.
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Frequently asked questions
If you have an Eject key on your keyboard, press Control + Shift + Eject at the same time. If you have a Power key, press Control + Shift + Power at the same time.
Go to System Preferences > Mission Control > Hot Corners. Choose Put Display to Sleep from one of the corner dropdowns. Now, when you move your mouse to that corner, your display will go to sleep.
Go to System Preferences > Battery > Power Adapter. Turn on the "Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off" toggle.
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