2018 MBA Won't Shut Down

[jmoore5196]

I thought I'd shut down my Air last week and put it in its sleeve. When I got to my workstation this morning and took it out, the computer was dead as a door nail. I plugged in the power adapter and it started and charged through the morning.

On closer inspection this evening, the usual 'shut down' commands don't shut the machine down. A press of any key 'wakes' it back to the login screen. My guess is that the MBA was 'on' in the sleeve for several days and finally ran out of power sometime before I got to work this morning.

To be clear, this isn't my only machine. It's a 3-week old 2018 MBA, 16/512. I've tried all the usual remedies (SMC, etc) without success. Waiting 5 or 10 minutes produces the same result: Touching any key 'wakes' the MBA to the login screen. Even holding down the Touch ID button doesn't work ... whenever I touch any key on the keyboard, the machine 'wakes' back up.

Does anyone have any ideas why this machine won't shut down?

 

[ctamayo1231]

I thought I'd shut down my Air last week and put it in its sleeve. When I got to my workstation this morning and took it out, the computer was dead as a door nail. I plugged in the power adapter and it started and charged through the morning.

On closer inspection this evening, the usual 'shut down' commands don't shut the machine down. A press of any key 'wakes' it back to the login screen. My guess is that the MBA was 'on' in the sleeve for several days and finally ran out of power sometime before I got to work this morning.

To be clear, this isn't my only machine. It's a 3-week old 2018 MBA, 16/512. I've tried all the usual remedies (SMC, etc) without success. Waiting 5 or 10 minutes produces the same result: Touching any key 'wakes' the MBA to the login screen. Even holding down the Touch ID button doesn't work ... whenever I touch any key on the keyboard, the machine 'wakes' back up.

Does anyone have any ideas why this machine won't shut down?

It might the fault of the automatic wake or power on when you do flip the screen up. There is a way to disable it and it means that you would have to press the power or Touch ID button for a few seconds

This this to see if it works for you. Open terminal and execute the following command

sudo nvram AutoBoot=%00

The regular setting for this is 03 so if you don't like what its doing or if it may not be the problem, you just need to change it back

 

[jmoore5196]

Thanks for the suggestion, but the Terminal command had no effect.

Just to check, I have the Air on a stand with the display up. If I use the screen command or power button press to shut down the machine, then wait an hour or so, any press of a key will 'wake' it ... the computer never actually shuts down. It's obviously still running when I close the display.

Appreciate the help!

 

[xraydoc]

I thought I'd shut down my Air last week and put it in its sleeve. When I got to my workstation this morning and took it out, the computer was dead as a door nail. I plugged in the power adapter and it started and charged through the morning.

On closer inspection this evening, the usual 'shut down' commands don't shut the machine down. A press of any key 'wakes' it back to the login screen. My guess is that the MBA was 'on' in the sleeve for several days and finally ran out of power sometime before I got to work this morning.

To be clear, this isn't my only machine. It's a 3-week old 2018 MBA, 16/512. I've tried all the usual remedies (SMC, etc) without success. Waiting 5 or 10 minutes produces the same result: Touching any key 'wakes' the MBA to the login screen. Even holding down the Touch ID button doesn't work ... whenever I touch any key on the keyboard, the machine 'wakes' back up.

Does anyone have any ideas why this machine won't shut down?

I believe this is by design. When the 2016 MBPs came out, they would power up from off just by opening the screen. I read that now the MBAs will power up from off just by hitting any key.

My advice when packing away your computer is to shut down then carefully close the lid without touching any keys.

Apple's usage vision, however, is an always-on device like an iPad. They don't want you to power it off -- they want you to just put it to sleep.

 

[chabig]

A press of any key 'wakes' it back to the login screen.

That’s how the new 2018 Macs work. From Apple: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201150

“Newer Mac notebooks also turn on when you do these things:

• Open the lid of your Mac, even if it's not connected to power.
• Connect your Mac to a power adapter while its lid is open3.
• Connect your Mac to a power adapter while its lid is closed and it's connected to an external display.

Additionally, MacBook Pro (2018) and MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018) turn on when you press any key on the keyboard or press the trackpad.”

 

[jmoore5196]

Don't power it off ... just put it away!

That's fine, but - as I told the Apple tech support rep with whom I spoke - I bought the MBA specifically for a two-week trip to Africa. It will not do me a lot of good there if I open it up and the machine is DOA. I got the same "it's a feature" comment from Apple, but they obviously engineered the "feature" for someone who does not travel widely and always has access to power or power supplies. In the Third World, that's not "real world." I guess I'll lug my 2016 15" instead!

More to the point, for those of us for whom the laptop isn't our main computer, gone obviously are the days when we could put the MacBook in a sleeve or case and let it wait there for the next trip. The battery will die in the meantime, since the machine is "always on." So unless the MBA or MBP is always connected to a charger (and thus, by extension, taking up real estate somewhere on my desk) it becomes a very expensive paperweight.

 

[chabig]

Well when the lid closed, nobody should be pressing any keys or the trackpad. Put it in a case and the lid shouldn’t open either.

 

[jmoore5196]

Well when the lid closed, nobody should be pressing any keys or the trackpad. Put it in a case and the lid shouldn’t open either.

I keep the thin rice paper screen protector in place, just as it came from the factory. My wife thinks I'm nuts, but my machines look like new after years of use.

Anyway, I guess there's enough pressure in a sleeve to push a key on the keyboard. Unfortunately, traveling internationally with a purpose-built briefcase isn't a real option.