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MacNut

macrumors Core
Original poster
Jan 4, 2002
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So after 2 months with this new machine I wanted to give it a good wipe down. So I powered down and attempted to give it a good cleaning. Every time I touched the trackpad the machine started to power up. I have never had a trackpad turn the machine on before. How are you supposed to clean these damn things if they keep powering on.
 
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hehe, you have to get an appointment at the genius bar ;)

and

why do all the geniuses end up working for apple retail?
 
There is another thread in here somewhere about this issue and how annoying it can be. With the new MBPs if the machine is shut down but the lid is open one can turn on the machine simply by touching either the touchpad or any key. This can be both convenient and inconvenient, depending upon what one wants to do, and, yes, makes things rather challenging when one wants to wipe down the machine, give it and the screen a cleaning.

ETA: found the thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mbp-2018-turns-on-when-any-key-pressed.2131668/
 
There is another thread in here somewhere about this issue and how annoying it can be. With the new MBPs if the machine is shut down but the lid is open one can turn on the machine simply by touching either the touchpad or any key. This can be both convenient and inconvenient, depending upon what one wants to do, and, yes, makes things rather challenging when one wants to wipe down the machine, give it and the screen a cleaning.

ETA: found the thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mbp-2018-turns-on-when-any-key-pressed.2131668/
Who knew Apple would want to make things more difficult.
 
I find this works easily - I lock the screen, spray WATER ONLY from an atomizer onto a microfiber cloth, and then I can run the cloth all over the keyboard with nothing really happening. When I am done, I unlock and I am on my way!
 
I find this works easily - I lock the screen, spray WATER ONLY from an atomizer onto a microfiber cloth, and then I can run the cloth all over the keyboard with nothing really happening. When I am done, I unlock and I am on my way!
I'd rather have the machine powered down before putting any sort of moisture to it.
 
I'd rather have the machine powered down before putting any sort of moisture to it.

That's why I do what I do - with spraying on a cloth so it's damp, it's not like you are spraying/pouring water directly on the laptop/keyboard. The cloth is just damp, but that works perfectly. It the laptop is powered on, it turns right back on when you touch the keys.
 
That's why I do what I do - with spraying on a cloth so it's damp, it's not like you are spraying/pouring water directly on the laptop/keyboard. The cloth is just damp, but that works perfectly. It the laptop is powered on, it turns right back on when you touch the keys.
Off should mean off, not touch any key to boot.
 
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So after 2 months with this new machine I wanted to give it a good wipe down. So I powered down and attempted to give it a good cleaning. Every time I touched the trackpad the machine started to power up. I have never had a trackpad turn the machine on before. How are you supposed to clean these damn things if they keep powering on.
Welp, I just went down the rabbit hole of Apple Support pages and learned that, while some people think this is a glitch (and that you're computer is only supposed to do this when asleep rather than turn off), it's an officially documented feature of 2018 Mac notebooks. ****ing hell.

Anyway, I'd give this terminal command a whirl; it says it's to disable auto boot on lid open, but the command doesn't look like it would be limited to lid opening:

Code:
sudo nvram AutoBoot=%00

Really hope this helps. :) I cannot imagine Apple would introduce a feature that disruptive with no recourse.

EDIT:

That doesn't fix the touch any key to power on.

Whoops, looks like it's already been suggested.
 
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This makes sense now. When I first got my machine and took it out of the box I was shocked to see these things powered on out of the factory. Turns out it's a feature of opening the lid.
 
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Back in 2016 when I bought my 2016 12" MacBook, I was not aware that the thing was going to power on when I opened the lid for the first time, and was really startled and kind of annoyed as I really wasn't ready to start setting it up, I just wanted to LOOK at it. The auto-boot at opening the lid is one thing, and once one knows about it and what to expect, not quite as annoying as having it auto-boot when simply touching a key. Thankfully neither the 2016 or 2017 12" MacBooks do the latter, they just auto-boot when lifting the lid. Took me a while to get used to that but by the time I got the 2018 MBP I had become quite accustomed to it. The new "feature" of having the machine auto-boot when simply touching a key or the touchpad is annoying at times. I hadn't thought about locking the screen prior to cleaning the machine.... I am not about to attempt to disable the auto-boot functions, am just learning to live with them. It really would have been nice if Apple had offered us the option of being able to easily disable this (without having to into Terminal) if we wanted to do so.
 
I just spray some iKlear on a microfiber cloth and wipe it down. I shut it down and do the top half first. It's easier to see how well I am doing with the screen off. Then I hit the keyboard, trackpad and yes it powers up but it doesn't matter to me at this point.
 
It seems to me that the best option with the 2016+ with Touch Bar would have been to make the Touch Bar the power button.
 
To clean my MBP I start with handheld vacuum to get stuff out of the keys. I then use compressed air to get anything left out and I blow back through the vents. I open terminal (to minimize the effects of key strikes) and use a cloth that is slightly damp with alcohol to wipe down the case and keys. Finally I put the MBP to sleep and lay it so the back of the screen (top) is laying on the special towel while I'm holding the keyboard area and I fold the towel over and wipe it off.
 
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