Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

lancastor

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 25, 2011
848
346
How can I check that my Mac Mini M1 is really sleeping/in standby.

I checked the fan on the back and the fan is running in standby. Is the a correct behavior?
 
Last edited:

velocityg4

macrumors 604
Dec 19, 2004
7,330
4,723
Georgia
If you have Power Nap enabled. It may be performing background tasks. Which it'll do periodically and go back to sleep.
 

DEMinSoCAL

macrumors 603
Sep 27, 2005
5,005
7,134
My M1 Mini seems like it sleeps because my external SSD (which is normally pretty hot) is cool to the touch but the front LED does not pulse like you think it should. Also, I have it connected to a Watt meter and it shows only a couple watts, so it is sleeping, but again the LED doesn't show that.
 

mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
10,563
11,243
How can I check that my Apple M1 is really sleeping/in standby.

I checked the fan on the back and the fan is running in standby. Is the a correct behavior?

If it's a MBP, with the lid open touch (not press) to authenticate Touch ID. If it doesn't wake then it's deep sleep.

You're assuming the OP has a second computer.

Everyone has a phone which is a small computer. Or, tablet, $10 Raspberry Pi Zero W, etc.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: scgf

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,410
9,112
If you have Power Nap enabled. It may be performing background tasks. Which it'll do periodically and go back to sleep.
Power Nap doesn’t exist on M1 Macs. The M1 efficiency cores use so little power that those functions are integrated into the system.

 

MarkC426

macrumors 68040
May 14, 2008
3,677
2,084
UK
Set Energy Saver to sleep after 'X' minutes, then even after you walk away (thinking is it on/off), it will go into sleep automatically.
 
  • Like
Reactions: apostolosdt

Wando64

macrumors 68020
Jul 11, 2013
2,302
3,053
So I think I will do a complete new fresh re-install of macOS.

Why?
The M1 is an “Always on” processor. The fan will run if and when it needs to run.
My suggestion to you would be to trust the system to do what it has been designed to do.
 

chrfr

macrumors G5
Jul 11, 2009
13,679
7,215
Yes it will if the checkbox is on to wake from sleep for network access!
Yes, that's what I'm saying. Even if the computer is asleep, it may respond to a ping. Pinging the computer is not a useful way to determine if the computer is asleep.
 

thebart

macrumors 6502
Feb 19, 2023
471
461
I don't think my M1 mini actually sleeps. Not like my PC, which goes into S3 sleep and shuts off CPU, only retaining RAM state. I found this out because I noticed a program downloaded something over night. I checked its log and it downloaded something around 1am.

So it seems like it only goes into some kind of low power mode, shuts off monitor , USB peripherals, and the fan, but the CPU is awake

I have wake on LAN disabled. I did not ping it. I do not have any kind of crontab or automator script running.
 

miniair2023

macrumors newbie
Jun 9, 2023
15
14
me too i never put macmini on sleep mode. I bought it as a sort of desktop backup so I will use it as a desktop machine. I turn off the display off when I don't use it
 
  • Like
Reactions: George Dawes

pshufd

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2013
10,127
14,558
New Hampshire
I have two ways to check:

1) Monitor it with a power meter showing power consumption when on, just after putting it to sleep and then after it has been sleeping for a few hours.

2) I have my Mac Studio set up as a NAS. When it is asleep, it takes about 19 seconds to access files. When it's not sleeping, then it returns data in a second or 2.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.