Mac mini, Mac Studio, or iMac without pressing its power button - Sequoia?

[Dotty...]

Mac mini, Mac Studio, or iMac coming on without pressing its power button - in Sequoia 15.7.7 Why ???​

On Apples website it says that the System requirements are for this feature Tahoe 26.5 or later for these computers Mac mini 2024, Mac studio 2025 and iMac 2024.

I have a Mac mini 2024, but I haven't upgraded to Tahoe 26 as yet and I am still using Sequoia 15 which I updated to 15.7.7 a few days ago, since then when I turn my, it comes on automatically when switching it on at the wall, which is very odd behaviour, seeing that I don't use Tahoe and in turn can't turn it off with the control panel provided to users in Settings > Energy.

I was wondering is anyone else who has recently updated to Sequoia 15.7.7 on a Mac mini 2024, Mac studio 2025 or iMac 2024 are experience in the same problem?

I have already contacted Apple feedback to report this bug: https://www.apple.com/feedback/

​

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Try toggling “start up after a power failure” on & back off, to reset the setting in NV storage.

Or if it’s on, turn it off, of course.

 

[Fishrrman]

I use Sequoia as my "regular OS" on my m4 Mini's internal SSD.
but
I also experiment with Tahoe installed on an external USB SSD.

I noticed with Tahoe what looked to be a new setting.
I believe it was in the "energy" pane (system settings).
(not running Tahoe at the moment, and guessing from memory)
It was a choice, to wit, "startup automatically when connected to power" (or something along that line).

I keep my Mac and peripherals plugged into a surge supressor/power strip which I TURN OFF every night and turn back on in the morning.

So... I tried the new feature.
Now, as soon as I press the power button on the power strip, the Mac will boot (there was no power failure and it shut down nomally the night before).
One less button to push.

This must be "in firmware", because the new option continues to work on Sequoia as well.
I went to "Energy" in Sequoia system settings and don't see the choice.
But again... it works anyway after selecting it in Tahoe...

 

[bogdanw]

Apple support "Turn on a Mac mini, Mac Studio, or iMac without pressing its power button"
https://support.apple.com/en-us/125517
"You can configure some desktop Mac computers to turn on automatically when connected to power. This feature can be helpful when you don’t have easy access to the computer’s power button.
System requirements
This feature requires macOS Tahoe 26.5 or later and one of these computers:
Mac mini introduced in 2024 or later
Mac Studio introduced in 2025 or later
iMac introduced in 2024 or later
Set your Mac to start up when power is connected
From the Apple menu , choose System Settings.
Click Energy in the sidebar.
From the "Start up when power is connected" menu on the right, choose Always. This setting is available only on computers that meet the system requirements.
Your Mac will now automatically turn on whenever you connect it to power, such as when plugging it into a power outlet or restoring power using an external power switch. It will also automatically turn on when power is restored after a power failure.
If your Mac has remained connected to power since it was shut down, it’s best to wait about 30 seconds between disconnecting and reconnecting power to turn on your Mac. This gives your Mac power supply time to discharge."

This must be "in firmware", because the new option continues to work on Sequoia as well.

Can you check the nvram to identify the value?

nvram -p

 

[Fishrrman]

"Can you check the nvram to identify the value?"

I opened terminal and entered "nvram -p" and got a long line of characters and info.
Where do I find "the value" you're asking about, or do you need to see the whole thing (saved as a text file)?

Although Apple says tahoe 26.5 is required for:
"You can configure some desktop Mac computers to turn on automatically when connected to power. This feature can be helpful when you don’t have easy access to the computer’s power button."

...I can tell you with assurance that this feature also works on a Mac running Sequoia from the internal boot SSD (AFTER installing the tahoe 26.5 update onto an external boot drive).

Additional notes:
I was running in tahoe when I first saw this feature, and enabled it there.
I then "booted back to" Sequoia.
Although the option to set/unset this feature no longer appears in Sequoia, the Mac still behaves "as it was set previously in tahoe".

I shut down at night.
In the morning, I reach down and press the power button on my power strip.
The Mac immediately boots.
Interestingly, although I have the startup sound set to "on", when it starts from the "power strip button", there is no startup sound. It boots silently.

I went out for a while this afternoon, and shut down (but left the power strip ON).
When I pressed the power on button on the Mini, I -DID- get the startup sound as it came on...

 

[bogdanw]

I opened terminal and entered "nvram -p" and got a long line of characters and info.
Where do I find "the value" you're asking about, or do you need to see the whole thing (saved as a text file)?

My guess would be to look for a value with "power", "boot" or "startup".

The nvram values can be saved in a txt file for easy reading/search:

nvram -p >> ~/Desktop/nvram.txt; open -e ~/Desktop/nvram.txt

These are known and not related to ""Start up when power is connected": boot-breadcrumbs, boot-volume, boot-picker-bringup-reason, upgrade-boot-volume, auto-boot, bootdelay, StartupMute.

...I can tell you with assurance that this feature also works on a Mac running Sequoia from the internal boot SSD (AFTER installing the tahoe 26.5 update onto an external boot drive).
Additional notes:
I was running in tahoe when I first saw this feature, and enabled it there.
I then "booted back to" Sequoia.
Although the option to set/unset this feature no longer appears in Sequoia, the Mac still behaves "as it was set previously in tahoe".

That is why I presume it's set in the nvram. Other settings do not survive when booting different versions of macOS.