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in my mind, powered off means the same thing as removing the electrical cord and battery from the device.
I think your definition is too antiquated. Modern devices are almost never like that--not your TV, your car, your coffee maker, your microwave oven, your watch, your phone, or your computer.
 
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I remember when I bought my first 12" MacBook in 2016. Although of course I had researched the machine prior to the purchase but somehow must have missed the part that mentioned that it would turn on when the lid was lifted. I was very startled when, intending just to look at it and admire it but not ready at that point to actually begin setting it up, I opened the lid -- and the thing began booting up! Really caught me by surprise...... With this new MacBook Pro in 2018 I was prepared for the auto-boot upon raising the lid but not that it would also boot up when the lid was already open if I simply touched a key or the trackpad. That would have been another surprise except that I found this thread before that happened and so was prepared once I had experimented to see for myself.

What I find amusing now is that when I raise the lid of my 2015 15" MBP, which I still use from time to time, I find myself sitting there waiting for it to boot up.....LOL!
 
So am I right in thinking that unlike 2015, 16, 17 machines, the trackpad will always click, even if powered off? It seems like they have blurred the line between 'off' and 'hibernating' (and for no particularly good reason that I can see) - could this possibly cause problems in situations where your electronics are required to be deactivated?
 
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I think your definition is too antiquated. Modern devices are almost never like that--not your TV, your car, your coffee maker, your microwave oven, your watch, your phone, or your computer.
Yeah, perhaps I need to update my definition for modern times. Thank you for your thoughts.
 
So am I right in thinking that unlike 2015, 16, 17 machines, the trackpad will always click, even if powered off? It seems like they have blurred the line between 'off' and 'hibernating' (and for no particularly good reason that I can see) - could this possibly cause problems in situations where your electronics are required to be deactivated?

No practical problem. If you turn off the computer and close the lid the machine will be actually off...

Only if you decide to open the lid or (if the lid is already open) press any buttons (including the trackpad) will it power on.

There is no "power button" on the 2018 MBP so this likely helps to make things a bit more streamlined I guess. The only time it "annoys" me is when I'm cleaning my laptop which I do maybe 2x a week. But it really is only a minor annoyance.
 
I find it annoying because I want the computer powered off, not in some quasi sleep status, that brings it back to life with a pressing of the key. Back in the day, turning it off was just that. The computer was not consuming any power. Now it seems off is not really off.

Same I want off to be off, or at least a state of full hibernation. It should be something easily definable in the OS under power settings.

Q-6
 
No practical problem. If you turn off the computer and close the lid the machine will be actually off...

Only if you decide to open the lid or (if the lid is already open) press any buttons (including the trackpad) will it power on.

There is no "power button" on the 2018 MBP so this likely helps to make things a bit more streamlined I guess. The only time it "annoys" me is when I'm cleaning my laptop which I do maybe 2x a week. But it really is only a minor annoyance.
That it can detect input from any key or the trackpad while 'off' suggests that it isn't off in the same way that machines 2017 and prior were. Surely all keys aren't connected to a micro controller to power up the machine?

By no power button do you mean the Touch ID sensor is no longer a button on the 2018 machines? I wasn't aware this had changed, but I suppose it makes sense if all keys can do the same job.
 
Yes, that is correct; the same applies to the 2018 15" machine. It doesn't look like a separate power button or key because it is not; it is part of the Touch Bar mechanism.

The only time I can think of where it might be a concern that the machine auto-boots when the lid is opened is if someone is carrying their laptop somewhere and it has been shut down but somehow the lid accidentally opens, maybe even just a little bit and suddenly the machine has booted up and is running while contained inside a bag or some other place. I can see where that could lead to overheating and other problems.
 
Yes, that is correct; the same applies to the 2018 15" machine. It doesn't look like a separate power button or key because it is not; it is part of the Touch Bar mechanism.

The only time I can think of where it might be a concern that the machine auto-boots when the lid is opened is if someone is carrying their laptop somewhere and it has been shut down but somehow the lid accidentally opens, maybe even just a little bit and suddenly the machine has booted up and is running while contained inside a bag or some other place. I can see where that could lead to overheating and other problems.
I would think that the lid must be opened at least 45 degrees before the boot up sequence kicks in. I wonder if anyone has uploaded that type of lid test to YT.
 
Yes, that is correct; the same applies to the 2018 15" machine. It doesn't look like a separate power button or key because it is not; it is part of the Touch Bar mechanism.

The only time I can think of where it might be a concern that the machine auto-boots when the lid is opened is if someone is carrying their laptop somewhere and it has been shut down but somehow the lid accidentally opens, maybe even just a little bit and suddenly the machine has booted up and is running while contained inside a bag or some other place. I can see where that could lead to overheating and other problems.
The Touch ID sensor looks like part of the Touch Bar, but it is actually separate.

macbook-pro-touch-bar-teardown-touch-id-100694102-large.jpg
 
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Oh, OK, so yes, so it IS a separate entity! Just ran my fingers over the area and could feel that the power button is indeed separate from the rest of the Touch Bar......

I have my 2018 15" MBP up on a stand and I use external keyboard and mouse with it so don't interact with the Touch Bar or the machine's on-board keyboard. I haven't had a need to press the "power button" as I don't use Touch ID with my machine. Now I'm wondering if for some reason a forced shutdown becomes necessary if holding that "button" down will indeed force-quit and shut down the machine? I've only had this thing a few weeks so thankfully have not needed to use some remedies for problems, as there have not been any issues with it. (Knock on wood!)

As far as to what extent the lid needs to be open prior to the machine beginning an auto-boot I have not experimented with that so don't know what the answer is there. I would hope that it doesn't start the boot up process when raised just slightly, but the actual set point/beginning of this process would be a good thing to know......
 
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Yes, that is correct; the same applies to the 2018 15" machine. It doesn't look like a separate power button or key because it is not; it is part of the Touch Bar mechanism.

The only time I can think of where it might be a concern that the machine auto-boots when the lid is opened is if someone is carrying their laptop somewhere and it has been shut down but somehow the lid accidentally opens, maybe even just a little bit and suddenly the machine has booted up and is running while contained inside a bag or some other place. I can see where that could lead to overheating and other problems.

In my opinion, the biggest concern about the auto-boot "dictatorship" is when you have an accident involving a liquid. With any electronic equipment, if it gets wet, the best thing is to shut it down immediately, clean it, then let it air dry. But if you spill a liquid on the Mac, you cannot shut it down, then clean it. The second you clean the first key, it boots up again. If you read some of the forums discussing this topic, liquid-mishaps have happened to many people.
 
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With the T2 chip it looks like Apple is trying to be too smart for their own good. That or they want it to be more difficult and dangerous to clean; hard to tell with today’s Apple. Either way it’s a stupid move.

I can understand why they thought the startup-on-lid-opening was an “experience” feature, but starting up on any key press from an “off” state when there’s clearly a power button for that purpose is dumb.

Apple seem to have real trouble making good decisions in recent years.
 
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I have to admit it does frustrate me, but I have got used to it now. I may use the disable start up on lid open command, as this does drive me up the wall. Its a shame these options aren't available in System Preferences, Energy. Just my thoughts, or maybe the app Onyx could add them as options?
 
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In my opinion, the biggest concern about the auto-boot "dictatorship" is when you have an accident involving a liquid. With any electronic equipment, if it gets wet, the best thing is to shut it down immediately, clean it, then let it air dry. But if you spill a liquid on the Mac, you cannot shut it down, then clean it. The second you clean the first key, it boots up again. If you read some of the forums discussing this topic, liquid-mishaps have happened to many people.
in this situation you should disconnect the battery from logic board
 
Yesterday I shut off my MBP to clean the screen and keyboard. I cleaned the screen and started wiping off the keyboard and of course it started booting up. I thought “eh whatever” and kept wiping it off. It was at the login screen and I thped in my pass and it froze for a minute then went back to the login screen and said ‘boot in safe mode’. Restarted it again.

This is a really dumb feature. Do people who work at Apple actually use Apple computers.
 
in this situation you should disconnect the battery from logic board
I don't usually carry a tiny screw driver so I can remove my laptop's case and get to the battery in case of a liquid spill. So disabling this "feature" of boot-on-any-key-pressed would still be the way to go.
[doublepost=1545940790][/doublepost]
Please, do not respond with "why do you want this?" or "you can lock the screen to clean it", or other. All of us who want this disabled already know all that. But it is not what we would like to have. Thanks!!

For anyone else who wants this "feature" disabled...

As posted earlier and elsewhere, disable auto-boot on lid open or power cable plug in:

http://osxdaily.com/2017/01/19/disable-boot-on-open-lid-macbook-pro/

Disable auto-boot when you press any key on the keyboard or press the trackpad...

Nothing done by Apple, yet. But I got this from a chat with Apple support:
  • let people know to either call/chat or to leave feedback here.
  • https://www.apple.com/feedback/
  • The more we escalate this and get a lot of feedback, the faster Apple will release it, trust me, I have seen it happen!
So let's do as they ask, and hopefully we'll get what we desire.

Missed on one thing... the link above tells you how to disable auto-boot on lid open, only. I have done it. It works.

This supposedly turns off auto-boot when [re]connecting the AC adapter (though, I have not tried it).
sudo pmset -a acwake 0
 
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I don't usually carry a tiny screw driver so I can remove my laptop's case and get to the battery in case of a liquid spill. So disabling this "feature" of boot-on-any-key-pressed would still be the way to go.

I doubt this would be a realistic solution. Computers aren't "fully off" unless the battery is dead or disconnected in the modern era. The power button isn't a mechanical switch and needs power to it to allow it to activate, for instance. Even more concerning with a liquid spill is corrosion depending on the liquid spilled and the short circuiting that likely occurred before you would be able to "power it off", but may not be immediately apparent.

If you're worried about spills you can always buy Apple Care+ or keep the liquids away from your computer.
 
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I don't usually carry a tiny screw driver so I can remove my laptop's case and get to the battery in case of a liquid spill. So disabling this "feature" of boot-on-any-key-pressed would still be the way to go.
[doublepost=1545940790][/doublepost]

Missed on one thing... the link above tells you how to disable auto-boot on lid open, only. I have done it. It works.

This supposedly turns off auto-boot when [re]connecting the AC adapter (though, I have not tried it).
sudo pmset -a acwake 0
still disconnecting the battery it's a better solution for liquid damaged laptop, doesn't matter if it's a PC or MAC
 
Yesterday I shut off my MBP to clean the screen and keyboard. I cleaned the screen and started wiping off the keyboard and of course it started booting up. I thought “eh whatever” and kept wiping it off. It was at the login screen and I thped in my pass and it froze for a minute then went back to the login screen and said ‘boot in safe mode’. Restarted it again.

This is a really dumb feature. Do people who work at Apple actually use Apple computers.

Maybe they use W10 hardware as it's more reliable, as they clearly have no clue how to produce a Pro notebook for actual professional's, admittedly the marketing's good for the uninformed...

MBP :p Pro my arse...

Q-6
 
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What's so difficult about "off is off", Apple? There should only be one key that turns on a computer from that condition. If I want it to turn on when I press any key I'd leave it in 'sleep' mode. Whoever made this decision at Apple should be removed from the design process, adding features that end up frustrating your clients will erode customer satisfaction real quick.

A moisture spill on the keyboard is a great example. Now any key being shorted out by moisture risks the entire computer. Trying to reset the SMC is another example. Used to be you could confirm an SMC reset by the LED on the power plug. Now an SMC reset turns on the computer even before you get to the power button. Did I reset the SMC or not?
 
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