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"Sleep Wake Failure" - iMac Constantly Crashes

B

butcherbird

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 18, 2014
71
48
Hi all.

Does anyone else have a Mac that crashes often when in sleep mode? My iMac crashes about 2 times per day while in sleep mode, now.

My iMac is updated to macOS 10.13.4, but the problem has existed for at least 1 previous version of macOS. The crash report lists this -- Event: Sleep Wake Failure.

I talked to Apple phone support -- no help unfortunately. Apple told me to try disabling the "Put hard disk to sleep when possible" feature, but that did not fix the issue. I report every crash to Apple; seems to fall on deaf ears in Cupertino.

I can post the crash logs if they do not contain any sensitive data.

Does anyone have a solution?

Thank you!
 
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Any more info on which iMac? If you've done quite a few upgrades through versions of macOS it might be worth doing a fresh install and seeing if the problem persists.

Some previous posts seem to suggest it might be a hardware fault, but I'd definitely try a fresh install before assuming that.
 
I have the same issue after the last update. After you close the lid, it will crash and got to the white apple screen with a long reboot and then open up all previous apps. You get no option to submit report or a crash explanation.

Also will sometimes get a login screen with a red check next to login. Enter the password and the computer locks indefinitely. Only way to get it to work is to hold down the power button for 10 seconds.

This issue is more than just annoying. Mine started after last update.

MacBook Pro 2016.

I wish I had a fix, just sharing in experience.
 
butcherbird said:
Hi all.

Does anyone else have a Mac that crashes often when in sleep mode? My iMac crashes about 2 times per day while in sleep mode, now.

My iMac is updated to macOS 10.13.4, but the problem has existed for at least 1 previous version of macOS. The crash report lists this -- Event: Sleep Wake Failure.

I talked to Apple phone support -- no help unfortunately. Apple told me to try disabling the "Put hard disk to sleep when possible" feature, but that did not fix the issue. I report every crash to Apple; seems to fall on deaf ears in Cupertino.

I can post the crash logs if they do not contain any sensitive data.

Does anyone have a solution?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

I have this exact same issue! It only started a few days ago on my late 2012 iMac with fusion drive. I've tried troubleshooting with no luck, so I am going to reinstall macOS to see if that fixes it. If it doesn't then it's obviously a software issue/bug with the latest 10.13.4 update.
[doublepost=1523091679][/doublepost]
Scorned said:
I have the same issue after the last update. After you close the lid, it will crash and got to the white apple screen with a long reboot and then open up all previous apps. You get no option to submit report or a crash explanation.

Also will sometimes get a login screen with a red check next to login. Enter the password and the computer locks indefinitely. Only way to get it to work is to hold down the power button for 10 seconds.

This issue is more than just annoying. Mine started after last update.

MacBook Pro 2016.

I wish I had a fix, just sharing in experience.
Click to expand...

As I said above, I have this same issue. I am going to reinstall macOS and will report back.
 
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Not iMac related, but since 10.13.4 waking my 2010 MacBook Pro takes multiple mouse clicks before getting a response.
 
Steve121178 said:
Reinstalling macOS doesn't fix the issue. Only my iMac is affected, no issues with my MacBook Pro.
Click to expand...
Thanks Steve. I was debating on reinstalling the OS, but don't want to loose anything. My problems started at 10.13.4.

Do you get a crash report when yours crashes? I don't. It just hard crashes or locks
 
Same issue here... It is constantly connecting and disconnecting my external devices... Instead of sleeping my MBP, I have to shut it and everything else down or everything will just crash when I wake it up. Apple man, I'm about ready to jump ship... Can't take this anymore! Not that Windows 10 is much better... Come on!
 
Scorned said:
Thanks Steve. I was debating on reinstalling the OS, but don't want to loose anything. My problems started at 10.13.4.

Do you get a crash report when yours crashes? I don't. It just hard crashes or locks
Click to expand...

Nothing at all. Using the Amphetamine app, I have my iMac set to never sleep until this gets fixed. It's a workaround but far from ideal.
 
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butcherbird said:
Hi all.

Does anyone else have a Mac that crashes often when in sleep mode? My iMac crashes about 2 times per day while in sleep mode, now.

My iMac is updated to macOS 10.13.4, but the problem has existed for at least 1 previous version of macOS. The crash report lists this -- Event: Sleep Wake Failure.

I talked to Apple phone support -- no help unfortunately. Apple told me to try disabling the "Put hard disk to sleep when possible" feature, but that did not fix the issue. I report every crash to Apple; seems to fall on deaf ears in Cupertino.

I can post the crash logs if they do not contain any sensitive data.

Does anyone have a solution?

Thank you!
Click to expand...
Very annoying. I recently purchased an older iMac to rip apart and upgrade (ssd, Wi-Fi ac and Bluetooth 4le) and I couldn’t figure out why it kept crashing and going to the grey blinking folder with ?. I figured it had to do with the hardware. No just a coincidence that I did all that at the time when yet another OS X sleep bug shows up.
 
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Well, I am sorry to hear that this is a wider issue than I previously thought.

Thank you guys for reporting back about the OS reinstall -- I won't bother with that now.

Please note ...
  • after EVERY crash, I have the opportunity to report the problem to Apple, and I do report it EVERY time. I have no idea if Apple is seeing the reports.
  • My iMac (27" - Late 2013 with a Fusion drive) is the only Mac that is affected. I have a MBP (15" - Mid 2014) that does NOT have this problem. Both systems running macOS 10.13.4.
I talked to Apple phone support last week -- they have no clue about the problem or how to fix it. They told me to consider reinstalling the OS. Ha! You guys already proved that won't fix anything.
 
Hm, I haven't experienced this. Could there be something keeping the OS from going into sleep mode correctly?

I don't know how I could help fix this so that's my best idea. Best of luck!
 
TheSkywalker77 said:
Hm, I haven't experienced this. Could there be something keeping the OS from going into sleep mode correctly?

I don't know how I could help fix this so that's my best idea. Best of luck!
Click to expand...

My iMac goes to sleep without a problem. I come back a day later to find that the Mac had crashed at some point. hehe. Or, worse yet, I hear the Mac reboot at 3am with that damn BONG after the POST check. Nice way to wake up in the middle of the night. (Now I know to mute the iMac before putting it to sleep.)
 
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butcherbird said:
My iMac goes to sleep without a problem. I come back a day later to find that the Mac had crashed at some point. hehe. Or, worse yet, I hear the Mac reboot at 3am with that damn BONG after the POST check. Nice way to wake up in the middle of the night. (Now I know to mute the iMac before putting it to sleep.)
Click to expand...
Odd, you said you talked to Apple Support over the phone? Have you tried taking it into the store to see if it's hardware?
 
When I contacted apple, they asked for crash logs. When it reboots, it opens all tabs that were open prior to the crash but you don't get a crash report.

Mine happens at least twice a day. If you let it sleep for more than a couple of hours, you a guaranteed a crash.
 
Curious, about a month ago I had this happen to me on my 2011 iMac running Sierra, once every night for about a week. Then it went away by itself. I suspected it was my reflowed graphic card acting up, but it does seem suspicious that more people seem to get the same error at the same time.

*Puts on his tinfoil hat* Some government testing out its global shut down capabilities for sure!

Scorned said:
When I contacted apple, they asked for crash logs. When it reboots, it opens all tabs that were open prior to the crash but you don't get a crash report.
Click to expand...
There should be crash reports in the Console.
 
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Scorned said:
When I contacted apple, they asked for crash logs. When it reboots, it opens all tabs that were open prior to the crash but you don't get a crash report.

Mine happens at least twice a day. If you let it sleep for more than a couple of hours, you a guaranteed a crash.
Click to expand...

I found out that even using the Amphetamine app to keep the iMac awake, it still crashes. I'm not sure on the timings, but maybe after 4 or 6 hours.

My iMac has a fusion drive, just wondering if there are any non-fusion drive iMac users with this problem?
 
TheSkywalker77 said:
Odd, you said you talked to Apple Support over the phone? Have you tried taking it into the store to see if it's hardware?
Click to expand...

No, I haven't. But, considering the number of similar cases here, I'm content to push the software angle with Apple Support a bit more before we worry about hardware (The iMac has no other problem indicators). I'm making time to call Apple again. Maybe this time I will get a rep who actually accepts the crash logs & escalates the issue.

I'll reply when I have something new.
 
It’s just an os bug. Let the monitor sleep but don’t let the computer sleep for now. The next patch might fix it. You can also try deleting the .plists associated with sleep but that could revert your other preferences to factory.
Do what I do, shut off computer sleep and wait out a software update
 
butcherbird said:
No, I haven't. But, considering the number of similar cases here, I'm content to push the software angle with Apple Support a bit more before we worry about hardware (The iMac has no other problem indicators). I'm making time to call Apple again. Maybe this time I will get a rep who actually accepts the crash logs & escalates the issue.

I'll reply when I have something new.
Click to expand...
Best of luck my dude!
 
UncleSchnitty said:
It’s just an os bug. Let the monitor sleep but don’t let the computer sleep for now. The next patch might fix it. You can also try deleting the .plists associated with sleep but that could revert your other preferences to factory.
Do what I do, shut off computer sleep and wait out a software update
Click to expand...

Well, this time I was escalated to a higher level of support. Like you, I told him that I see it as a bug in macOS. Being an Apple guy, he thinks it may be caused by someone else's software. Haha.

Anyway, we did a few things today.
- cmd + opt + P + R at boot up
- removed Sophos Home
- removed Malwarebytes
- removed Mail and iTunes Helper from startup
- he identified a few things to do in the next step, if necessary

I will let the system sleep for an extended period at least twice today & overnight. The Apple Support rep is going to call me tomorrow morning to see if the system has crashed. We'll see!

BTW, I told him that others here have already re-installed the OS with no improvement.
 
If you want you can try deleting the .plists (you can just move them to the desktop as a backup) these are located in /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration and /Library/Preferences.
From /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration:
preferences.plist
settings.plist
From /Library/Preferences
com.apple.PowerManagment.plist
com.apple.AutoWake.plist

You can try that but like I said I think this is one of those things we will just have to ride out till the next patch. You are right though dealing with the people from apple can be tedious only because they will not say its their software. They will have you replacing the samsung made fusion drive or crucial made ram (I don't actually know if these are the suppliers for these components so no one jump down my throat) before admitting the software has a flaw. In reality almost every update big or small has a glitch that annoys at least one group of owners.
 
UncleSchnitty said:
If you want you can try deleting the .plists (you can just move them to the desktop as a backup) these are located in /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration and /Library/Preferences.
From /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration:
preferences.plist
settings.plist
From /Library/Preferences
com.apple.PowerManagment.plist
com.apple.AutoWake.plist
Click to expand...

Moving the .plist files is on the Support rep's list of NEXT things to do tomorrow, if necessary. I'll wait til then.

Any chance the rest of you, with this issue, were using Sophos Home anti-virus or Malwarebytes (free edition), too?
 
No, I don't use those apps either. Just wondering if a clean OS install might fix the problem rather than the re-install of macOS I did at the weekend? I don't really have time for that so might just have to wait it out.
[doublepost=1523350434][/doublepost]https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8339580

Seems like it's a bug/known issue with FileVault according to this KB article. No fix available - yet.
 
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