MP 7,1 Two problems with new 2019 MP

[wino david]

Just received my new MP a couple days ago. Upon setup I discovered two issues and curious if anyone else is experiencing. I have not called Apple Support yet, but intend to in the next few days as time allows.

Issue 1: MP will not sleep.

Restart and Shutdown work fine, but sleep does not work. Have tried from UI and command line and the behavior is the same. The computer appears to be going into sleep mode - monitors go black but the power light on the top of the MP stays solid and does not pulse to indicate sleep mode. Also worth mentioning, when monitors go black there is an audible thump from the external speakers.

Issue 2: Both monitors do not turn on when when MP is awoken from sleep mode.

When the MP is awoken from "sleep" (see above issue - MP power light is still solid) with key press or mouse click, only one monitor displays an image. If I disconnect the non-working monitor from the Thunderbolt port and reconnect, the non-working monitor works as normal. This behavior remains the same if the monitors are connected to the rear or top Thunderbolt ports. I have also tried swapping out several different monitors (LG and Dell) and the behavior remains the same so I don't believe this is a problem with the monitors.

Anyone else have these issues?


MP config: 16-core, 1TB SSD, 32GB RAM (8GB x 4 from Apple), 580X

 

[chfilm]

I have a similar issue, displays don’t return from sleep, thought it was the monitors..

 

[th0masp]

I'd try resetting the SMC and turning off power nap first.

Also if you do a 'pmset sleepnow' in terminal (don't touch the mouse after pressing enter) - does that make it sleep proper?

There is a whole procedure to diagnose sleep issues but its been a long time for me and the whole logging system has changed since. Perhaps someone else can chime in regarding which logfiles to pay attention to.

 

[bxs]

Just received my new MP a couple days ago. Upon setup I discovered two issues and curious if anyone else is experiencing. I have not called Apple Support yet, but intend to in the next few days as time allows.

Issue 1: MP will not sleep.

Restart and Shutdown work fine, but sleep does not work. Have tried from UI and command line and the behavior is the same. The computer appears to be going into sleep mode - monitors go black but the power light on the top of the MP stays solid and does not pulse to indicate sleep mode. Also worth mentioning, when monitors go black there is an audible thump from the external speakers.

Issue 2: Both monitors do not turn on when when MP is awoken from sleep mode.

When the MP is awoken from "sleep" (see above issue - MP power light is still solid) with key press or mouse click, only one monitor displays an image. If I disconnect the non-working monitor from the Thunderbolt port and reconnect, the non-working monitor works as normal. This behavior remains the same if the monitors are connected to the rear or top Thunderbolt ports. I have also tried swapping out several different monitors (LG and Dell) and the behavior remains the same so I don't believe this is a problem with the monitors.

Anyone else have these issues?


MP config: 16-core, 1TB SSD, 32GB RAM (8GB x 4 from Apple), 580X

View attachment 886704

Issue 1

• I don't believe the pulsing light feature is used anymore for sleeping, unless this is documented somewhere otherwise.
• The thumping sound should be reported to Apple for their advice. When you say "external speakers", are these really 3rd party speakers?

Issue 2

• Are the LG and Dell displays connected via native TB3 cables (and are the TB3 cables certified as such) or are you using TB3/USB-C to TB2 adapters if displays are TB1 or 2 displays ?
• Are both Displays connected to same Thunderbolt Bus. That is have you tried having one display connected to top TB3 port and the other to the rear TB3 port ?

As an aside, if you configure the Displays to sleep via the System Preferences -> Energy Saver (say after 5 mins of unattended MP7,1 use) do they sleep and go black ?

 

[MarkC426]

Just received my new MP a couple days ago. Upon setup I discovered two issues and curious if anyone else is experiencing. I have not called Apple Support yet, but intend to in the next few days as time allows.

Issue 1: MP will not sleep.

Restart and Shutdown work fine, but sleep does not work. Have tried from UI and command line and the behavior is the same. The computer appears to be going into sleep mode - monitors go black but the power light on the top of the MP stays solid and does not pulse to indicate sleep mode. Also worth mentioning, when monitors go black there is an audible thump from the external speakers.

Issue 2: Both monitors do not turn on when when MP is awoken from sleep mode.

When the MP is awoken from "sleep" (see above issue - MP power light is still solid) with key press or mouse click, only one monitor displays an image. If I disconnect the non-working monitor from the Thunderbolt port and reconnect, the non-working monitor works as normal. This behavior remains the same if the monitors are connected to the rear or top Thunderbolt ports. I have also tried swapping out several different monitors (LG and Dell) and the behavior remains the same so I don't believe this is a problem with the monitors.

Anyone else have these issues?


MP config: 16-core, 1TB SSD, 32GB RAM (8GB x 4 from Apple), 580X

View attachment 886704

As noted in other threads regarding the 7.1, this should not be happening.
It looks like a ‘standard‘ Apple build (no third party kit messing things up, some users have non standard gpu’s for example).
This is ridiculous.

 

[thomast0001]

Just confirming that the power light no longer pulses in sleep mode. That feature apparently went away a while ago. (I'm assuming you are upgrading from an older Mac and thus were surprised by the change in behavior.) You also will no longer have a startup chime.

I have my Mac Pro 2019 hooked up to a UPS with a display. Thus I can check if the system is in sleep mode by monitoring how much power it's drawing. That's silly of course. I miss the pulsating light.

As far as monitors remaining dark after waking from sleep, do a google search for "catalina monitor sleep mode problem" (no quotes). I found for example:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/dfq969
• https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/catalina-causing-issues-with-hdmi.2205380/

So did you need to install any software related to your monitors (first link)? The second link indicates there are known issues with HDMI connections with Catalina. I can (maybe) confirm that due to issues I'm having connecting my system to a KVM via HDMI.

 

[zhpenn]

hdmi port is slow reacts when I wake my mac from a screen sleep (not mac sleep)mode, need to press keyboard and mouse many times to wake the screen, but when I use usbc to mini dp, it reacts a lot faster

 

[aerialbyte]

I have my Mac Pro connected to an UPS and I noticed that when I put the Mac Pro to sleep, the watt usage on the UPS stays the same as if the Mac Pro was not asleep; however on Windows via Bootcamp, when I put the Mac Pro to sleep, I can see the drop in power usage on the UPS as expected.

I will do some more testing tomorrow.

 

[wino david]

Just confirming that the power light no longer pulses in sleep mode. That feature apparently went away a while ago. (I'm assuming you are upgrading from an older Mac and thus were surprised by the change in behavior.) You also will no longer have a startup chime.

Ha, good to know about the power light not pulsing any longer. Issue 1 may not be a real issue aside from the audible thump.

• The thumping sound should be reported to Apple for their advice. When you say "external speakers", are these really 3rd party speakers?
• Are the LG and Dell displays connected via native TB3 cables (and are the TB3 cables certified as such) or are you using TB3/USB-C to TB2 adapters if displays are TB1 or 2 displays ?
• Are both Displays connected to same Thunderbolt Bus. That is have you tried having one display connected to top TB3 port and the other to the rear TB3 port ?

As an aside, if you configure the Displays to sleep via the System Preferences -> Energy Saver (say after 5 mins of unattended MP7,1 use) do they sleep and go black ?

• Yes, the speakers are HK Soundsticks that use a standard 3.5mm audio plug. The audible thump upon sleep is not characteristic of any Mac I currently own or previously owned - let alone a $6K+ MP. My MP 4,1 does not do this and the 3 MBPs I have access to do not make the thumping sound either.
• I've tried multiple monitor cables (native TB3 cables and cables with adapters) - the results are the same. The monitors wake up as expected with my existing MBPs using Thunderbolt ports.
• Apologies I wasn't clear in my initial description. The results are the same regardless of 1 monitor plugged into the top Thunderbolt port and 1 monitor plugged into the rear Thunderbolt port - or both in the top or both in the rear.

 

[th0masp]

So what is the new sleep light behaviour? Is there no visible difference at all between wake and sleep states?

 

[AidenShaw]

So what is the new sleep light behaviour? Is there no visible difference at all between wake and sleep states?

Just look at the screen of your sine-wave UPS - not a problem.

 

[th0masp]

Hm, I have never considered getting one of these for the home office, not once - is that a 'Pro' requirement now? None of the places I worked at domestically have had them either. I only know UPS bricks from offices abroad where we had to deal with occasional power outages.

Anyway, surely there must be a way to tell if the thing has properly gone to sleep just by looking at the light - especially on a computer with the capabilities to draw as much power as the MP does in certain configurations?

 

[DPUser]

A quick way to wake a sleeping screen that works for me is to keep the icon for Display Preferences on the menu bar. When the computer awakes, go to whichever screen is working, select "Mirror" from Display Preference. On my Mac Pro, this wakes up my 4k TV monitor (connected via HDMI) after which the Dual Display option can be re-selected from Display Preference and all is well.

 

[davidec]

I've got sleep and restart issues. 49" Sammy wakes up but MP seems to stay asleep, or goes to login screen with nothing happening or at best wakes if I have my watch on and on wifi (sometimes). Restarting takes ages and doesn't restart, just powers down. Powering down and then power up seems to be fine

 

[thomast0001]

So what is the new sleep light behaviour? Is there no visible difference at all between wake and sleep states?

Nope. Someone needs to create a little usb-c dongle you can plug in the top that has a light that pulses when the machine is put to sleep. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was stupidly popular — not stupid for buying it, but stupid for having to exist! And yes, it’s silly for such an expensive and potentially power hungry machine not to have a clear indicator built-in. And yes, having a good UPS hooked up is a good idea. Get one with a display!

 

[MarkC426]

Hm, I have never considered getting one of these for the home office, not once - is that a 'Pro' requirement now? None of the places I worked at domestically have had them either. I only know UPS bricks from offices abroad where we had to deal with occasional power outages.

Anyway, surely there must be a way to tell if the thing has properly gone to sleep just by looking at the light - especially on a computer with the capabilities to draw as much power as the MP does in certain configurations?

Just because you don’t get power cuts, doesn’t mean it’s a smooth flow of power.

I have had UPS’s for donkeys years, and periodically it kicks in for 1-2 seconds.
They are designed to regulate the power, both spikes and drops.

You would be surprised how often the voltage changes.
It is so small lights don’t even flicker, but it is designed to regulate minute changes to protect your assets.

 

[startergo]

Apparently a wake from sleep issue is purely Catalina ( maybe Mojave too). Unfortunately you can't confirm it because you can't run Mojave let alone HS in the 7.1. It happens on the mBP and the cMP too so it is not really related to the hardware. Non of the cMP users can request support from Apple anymore but the owners of the 7.1 can raise that issue.

 

[Earl Urley]

So what is the new sleep light behaviour? Is there no visible difference at all between wake and sleep states?

Nope, it's just another feature that got the axe, maybe the slow fade was burning out the LEDs prematurely. 🤨

Apple has published a list of what the possible power indicator modes are now here:

Mac Pro (2019) status indicator light behavior - Apple Support

Learn about the different status indicator light patterns you might see on your Mac Pro.

support.apple.com

There's flashing indicators for "you pulled off the top dummy," "One of the PCI cards is wonky," and "you booted to firmware recovery mode." But no more pulsing.

Good Job, Apple, for taking away yet another feature people were used to.

 

[now i see it]

While some Macs can successfully sleep on some older versions of MacOS, I've never found Sleep to be 100% reliable on all the Macs I've used throughout the years. For me it's always been hit or miss.

Personally I would never use Sleep on a workstation computer even if it might work (history has taught me not to trust it). Just turn the computer off if you're not going to be using it for several hours.
Off always works.

 

[th0masp]

Nope, it's just another feature that got the axe, maybe the slow fade was burning out the LEDs prematurely. 🤨

It's courage of course.

Anyway if the thing is really not properly waking up then I'd definitely recommend resetting the SMC. I had it go wild as well on my then still quite new MP (6,1) and sometimes not recognise the single monitor connected to it. Resetting did away with the issue entirely.
[automerge]1578433003[/automerge]

Nope. Someone needs to create a little usb-c dongle you can plug in the top that has a light that pulses when the machine is put to sleep. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was stupidly popular — not stupid for buying it, but stupid for having to exist! And yes, it’s silly for such an expensive and potentially power hungry machine not to have a clear indicator built-in. And yes, having a good UPS hooked up is a good idea. Get one with a display!

Agreed - and on the subject of UPS: I wonder how do these clean desk fanatics whos apparently totally wireless setups one can check out on sites all over the mac scene deal with having to buy such an ugly brick that is about as aesthetically pleasing as a car battery and once in a while emits sounds like a reversing lorry?

 

[Snow Tiger]

So what is the new sleep light behaviour? Is there no visible difference at all between wake and sleep states?

In sleep mode , the MP7,1's activity light will remain on . However ...

If you have an USB optical mouse attached , it's red LED will turn off . Or ...

If you have a wattmeter ( like a Kill-A-Watt device ) , the System will display around 20 W consumed when sleeping .

 

[th0masp]

In sleep mode , the MP7,1's activity light will remain on . However ...

If you have an USB optical mouse attached , it's red LED will turn off . Or ...

If you have a wattmeter ( like a Kill-A-Watt device ) , the System will display around 20 W consumed when sleeping .

20W sounds quite a lot for sleep mode to be honest. Is that an accurate value for this machine? I'd expect (low) single digits for a modern piece of gear.


As for sleep slight indicators - I get that. I use keyboards with background illumination on my desktops so its usually obvious if the thing is asleep or not.

However, there seems to be an inbetween state of affairs because just this morning I caught my Trashcan with a solid power light but no keyboard/mouse/tablet lights on. Checking the logs I could see that it had awakened for some reason a couple minutes before I entered the room. Peripherals however were powered off.
This is different from the several times a night my stationary Macs briefly wake up, do whatever and go back to sleep. In those cases connected devices do light up for a short while before everything goes back to sleep.

 

[Snow Tiger]

20W sounds quite a lot for sleep mode to be honest. Is that an accurate value for this machine? I'd expect (low) single digits for a modern piece of gear.


As for sleep slight indicators - I get that. I use keyboards with background illumination on my desktops so its usually obvious if the thing is asleep or not.

However, there seems to be an inbetween state of affairs because just this morning I caught my Trashcan with a solid power light but no keyboard/mouse/tablet lights on. Checking the logs I could see that it had awakened for some reason a couple minutes before I entered the room. Peripherals however were powered off.
This is different from the several times a night my stationary Macs briefly wake up, do whatever and go back to sleep. In those cases connected devices do light up for a short while before everything goes back to sleep.

Your Mac Pro 6,1 ( 2013 ) supports power nap . Maybe this is what is causing this behavior . You can verify whether its active if you go into System Preferences , Energy Saver .

 

[thomast0001]

20W sounds quite a lot for sleep mode to be honest. Is that an accurate value for this machine? I'd expect (low) single digits for a modern piece of gear.

According to my UPS, the 2019 appears to eventually go into a super-sleep mode, drawing (from the perspective of my UPS) zero watts. Immediately after sleep it does register as about 20 watts. However, it does apparently at some point drop below that. This is quite nice since it means the machine draws around zero power during longer sleep cycles.

 

[Snow Tiger]

According to my UPS, the 2019 appears to eventually go into a super-sleep mode, drawing (from the perspective of my UPS) zero watts. Immediately after sleep it does register as about 20 watts. However, it does apparently at some point drop below that. This is quite nice since it means the machine draws around zero power during longer sleep cycles.

I wonder if power nap settings affect the amount of juice System consumes during sleep ?