Apple Explains How to Keep Your Mac From Turning on When Opening Lid

Apple designed Macs with Apple silicon chips to automatically turn on and start up when the Mac's lid is opened or when the Mac is connected to power, but there is a workaround in macOS Sequoia if you don't like this behavior.

m3 macbook pro blue
In a new support document, Apple provided separate instructions on how to prevent an Apple silicon Mac from turning on when the lid is opened or when it's connected to power. Both processes require the Terminal app. Apple's instructions:

1. Make sure that your Mac laptop with Apple silicon is using macOS Sequoia or later.
2. Open the Terminal app, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
3. Type one of these commands in Terminal, then press Return:
- To prevent startup when opening the lid or connecting to power: sudo nvram BootPreference=%00
- To prevent startup only when opening the lid: sudo nvram BootPreference=%01
- To prevent startup only when connecting to power: sudo nvram BootPreference=%02
4. Type your administrator password when prompted (Terminal doesn't show the password as it's typed), then press Return.

If you use these commands to change your Mac's behavior and want to undo it, you can open up Terminal and enter sudo nvram -d BootPreference.

Popular Stories

ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
Apple Logo Spotlight

Report: Apple to Launch These New Products in 2026

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:34 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch at least 15 new products in 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman outlined what to expect from Apple in 2026 in the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter. He said the company is heading "into one of its most pivotal years in recent memory," with the rollout of major new Apple Intelligence features, intense regulatory pressure on the App Store,...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

New Version of Siri to 'Lean' on Google Gemini

Sunday November 2, 2025 6:06 am PST by
In his "Power On" newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today provided an update on the status of Apple Intelligence and the plans for it in 2026. Apple is still planning to roll out its revamped version of Siri around March of next year. The release should be accompanied by the release of a new smart home display product with speaker-base and wall-mount options. A new Apple TV and HomePod...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Friday October 31, 2025 8:52 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that have been leaked about Apple's foldable iPhone so far. Ove...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Likely Launching Soon

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:49 am PST by
A new Apple TV and HomePod mini could launch as soon as this month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today suggested. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple retail stores are planning an overnight refresh on the evening of November 11, where changes will be made after closing, such as refreshing displays and placing new products for the following day. The timing of the overnight...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...

Top Rated Comments

icerabbit Avatar
10 months ago
And why could this not be a preference setting?
Score: 118 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
10 months ago
4 years later ... and you have to use Terminal ...
maybe MacOS Death Valley will have a setting when it comes out ...
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Itinj24 Avatar
10 months ago
The thumbnail for this article should have most certainly been the pic of Federighi opening the MacBook. Huge missed opportunity lol.




Attachment Image
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mazz0 Avatar
10 months ago
Flippin’ ’eck, what is this, Linux?
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CEO Avatar
10 months ago
Now if only there were a fix for MacBooks turning external displays on while they’re asleep (even with Power Nap disabled) and connected via thunderbolt…
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JCCL Avatar
10 months ago
I mean even windows has had this setting since probably Windows 95.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)