Sleep not working from power button

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Handsomedan

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#142758 24-Mar-2014 08:11

I have a 2012 iMac 21.5", which until recently quite happily went to sleep with a brief click of the power button.

Now, it does not.

If I press and hold the power button, it asks me if I want to sleep, log out, power off etc, so the power button is obviously functioning - just not as it once did.

I'm running Mavericks and auto-load any new updates, so am up-to-date on software.

Thoughts?

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Buzz Bumble

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#1011591 24-Mar-2014 09:00

Mavericks did change the way the button works. It now has three functions:

- Short press = puts Mac to sleep

- Medium press = asks if you want to restart, sleep, or shut down ("medium" is 1.5 seconds according to Apple, but may need slightly longer)

- Long press = force reset ("longer" is 5 seconds)

I'm not sure why your iMac isn't sleeping. It could be a bug in a recent update which will be fixed in another update, it could be a faulty button, or it could be an application that is causing the iMac to not be able to sleep (choosing Sleep from the menu bar or the power button pop-up window should let you know if that last one is the issue).

MikeB4

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#1011613 24-Mar-2014 09:33

try holding the button for about a second, 10.9.2 changed the duration time for these commands

Dairyxox

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#1011622 24-Mar-2014 10:03

You should try and Reset the SMC (support.apple.com).

It vaguely applies to this type of issue:

The computer doesn't respond to the power button when pressed.

Handsomedan

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#1011664 24-Mar-2014 11:09

Buzz Bumble:

I'm not sure why your iMac isn't sleeping. It could be a bug in a recent update which will be fixed in another update, it could be a faulty button, or it could be an application that is causing the iMac to not be able to sleep (choosing Sleep from the menu bar or the power button pop-up window should let you know if that last one is the issue).

It sleeps quite happily using the mouse and menu, also with the medium click and hold on the power button - just not the short click.

I blame Mavericks.

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RunningMan

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#1011871 24-Mar-2014 15:43

KiwiNZ: try holding the button for about a second, 10.9.2 changed the duration time for these commands

This is the key here - 10.9.2 changed it again, so a short press does nothing.

A long press brings up the shutdown menu, a press about 1/2 second will put it to sleep.