Waking a sleeping Mac

A sleeping Mac can still be woken — as long as it is not sleeping too deeply.

The Mac is asleep and won't connect?

Swipe left on it in your paired list and choose "Wake" (Wake-on-LAN), then connect. Prerequisite: "Wake for network access" is enabled in the Mac's System Settings → Battery/Energy; it's most reliable when plugged in or on wired Ethernet.

It wakes but still won’t connect

  • The Mac has to stay powered on with TouchNow Host running — a quit app accepts no connections.
  • Don’t close the lid on a MacBook; closing it sleeps the machine immediately.
  • Leave it plugged in when you go out. On battery, macOS also shuts the Wi-Fi down, and nothing remote can wake it.
  • In System Settings, turn on “Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off”. It is under Battery → Options on a MacBook, and under Energy Saver on a desktop Mac. The screen still goes dark; the machine just doesn’t sleep hard.