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Ever since I updated my MacBook Air to High Sierra, it turns off almost every time I close it. Sometimes when it is closed it'll actually restart - I can tell because it makes the Mac "ding" startup sound while the lid is still closed. Do you have any suggestions for how to fix this?

Here are the full specs of the machine:

MacBook Air Mid 2012

4GB of Ram

13" Display

After more investigating, here are some further details:

When I press "Sleep" from the Apple menu and when I close the MacBook Air, either way the computer goes into a sleep state from which it cannot be woken. The only way to wake the computer when this happens is to do a long press on the power button (to turn off the computer) and then to do a short press on the power button (to turn it back on). When the computer comes back on it shows the "You shut down your computer because of a problem" error dialog. If I am using the computer and then I shut it and do not open it for awhile, I will sometimes hear the computer make the startup sound and the Apple logo on the back of the screen will light up while the laptop is closed.

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    I also had this problem after updating to High Sierra. Despite that the issue only occurred after a change to my computer's software, after taking my computer in to an Apple store, they informed me that the issue was in fact a hardware issue. Never quite figured that one out. To fix it, Apple replaced the logic board, the I/O board, and the I/O cable. Thankfully it was within a year of purchase, else I was looking at a ~$700 repair.
    – BallpointBen
    Aug 20, 2018 at 6:25
  • Also, try disabling sleep by enabling System Preferences > Energy Saver > Prevent computer from sleeping and see if that fixes your issue. Your laptop will still sleep when you close it, but it won't when you leave it open for a long period of time.
    – BallpointBen
    Aug 20, 2018 at 16:38

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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The first thing I would try is resetting the System Management Controller.

Reset the SMC

On your particular Mac, the steps to follow are:

  1. Shut down your MacBook Air
  2. Unplug the power cable from your MacBook Air
  3. For 10 seconds, press and hold at the same time the shiftcontroloption keys (on the left side of the built-in keyboard) and the power button
  4. After 10 seconds let go of all keys and the power button
  5. Plug in the power cable
  6. Turn your MacBook Air back on with the power button.

Once you've done this, test your MBA by using it as normal to see whether this was enough to rectify it.

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  • I have tried this a couple times, and it doesn't seem to have done the trick. The MBA still turns off unprompted while the lid is closed. Is there anything else I can try?
    – STN
    Dec 5, 2017 at 20:14
  • Ok, some more questions. Do you experience the same behaviour when you choose Sleep from the Apple menu? Assuming you don't, was there anything else that coincided with this behaviour besides installing macOS High Sierra? Also, since it's restarting, when you do open the lid again do you see any messages on the screen after login (e.g. a Your computer was restarted because of a problem message, etc)?
    – Monomeeth ♦
    Dec 5, 2017 at 21:46
  • Finally, as a test, can you start your MBA in Safe Mode (immediately press and hold the SHIFT key after restarting your Mac until you see the login screen), and use it for a few minutes and then close the lid to see what happens? Does the MBA still restart? Let me know and I can update my answer depending on your answers here.
    – Monomeeth ♦
    Dec 5, 2017 at 21:46
  • Yes, I experience the same behavior when I choose Sleep from the Apple menu. And yes, I do see the error message Your computer was restarted because of a problem.
    – STN
    Dec 6, 2017 at 3:02
  • I booted the MBA in safe mode, and the same problem happens. I boot it up in safe mode, go to the Apple logo and click "Sleep", and then the computer cannot be woken from sleep mode and must be shut down (with a long press on the power button) and restarted (with a short press on the power button).
    – STN
    Dec 6, 2017 at 3:26
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The first thing to do it probably identifies the cause of the shutdown. To do it:

  1. run log show --predicate 'eventMessage contains "Previous shutdown cause"' --last 24h

  2. understand what's the cause of the shutdown (list available here)

  3. take appropriate action ;)

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    I'm having the same issue as OP, and the full cause is listed as "kernel: (AppleSMC) Previous shutdown cause: 5" So the 5 implies it was a normal shutdown, does this also reveal the shutdown was caused by the kernel and/or AppleSMC?
    – Nick Crews
    Feb 24, 2019 at 4:33

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