Keep Your Mac Awake on macOS Monterey

On macOS Monterey (12), sleep settings are in System Preferences > Energy Saver on desktops or System Preferences > Battery > Battery/Power Adapter on laptops. Changing them to "Never" works but is all-or-nothing. Shake It On keeps your Mac awake with smart conditions so it only stays on when you need it.

Where to find sleep settings on macOS Monterey

On desktop Macs (iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Studio, Mac Pro), go to System Preferences > Energy Saver. You'll find a slider for "Turn display off after" which controls how long your Mac waits before dimming and sleeping.

On MacBooks, go to System Preferences > Battery > Battery/Power Adapter. Laptops have separate settings for battery and power adapter behavior.

What's different about macOS Monterey

Monterey was the last macOS to use the classic System Preferences interface. Sleep settings are in Energy Saver (desktop) or Battery (laptop) with separate tabs for Battery and Power Adapter behavior.

Why changing settings isn't enough

You can set the display timeout to "Never" on macOS Monterey, but that's a global change. Your Mac won't sleep on its own until you change it back. On a laptop, that means draining your battery if you forget. And if your IT department manages your Mac, these settings may be locked.

Shake It On on macOS Monterey

Shake It On keeps your Mac awake on macOS Monterey by moving the mouse at regular intervals. It works regardless of your Energy Saver settings, including on managed Macs where those settings are locked.

Smart conditions let you control when it runs: only during work hours, only when plugged in, only when a specific app is open. Set it up once and it handles the rest.

Note
Shake It On requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later. If you're running macOS Monterey (12), you'll need to update to use Shake It On.
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Shake It On lives in your menu bar and uses organic mouse movement to prevent sleep. Set it once and forget it.
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