How to Lock or Sleep Your Mac
Usually, Mac devices will automatically go to sleep after they are not used for a set amount of time. However, what do you need to do if you want to force this process manually when you are, for example, going on a lunch break? This post covers some of the easiest ways to sleep or lock your Mac device on command. Keep in mind that there is a difference between locking the device and putting it to sleep – the former will always request a password to unlock, while the latter might not always require a password.
Setting up a Password Lock
Configuring a password lock is needed if you want to make sure that your Mac will ask for a password whenever it goes out of sleep mode. To do this:
- Open the Apple Menu -> System Preferences.
- Select Security and Privacy -> General.
- Mark the 'Require password…' checkbox and choose how much time should pass before a password is required.
Put the Mac to Sleep through the Menu
Typically, Mac users do not bother clicking on unnecessary menus to put their device to sleep – usually, this is done by simply closing the lid of the laptop. However this does not work for desktop users who need to use the Apple Menu to make this happen. Thankfully, the operation is very simple – go to the Apple Menu and press 'Sleep' to put the device to sleep.
A quick way to put your Mac to sleep is to use the default keyboard shortcut. If you are using macOS Catalina and above, you can do it by pressing Command + Control + Q. users of older versions may need to use Control + Shift + Power Button.
