How to Turn Off a Mac Screen

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: June 6, 2025

Keyboard Shortcut Method

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Hot Corner Method

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Q&A

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Tips

If you want to turn off the display of a Mac but leave the computer running, it's easy with a few keystrokes. Doing this will turn the screen black and put it to sleep but leave the Mac on.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Keyboard Shortcut Method

1
Simultaneously press Control-Shift-Eject.
- If you don't have an eject key, press Control-Shift-Power.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Hot Corner Method

Select "Desktop & Screen Saver".
In the example above, you would move the cursor to the bottom right of the screen and leave it there for a few seconds. The screen would then turn off.

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Question

How do I deactivate the hot corners?

Community Answer

Go to System Preferences, then to Desktop, and Screen Savers. There will be a button in the bottom-right corner of the window next to the ? button called Hot Corners. Click on it. A small window will pop up with four lists. Change each to the "-" setting, which will disable any hot corners you may have set up.

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What is the Apple equivalent to pressing Control-Alt-Delete in Windows?

Community Answer

CMD + OPTION + ESC will allow you to force-quit a window. You can choose to close any non-responding programs here.

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How do I turn the Mac screen back on?

Community Answer

Press the same button you did to turn it off. The screen will turn on.

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Tips

Since the screen uses a large amount of power, turning it off when not in use will save battery life on a laptop.

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Putting your display to sleep can make your computer more secure. If you change your security setting to require a password immediately when the screensaver launches, your computer will require a password every time you try to re-activate your screen.

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How to Turn Off a Mac Screen

Steps

Keyboard Shortcut Method

Hot Corner Method

Community Q&A

Tips

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