MacBook Air (Late 2010) and later: About standby mode

Summary

Learn more about the standby feature of the MacBook Air (Late 2010) and later.

Products Affected

MacBook Air (Late 2010), MacBook Air (Mid 2011)

The standby mode activates after just over an hour of "regular" sleep. To enter standby, the computer must:

  • Be running on battery power.
  • Have no USB devices attached.
  • Have no SD card inserted.
  • Have no Bluetooth devices currently paired.
  • Have no external display attached.

A computer with a fully charged battery can remain in standby for up to thirty days without being plugged into an AC power source. 

The state of the computer is saved to the flash storage, then the power to the hardware subsystems turns off to increase the length of the standby. For example, RAM memory and the USB bus are powered off during the standby.

To exit standby, do any one of the following:

  • Press a key.
  • Open the lid.
  • Click the trackpad.

When the computer exits standby, the state of the system image stored on the flash storage is used to restore the system to its pre-standby state. The computer returns to full operation within a few seconds. 

If you leave the computer in standby long enough for the battery to deplete fully, the computer will shut down. You can recover your computer to its pre-standby state and any unsaved work should not be lost. To exit standby at this point, attach the computer to an AC power source and press the Power button.

Additional Information

If you find that your MacBook Air (Late 2010) or later seems to be taking longer then usual to start up or seems slow to wake from sleep or standby. If this is the case, make sure the startup disk is set correctly in the Startup Disk preferences:

  1. Choose System Preferences from the Apple () menu.
  2. Choose Startup Disk from the View menu.
  3. Make sure your internal drive is selected.
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