How to Fix a Mac Won't Wake up on macOS 10.15

Audrey Goodwin

2021-10-27 18:07:36 • Filed to: macOS 10.15 Solutions • Proven solutions

The public version of macOS 10.15 is expected to be released this fall. The public beta was however released in July and those who already installed this version of the new macOS update have already reported several problems with their devices after the update. One of the most prevalent problems is a Mac won't wake up on macOS 10.15.

If this is what has happened to you, worry not as this article will provide you with credible solutions to help you fix a mac that has crashed after a macOS 10.15 update.

Ways to Fix Mac Won't Wake from Sleep Issue after macOS 10.15 update

The main symptom of this problem is simple; you put the Mac to sleep but when you try to "revive" it later, the Mac doesn't start up. There are certain situations however where the Mac can simply crash even when you're using it. These two problems are often related and the solutions to fix them are often related. So, if you Mac fails to wake up or simply crashes after a macOS 10.15 update, the following are just some of the solutions to try;

1. Reinstall the Update in Safe Mode

The first solution you can try is reinstalling macOS in safe mode. Here's how you can do that:

Step 1: Press and hold the shift key when restarting the Mac to enter Safe Mode.
Step 2: While in Safe Mode, go to the App store and install macOS 10.15.
Step 3: Reboot the Mac to see if this resolves the issues. If not, try the next solution.

2. Uncheck Incompatible Software or Services in Startup

Since some incompatible software and services could be causing the Mac to malfunction after the update, unchecking them could easily resolve the issue. Here's how;

Step 1: Restart the Mac and then hold the shift key during the restart process until the Apple Logo appears.
Step 2: While the Mac is in Safe mode, go to "System Preferences" and click on "User & Groups".
Step 3: Click on "Login Items" and uncheck any services or software that you think could be preventing the computer from starting up or waking up.

3. Repair the macOS 10.15 Startup Drive in Recovery Mode

You can also use Disk Utility to repair certain Mac system issues including this one. Since disk utility can repair some errors with the macOS update disk. These simple steps will show you how to do use disk utility for this purpose;

Step 1: Restart your Mac and as soon as it restarts hold down "Command + R" to open the utilities menu.
Step 2: select "Disk Utility" and then click "Continue."
Step 3: Click on the Mac startup disk (Macintosh HD) and then click "First Aid". Finally click "Run" to repair any issues with this drive.

4. Downgrade macOS 10.15 Catalina to macOS 10.14 Mojave

If none of the solutions you've tried so far will work, you may want to consider downgrading back to Mojave until the bugs in Catalina can be resolved and the public version released. Before downgrading your macOS, it is very important to back up all the data on your Mac to prevent losing any of it. With the backup safe, follow these simple steps to downgrade to macOS 10.14 Mojave;

Step 1: Reboot the Mac and when it starts up, open disk utilities menu again (by holding "Command + R"
Step 2: From the macOS utilities menu, select "Disk Utility"
Step 3: Now select the macOS volume or the startup disk and then click "Erase"
Step 4: Go back to the macOS utilities and this time choose "Reinstall macOS". Click "Continue" and then agree to any terms and conditions.

Once the macOS has been downgraded to Mojave, the Mac will restart.

5. Contact Apple Support for Assistance

If even after downgrading back to Mojave the Mac still won't wake up, you may have a serious hardware problem that is interfering with the normal running of the device. Unfortunately, hardware issues are harder to detect and fix and trying to repair hardware problems yourself could cause more damage. In this case, the best solution would be to seek help from Apple support. You can send the Mac to an Apple store where technicians will be able to easily diagnose the problem and fix it for you.

But it is important to note that in most cases this issue is caused by a bug in the update files. This is why reinstalling the OS works for most people and when this fails, the second most effective solution is to downgrade to macOS10.14 Mojave. You can then wait for the hopefully less buggy public version of the update and install it on to your Mac.

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