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Energy Saver (Power Management) settings on macOS device

Platforms
macOS
Products
Intune
Result
Managed Macs never go to sleep, and users can't change the Energy Saver settings

Overview

Keep managed Macs awake, or set your own sleep and display timers, by deploying an Energy Saver profile with Intune.

Energy Saver (power management) settings control how a Mac saves energy: when it goes to sleep, when the display turns off, whether it may sleep automatically when the display is off, and whether the FileVault key is destroyed on standby (so macOS doesn't keep a temporary FileVault key in memory while the Mac is on standby). Some hardware-specific options can only be set on the Mac itself and aren't available in a configuration profile.

Microsoft Intune can configure Energy Saver settings on enrolled Macs. In 2021 Intune had no Energy Saver settings, and I didn't find the payload in Profile Manager or Apple Configurator either (screenshot below), so I used a custom profile (.mobileconfig). Third-party tools such as iMazing Profile Editor can create one.

Energy Saver (Power Management) settings on macOS device - screenshot 1

A .mobileconfig file is plain XML, so you can also write it from scratch or start from a template in the MacAdmins Profile Reference. My profile configures these properties:

  • com.apple.EnergySaver.desktop.ACPower: settings for a desktop Mac
  • com.apple.EnergySaver.desktop.Schedule: schedule for turning a desktop Mac on and off (not used in my profile)
  • com.apple.EnergySaver.portable.ACPower: settings for a laptop on AC power
  • com.apple.EnergySaver.portable.BatteryPower: settings for a laptop on battery power

In this post I stop the Mac from going to sleep: system sleep, display sleep and disk sleep are all turned off. Choose the values that fit your needs.

Prerequisites

Before you start, check that you have the following.

What you need

checked 10/2026

Area What you need Docs
Licence Microsoft Intune Plan 1 Licensing
Admin role Policy and Profile Manager in Intune, for the custom or settings catalog profile Roles
Intune Apple MDM push certificate in Intune and Macs enrolled in Intune APNsPlatforms
Apple The Energy Saver payload (com.apple.MCX), device channel PayloadCustom profile

Configuration

With the prerequisites in place, create the profile, then upload it to Intune.

Create the Energy Saver profile

Here is the profile I used (EnergySaver.mobileconfig). SleepDisabled set to true turns off sleep, and a timer value of 0 means Never:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
	<key>PayloadContent</key>
	<array>
		<dict>
			<key>PayloadDescription</key>
			<string>Energy Saver Settings</string>
			<key>PayloadDisplayName</key>
			<string>Energy Saver Settings</string>
			<key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
			<string>com.apple.MCX</string>
			<key>PayloadOrganization</key>
			<string></string>
			<key>PayloadType</key>
			<string>com.apple.MCX</string>
			<key>PayloadUUID</key>
			<string>536ef631-1a81-483f-812b-54751c8f7642</string>
			<key>PayloadVersion</key>
			<integer>1</integer>
			<key>SleepDisabled</key>
			<true/>
            <key>DestroyFVKeyOnStandby</key>
            <false/>
            <key>com.apple.EnergySaver.desktop.ACPower</key>
            <dict>
                <key>Automatic Restart On Power Loss</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
                <key>Disk Sleep Timer</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
                <key>Display Sleep Timer</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
                <key>System Sleep Timer</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
                <key>Wake On LAN</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
            </dict>
            <key>com.apple.EnergySaver.desktop.ACPower-ProfileNumber</key>
            <integer>0</integer>
            <key>com.apple.EnergySaver.portable.ACPower</key>
            <dict>
                <key>Automatic Restart On Power Loss</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
                <key>Disk Sleep Timer</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
                <key>Display Sleep Timer</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
                <key>System Sleep Timer</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
                <key>Wake On LAN</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
            </dict>
            <key>com.apple.EnergySaver.portable.ACPower-ProfileNumber</key>
            <integer>0</integer>
            <key>com.apple.EnergySaver.portable.BatteryPower</key>
            <dict>
                <key>Automatic Restart On Power Loss</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
                <key>Disk Sleep Timer</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
                <key>Display Sleep Timer</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
                <key>System Sleep Timer</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
                <key>Wake On LAN</key>
                <integer>0</integer>
            </dict>
            <key>com.apple.EnergySaver.portable.BatteryPower-ProfileNumber</key>
            <integer>0</integer>
		</dict>
	</array>
	<key>PayloadDescription</key>
	<string>Energy Saver Settings</string>
	<key>PayloadDisplayName</key>
	<string>Energy Saver Settings</string>
	<key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
	<string>com.apple.MCX.example</string>
	<key>PayloadOrganization</key>
	<string>hmaslowski.com/</string>
	<key>PayloadType</key>
	<string>Configuration</string>
	<key>PayloadUUID</key>
	<string>536ef631-1a81-483f-812b-54751c8f7cad</string>
</dict>
</plist>

Upload the profile to Intune

Upload the file as a custom profile under Devices > Manage devices > Configuration > Create > New policy > macOS > Templates > Custom, with Device channel as the deployment channel, and assign it to your Macs:

Energy Saver (Power Management) settings on macOS device - screenshot 3

Update (October 2026): you no longer need a custom profile. The settings catalog has the same options under System Configuration > Energy Saver (Desktop Power, Laptop Power and Laptop Battery Power), see the macOS end-to-end guide.

Result

Finally, check the settings on a Mac that received the profile.

On my Mac with macOS 11.4 Big Sur, System Preferences > Energy Saver shows the managed values. On macOS 13 and later these settings are in System Settings:

Energy Saver (Power Management) settings on macOS device - screenshot 4
  • Turn display off after: Never
  • Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off: On
Energy Saver (Power Management) settings on macOS device - screenshot 5

In Terminal, check how long the Mac waits before it sleeps:

sudo systemsetup -getcomputersleep
sudo systemsetup -getdisplaysleep
sudo systemsetup -getharddisksleep

Output:

Computer Sleep: Never
Display Sleep: Never
Hard Disk Sleep: Never

The Sleep item in the Apple menu is greyed out:

Energy Saver (Power Management) settings on macOS device - screenshot 7

The Energy Saver profile on the Mac (System Settings > General > Device Management on macOS 13 and later):

Energy Saver (Power Management) settings on macOS device - screenshot 8