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wakeup after ceiling fan poweroff

When I turn off the power on the ceiling fan where my iMac is the iMac wakes up. I upgraded the surge protector, thinking it could be line anomaly, but the problem still occurs.

I have opted out of wake-up options like network activity or mouse.

Any thoughts appreciated.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Aug 24, 2019 12:19 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 24, 2019 4:27 PM

What happens if you disconnect all of the cables plugged into the USB ports, ethernet port, etc. and see what happens when the ceiling fan turns off. Is the ceiling fan on the same electrical circuit as the iMac? Does it have multiple speeds that you can experiment with to see whether turning it off from a low speed behaves the same as at high speed? Does the fan have a remote control feature, or does it rely on a wall switch?


Have you tried temporarily connecting the iMac to a different electrical circuit in another room using a long extension cord? Are your electrical outlets properly grounded? I would like to rule out whether a voltage drop or other electrical glitch that occurs when you power up the ceiling fan is causing the iMac to think that there is network activity to wake up for, or that a key has been pressed or the mouse bumped. It would be helpful to know what model iMac you have, and whether the mouse and keyboard are connected via cables, or whether they are wireless.


One other experiment to try is to open the System Preferences and look for the Energy Saver settings. Is the 'Wake for network access' option selected? If it is, temporarily uncheck the box and see if that makes any difference.


How long has this issue been occurring? Did it just recently start? Were there any changes made to the electrical wiring right before the issues stared?

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 24, 2019 4:27 PM in response to Tjk1944

What happens if you disconnect all of the cables plugged into the USB ports, ethernet port, etc. and see what happens when the ceiling fan turns off. Is the ceiling fan on the same electrical circuit as the iMac? Does it have multiple speeds that you can experiment with to see whether turning it off from a low speed behaves the same as at high speed? Does the fan have a remote control feature, or does it rely on a wall switch?


Have you tried temporarily connecting the iMac to a different electrical circuit in another room using a long extension cord? Are your electrical outlets properly grounded? I would like to rule out whether a voltage drop or other electrical glitch that occurs when you power up the ceiling fan is causing the iMac to think that there is network activity to wake up for, or that a key has been pressed or the mouse bumped. It would be helpful to know what model iMac you have, and whether the mouse and keyboard are connected via cables, or whether they are wireless.


One other experiment to try is to open the System Preferences and look for the Energy Saver settings. Is the 'Wake for network access' option selected? If it is, temporarily uncheck the box and see if that makes any difference.


How long has this issue been occurring? Did it just recently start? Were there any changes made to the electrical wiring right before the issues stared?

Sep 15, 2019 12:52 PM in response to Tjk1944

Further investigation lead to this: I had initially installed the Macally keyboard leaving the connecting cable in the plastic sleeve and bundle. On the assumption that something strangely electrical was occuring and remembering an old, old adage about not putting power cords in coils I undid the sleeve and bundle and let the cord hang loose. The wake up anomaly does not occur anymore when the keyboard is connected to the Mac.

I consider the problem resolved.

Thanks again to all.

wakeup after ceiling fan poweroff

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