Here's how to disable Macbook's auto-start feature when opening its lid

One feature Apple has baked into MacBooks with Apple Silicon is that they automatically turn on when you open the lid or connect them to a power supply. The company might have assumed moving your finger to press the power button could be a waste of time in this fast-paced world. You're paying a premium, after all.

However, the feature meant to enhance the user experience may not be everyone's cup of tea. And that's why we can find people searching for ways to disable their Mac from booting automatically when they open the lid. Curious minds have tried to find workarounds for the feature.

It seems that Apple noticed what its customers want and published a new support page detailing how you can disable this behavior without affecting the ability to use your keyboard and mouse to turn on the device.

While the company could have just settled for a toggle switch, it has laid out some steps you can follow to get what you want. Note that you must have macOS Sequoia 15 or later running on your device.

Open the Terminal app on your Mac, type one of these commands and press Return.

To prevent startup when opening the lid or connecting to power:

sudo nvram BootPreference=%00

To prevent startup only when opening the lid:

sudo nvram BootPreference=%01

To prevent startup only when connecting to power:

sudo nvram BootPreference=%02

You can type your administrator password when prompted. Apple notes that the Terminal doesn't show the password as it's typed. If you want to undo any of these commands and restore automatic startup when opening the lid or connecting to power, use the following command:

sudo nvram -d BootPreference

Changing the default behavior lets you charge your MacBook while it's turned off. It might also ease the cleaning process as the device won't automatically turn on when you open the lid and wipe it with a cloth.