If you’ve been using your MacBook all day or are experiencing glitches, it’s time to give it a rest. Your MacBook likely has a long battery life, but you need to give it a break to ensure healthy processing and maintenance. If you’re new to them, you may struggle with how to shut down a MacBook.
To shut down a MacBook, open the Apple Menu in the top left corner of the screen and click “Shut Down”. You can force shut down a MacBook if you press the power put or enter the key commands Control, Option, Command, and Power simultaneously. Otherwise, you can open the Terminal utility and enter the command “sudo shutdown -h now” if you are an admin on your MacBook.
If your MacBook is unresponsive and you cannot shut it down, simply let the battery die and bring it to your local Apple Store. Follow along as we explore how to shut down your MacBook.
Should You Shut Down Your MacBook Every Night?
You should only shut down your MacBook every night if you are going to be away from it for several hours. Otherwise, you should turn it to sleep mode if you are going to keep going back and forth. However, it is necessary to shut down your MacBook when you’ve used it all day or are troubleshooting a problem.
However, you may want to put your MacBook in sleep mode if there is an upcoming update or it needs to perform maintenance. Some people even put their MacBooks in rest mode for 1-2 days at a time. It takes more time and power to turn a MacBook back on once you’ve shut it down than if it was in sleep mode.
How Do You Shut Down a MacBook?
Use Key Commands
You can quickly shut down a MacBook if you’re in a hurry if you use simple key commands. This is helpful if you are troubleshooting your MacBook and experience freezing issues. Press the Control, Option, Command, and Power keys quickly.
Don’t hold the buttons for too long or this will force shut down your MacBook, that is unless you want to force shut it down.
Press the Power Button
It’s necessary to force shut down your MacBook when it’s unresponsive or glitching in many cases. Make sure to save your progress on any program, word document, or video game before you force shut down your MacBook with the power button.
To do this, you must simply press and hold the power button on the keyboard. Let go of the power button once the screen turns black and the fan turns off. Simply close your MacBook and turn it back on next time you’re ready to use it.
Use the Apple Menu
You can easily turn off your MacBook without doing a forced shutdown if you use the Apple menu. Click on the Apple icon in the top left corner of the screen on your MacBook. Scroll down and select “Shut Down” to turn off your MacBook. You can also restart your MacBook or put it in Sleep Mode from this menu.
Open the Terminal
Are you the admin on your MacBook? If so, you can shut it down via the terminal. Open the utilities menu on your MacBook, scroll down, and select Terminal. Type the command “sudo shutdown -h now” into the bar and your MacBook should shut down momentarily.
Let the Battery Die
If your MacBook is encountering serious issues and is unresponsive, you may not be able to shut it down. Simply let the battery die if the key commands, Apple menu, and power button won’t work. It can take up to 11 hours or more for it to die, but it may be necessary if nothing else works. In that case, contact Apple Support or visit your local Apple Store.
Is It Bad to Force Shut Down a MacBook?
It’s not bad to force shut down a MacBook if it’s being unresponsive. However, you may lose progress on documents, spreadsheets, apps, email drafts, and video games if you force shut down your MacBook. Unless there is a major problem, you should primarily shut your MacBook down via the Apple menu or set it to Rest Mode.
So, How Do I Shut Down My MacBook?
Press the power button or open the Apple Menu and click “Shut Down” to shut down your MacBook. You can also shut down your MacBook with the key commands Control, Option, Command, and Power. Otherwise, you can enter the command “sudo shutdown -h now” to shut down your MacBook if you are an admin.
David Miller is a seasoned tech aficionado with a profound expertise in NGINX and Ubuntu. With a career spanning over a decade, David has honed his skills in optimizing web servers and enhancing server performance to perfection. His deep-rooted passion for open-source technologies has led him to become a go-to resource in the field. Whether it’s crafting intricate NGINX configurations or troubleshooting complex Ubuntu server issues, David’s problem-solving prowess shines through.