Although most of us can not imagine being separated from a Mac for more than a few hours or maybe a couple of days , emergency , field head trip , and summer or other travel can extend to many days , weeks , or even calendar month in which your Mac is n’t in use . Should you exclude it down ? And if you do , will anything go awry while it ’s shut down in your absence seizure ? Should you leave behind it plugged in , whether it ’s battery - powered or not ?
You should also take extra steps if you rely on Time Machine or internet support .
Shut down your Mac
If you ’re not planning on using your Mac during your absence or while it ’s in storage , the best thing you may do isshut your Mac down .
If it ’s a desktop Mac , after using > Shut Down , unplug it from wall superpower . This could forestall damage from an electrical problem that occurs while the Mac is on its own .
With a Mac laptop , there ’s no strong reason to get out it plug in , either . Since Apple switched to lithium - ion batteries in its laptops set out 25 years ago , the issuance with batteries deplete to zero has disappeared . Apple ’s addition to macOS of battery optimisation in 2021 with macOS 10.15.5 Catalina keeps your laptop ’s battery from charging more than is require , typically 80 percent . While close down , it will draw almost no get-up-and-go – a bantam routine of tycoon go away to ports and is ready to power up . So it wo n’t charge much even over long stop . However , to trim back wear , unplugging it after shut down will help at least a small amount , as well as isolating it from any neglected great power issues , as with a background .
Battery optimization should prevent damage by overcharging your laptop battery over extended periods.
Battery optimisation should prevent harm by overcharging your laptop battery over exsert catamenia .
Foundry
For both background and laptop Macs , you might consider packing up your computer to prevent it from compile dust , being an obvious target for thieving ( if no one else is in the room or dwelling house that the Mac is in ) , and to protect it from cataclysm that could betide it while you ’re off . That last point might seem grandiloquent , but we do live in an era of unexpected stern weather .
Battery optimization should prevent damage by overcharging your laptop battery over extended periods.
Here ’s another one to debate : Should you keep your MacBook secure in when you ’re using it ?
Examine your backups
I always commend experience at least two unique substitute of your data , with one stash away away from where your Mac is — that can be in another edifice or with an internet backup firm . Many hoi polloi are mostly concerned about their papers , not a full backup , and if you store 100 % of your datum in iCloud , Dropbox , Google Drive , OneDrive , or another service , you should still make certain you have an additional patronage beyond the cloud storage provider .
If you use Time Machine for local computer backup , you should intend about whether you should remove the cause from where you leave your Mac . You might even want to buy a compact SSD or severe drive , do a fresh Time Machine backup to it , and then take it with you wherever you ’re roaming or leave it with a trusted individual or professional , like a attorney . ( I also recommend youencrypt such a backupso that if it ’s steal or accessed improperly , your key prevents data leakage . )
The other objet d’art of concern is if you practice an Internet - host site for one of your backups . Some companies will delete data from drive that are n’t “ seen ” online for a period of metre . Backblaze , for instance , keep data only on drives that are connect within the last 30 days when you have automated backup enable . This support noteexplains how you could efficaciously pause backups indefinitely and not suffer the loss of backed - up data , or you could kick upstairs to one of two forms of Extended Backup ( one of them free ) .
When you return
stop up your Mac in and power it up . It ’s potential it will take farseeing than normal or , with a laptop , have to level briefly if it was unplugged before power up . I suggest immediately checking for organization update and instal them to avoid certificate trouble that may have been solved while it was powered down . You should also launch the App Store and update all your apps buy from there .
We also discusswhether you should exclude your Mac down at the death of the dayandhow to schedule your Mac to turn offand on in separate articles .
This Mac 911 article is in reply to a question render by Macworld referee Jose .
Ask Mac 911
We ’ve compiled a inclination of the questions we get asked most oftentimes , along with answers and links to columns : read our super FAQto see if your head is covered . If not , we ’re always wait for new problems to lick ! Email yours tomac911@macworld.com , admit screen capture as appropriate and whether you require your full name used . Not every query will be answer , we do n’t reply to electronic mail , and we can not leave direct troubleshooting advice .
