Mac Shutting Down Randomly? 10 Ways to Fix It

Apple Mac is a pretty robust system. But it has its fair share of issues. After a long and repeated use, a Mac also falls victim to wear and tear. When that happens, your Mac might start to shut down randomly, without any user actions or requests.

A computer shuts down randomly, either due to hardware or software problems. Overheating and a deteriorating battery might force your system to do so, while OS-related bugs could also contribute to this issue.

However, since the outcome of all those causes is the same, i.e., a random/forced shutdown, there are various different ways to troubleshoot it. So, here in this article, we’ll look at all the factors that might have caused this issue, along with a ton of simple and verified fixes.

Why is My Mac Shutting Down Randomly?

How to Fix Mac Shutting Down Randomly?

When your Mac shuts down randomly, the first thing you should do is check its battery level. That’s because if your system has low or minimal battery charge, it will not be able to operate for a long duration.

So, connect your power cable, start up your computer, log in to the OS, and shut it down normally for once. And if this doesn’t fix your recurring issue, follow the methods shown below.

Check the Shutdown Event Prompt on Terminal

macOS gives you the option to view all the previous shutdown causes for a particular time frame. This action can be performed from the Terminal using a particular set of commands. The causes for your random shutdowns are referred to by error codes, each of which represents different influencing factors. You can understand this concept more easily by following the steps shown below:

On Intel Macs

1. Press Power and start up your Mac.
2. Immediately after it beings the startup process, hold Command + R.
   
3. Release the hold after the Apple logo loads up.
4. Then, from the menu bar, go to Utilities > Terminal.
   
5. Enter the following command:
   log show --predicate ’eventMessage contains "Previous shutdown cause"’ --last 48h
   
   This returns the reason for your Mac’s random shutdown for the last 48 hours. 
6. The cause is referred to by error codes. Check the codes and decide accordingly.

On Apple Silicon Macs

1. First, press and then immediately hold Power to start up your Mac.
2. Once you get to the Options screen, release the hold.
3. Click on Options.
4. Then, from the menu bar, go to Utilities > Terminal.
   
5. Enter the following command:
   log show --predicate ’eventMessage contains "Previous shutdown cause"’ --last 48h
   
   This returns the reason for your Mac’s random shutdown for the last 48 hours. 
6. The cause is referred to by error codes. Check the codes and decide accordingly.

Here are some recurring shutdown error codes and their meaning:

5: Normal Shutdown
3: Forced Shutdown
-3: More than one temperature sensors are high
-60: Disk error
-61/-62: Unresponsive application caused a forced shutdown
-64: OS-related issues/Kernel panic
-74: High battery temperature
-86/-95: High CPU temperature
-104: Battery issues

Any negative error signs can be fixed by resetting your SMC, while positive error signs can be fixed by resetting the NVRAM. Both these methods are explained below in this article.

Place Your Mac in a Well-Ventilated Environment

One main reason that contributes to the growing temperature in a Mac computer is the surrounding environment. Usually, MacBooks have no fans built into the system. They rely on small air vents to dissipate heat away from the chipset. But, sometimes, the system vents are not enough by themselves. The core gets heated, the entire system gets unstable, and the computer shuts down randomly.

However, to counter this, you can place and use your Mac in a well-ventilated environment. Rooms with proper ventilation and a base that does not block the airflow are required to keep your Mac healthy and efficient for a long time. That is, if you usually place your Mac on a pillow, bedsheet, etc., change the base to a flat surface like a table. This can help manage your system temperature in the long run and can fix the random shutdown issue you’re facing.

Manage Your Battery Health

MacBook users might repeatedly face certain battery issues on their systems. Frequent charging may result in high battery temperature while doing so infrequently can decrease the battery life. So, if your battery health is deteriorating, your system will have many power issues, including a random shutdown from time to time.

To counter this, you can maintain your battery’s health by allowing your system to automatically manage its longevity for you. This battery management feature of your MacBook can prevent future power and overheating issues. It first scans your battery’s charging pattern and average temperature. It then applies and maintains a pattern suitable for your system in the long run.

For example, if your Mac usually has about 90% of battery charge, your system will only charge your Mac after its battery percentage slides below 90%. Even if you have the power plugged in the whole time, your system will always follow the same pattern.

1. Open Finder.
2. Then, from the finder menu bar, go to Apple > System Preferences.
   
3. Click on Battery.
4. From the sidebar, choose Battery again.
5. Mark the Manage battery longevity option.
   

Safe Boot Your Mac

You can safe boot your macOS to start up the system without allocating resources to any third-party applications and non-mandatory drivers. This is done to ensure that no third-party extensions are in conflict with your system’s workflow. Thus if your system works fine in safe mode, it’s almost certain that these unwanted applications and extensions are tampering with the operation in normal mode.

On Intel Macs

1. Shut Down.
2. Press Power to start up the system.
3. Immediately after that, start holding the Shift key.
4. When you get to the login window, release the hold. 
   
5. Login in safe mode.

On Apple Silicon Macs

1. Shut Down.
2. Hold Power and start up the system.
3. Release the hold only after you reach the Options window.
   
4. Select your bootable drive to load up the OS.
5. Then, hold Shift and choose to Continue in Safe Mode.

Once you safe boot into the OS, use your computer for a while. If you notice that there are no errors and the system is not turning off abruptly, you have to delete the conflicting third-party applications, preferably those whose extensions are running in your OS’s kernel.

1. Start up your computer normally.
2. Press Command + Space to load up Spotlight.
3. Go to Terminal.
4. Enter the following command:
   kextstat
   
   This command returns a list of all the kernel extensions in your operating system.
5. Here, any extension that does not begin with com.apple.* is a third-party extension.
6. Track the extension back to its application and remove the application from your system.

First Aid Your Bootable Disk 

To discard the possibility of disk-related problems, you can First Aid your bootable drive. A bootable drive is a disk drive that your computer uses to start up the OS. And First Aid is a macOS feature that scans the selected drive for any disk-based issues, problems, and malfunctions.

On Intel Macs

1. Shut down.
2. Press Power and start up your Mac.
3. Immediately after it beings the startup process, hold Command + R.
   
4. Release the hold after the Apple logo loads up.
5. Then, choose Disk Utility.
   
6. From the left sidebar, select your main disk drive. It is named Macintosh HD by default.
7. Click on First Aid.
   
8. If a prompt message appears, accept to Run the test.
9. Restart your computer.

On Apple Silicon Macs

1. Shut down.
2. Press and then immediately hold Power to start up your Mac.
3. Once you get to the Options screen, release the hold.
   
4. Click on Options.
5. Then, go to Disk Utility.
   
6. From the left sidebar, select your main disk drive. It is named Macintosh HD by default. 
7. Click on First Aid.
   
8. If a prompt message appears, accept to Run the test.
9. Restart your computer.

Reset SMC

The SMC is an important part of your computing system. It controls the hardware aspect of your Mac. That is, from power issues to peripheral problems, SMC manages everything in between. It ensures that the physical inputs are responsive and the outputs are efficient. So, whenever you have shutdown problems on your Mac, you can reset the SMC to fix it.

On T2 Chip Macs

1. Shut down.
2. Unplug the power cable.
3. Hold left Control + left Option + right Shift keys for 7 seconds.
4. Keep this hold, and then the Power button as well for 10 seconds.
   
5. Turn on your computer.

On Apple Silicon Macs

1. Shut down.
2. If you’re using an iMac, keep the computer turned off for 30 seconds. If you’re using a MacBook, close its lid for 30 seconds.
3. Then, turn on your computer.

On Macs With Neither T2 Nor Apple Silicon Chips

1. Shut down.
2. Unplug the power cable.
3. Hold left Control + left Option + left Shift + Power keys for 10 seconds.
   
4. Then, turn on your computer.

On Macs With Removable Battery

1. Shut down.
2. Unplug the power cable.
3. Remove the battery.
   
4. Hold Power for about 5 seconds.
5. Reattach the battery.
6. Plug in the power cable and start up the system.

Reset NVRAM

Every piece of data stored in the NVRAM is preserved even when there’s no power supplied to your computer. This is the NVRAM’s ‘non-volatile’ feature. But sometimes, these data can get corrupted, which results in tons of different issues, including the one you’re facing right now. And to fix it, you have to reset the NVRAM.

1. Shut down.
2. Press Power to turn on your computer.
3. Immediately after it powers on, hold Option + Command + P + R.
   
4. Keep the hold until your system fully boots up.

Scan for Virus Attacks

If your computer is a victim of a severe virus outbreak, it can behave abnormally. Therefore, viruses and malware attacks can also result in your computer turning off at random, among other power issues. It can further affect your system’s stability and OS compatibility as well.

So, it’s recommended that you scan your system for any malware signs and hints of virus attacks. For this, you have to download and install antivirus software and then scan your computer with that software.

Update macOS

When your system build gets outdated, it’s best to update it to a newer version. If you don’t do so, it might give rise to certain stability and compatibility issues. These issues might force your system to shut down randomly from time to time, and hence, updating the system firmware is your best bet to fix the problem.

1. Open Finder.
2. Now, from the Finder menu bar, go to Apple > About This Mac.
   
3. Select Software Update.
4. Wait until your system finishes scanning for new updates.
5. If a new macOS update is available, click Update now to upgrade its build.
   

Reinstall macOS

If none of the above-mentioned steps work for you, reinstalling the operating system might fix your problem. And when you choose to do so, you’ll be presented with two options; to delete everything and install a fresh copy of the OS or to install the OS on top of the previous one. The former option will clear every piece of data on your system, while the latter will install the OS with all files and folders intact.

On Intel Macs

1. First, connect your system to the internet.
2. Then, shut down.
3. Now, press Power and start up your Mac.
4. Immediately after it beings the startup process, hold Command + R.
   
5. Release the hold after the Apple logo loads up.
6. Then, Reinstall macOS.
   
7. Enter password if prompted.
8. If you see the option to install either Macintosh HD – Data or Macintosh HD, choose Macintosh HD.
   Macintosh HD – Data wipes up the entire hard disk and deletes all your files from the system before installing the OS.
9. Let the installation process complete.

On Apple Silicon Macs

1. First, connect your system to the internet.
2. Then, shut down.
3. Now, press and then immediately hold Power to start up your Mac.
4. Once you get to the Options screen, release the hold.
   
5. Click on Options.
6. Then, Reinstall macOS. 
   
7. Enter password if prompted.
8. If you see the option to install either Macintosh HD – Data or Macintosh HD, choose Macintosh HD.
   Macintosh HD – Data wipes up the entire hard disk and deletes all your files from the system before installing the OS.
9. Let the installation process complete.