How to Prevent Computer Sleep and Keep Your Computer Awake

The problem: your computer goes idle or "sleeps" and apps think you are away

After a period without keyboard or mouse input, your Mac or Windows PC is considered idle. The display may dim or turn off, and apps that use activity to determine presence—like Microsoft Teams or Slack—switch your status to Away. Long downloads, compilations, or video calls where you are not touching the keyboard can trigger this. To keep your computer awake and prevent computer sleep from affecting your presence, you need the system to stay active without constant manual input.

Why the computer goes idle: how Mac and Windows detect inactivity

Both macOS and Windows use keyboard and mouse activity to decide if the user is present. No input for a set time means the system is "idle." That drives display sleep, optional system sleep, and—for apps like Teams and Slack—presence status. There is no single "keep computer awake forever" setting that fits every workflow: power settings control when the display or disk sleeps, but they do not necessarily keep the system from being treated as idle for presence. To keep computer awake on Mac or keep computer awake on Windows in a way that also keeps you "available" in collaboration apps, you need something that prevents idle at the system level.

Common approaches compared

Turning off display sleep or system sleep in Settings helps with power but may not stop collaboration apps from marking you away, because they still see no user input. A hardware mouse jiggler is a USB device and needs no software on the computer. A script needs the same system permissions as any app that simulates input, plus your own upkeep. NoAway is software for Mac and Windows: it keeps the display awake, prevents sleep, and simulates input; on macOS it needs Accessibility permission, and it must keep running (menu bar or system tray). A locked screen, calendar status, company policy, and presence on other devices are outside what NoAway controls, and antivirus software on Windows can block simulated input.

How NoAway keeps your computer awake on Mac and Windows

NoAway runs in the menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows) and prevents your computer from going idle. It does not change your power settings; it keeps the system active so that your display and presence-based apps stay "on." One click and your computer stays awake during long builds, downloads, or deep work—and Teams away status, Teams, Slack, and similar apps read that activity signal. NoAway keeps your computer active while it is switched on. Whether Teams or Slack show you as Available also depends on permissions and on the conditions listed in Help. See Help. Get NoAway on both keep computer awake Mac and keep computer awake Windows with a single purchase. No subscription, no browser window, minimal resources.

Frequently asked questions about preventing computer sleep