Wakeful Support

Frequently Asked Questions

General

Q: What does Wakeful do?

Wakeful prevents your Mac from going to sleep and optionally moves the pointer to help with idle detection in communication apps. Availability indicators depend on each app and its settings; Wakeful cannot guarantee an online status.

Q: How do I use Wakeful?

  1. Click the eye icon in your menu bar
  2. Click a duration (15m, 30m, 1h, etc.). One click starts keeping your Mac awake.
  3. The top of the panel shows until when your Mac stays awake and why, for example “Until 18:00” with “Your schedule” below it.
  4. Use the round button next to it to stop, to pause or resume your schedule, or to go back to your schedule after keeping awake longer.

With a Pro schedule running, the durations keep your Mac awake past the schedule’s end (+15m, +30m, +1h, +2h, +4h, or ∞ until you stop it).

Q: Is Wakeful free?

Yes. Free includes keep-awake sessions for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour, subtle mouse movement every 30 seconds, and activity-aware pausing with a fixed two-minute idle threshold. Wakeful Pro is a one-time in-app purchase; see the app for your local price. It unlocks 2-hour, 4-hour, and indefinite sessions, schedules for the full selected window, custom mouse patterns and intervals, a customizable activity-pause delay, and an adjustable battery threshold.

Accessibility Permission

Q: Why does Wakeful need Accessibility permission?

The mouse jiggler feature uses Accessibility permission to move the pointer at the system level.

Q: Is it safe to grant Accessibility permission?

Wakeful uses this permission to move the pointer. Activity-aware pausing reads only local hardware idle time; it does not read typed text, capture the screen, or access other application data.

Q: How do I grant Accessibility permission?

  1. Open System Settings on macOS 14 or later.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security → Accessibility
  3. Click the + button to add Wakeful (authenticate if asked).
  4. Enable the toggle next to Wakeful

Q: What if I don’t grant the permission?

Wakeful will still prevent your Mac from sleeping, but the mouse jiggler feature will be disabled.

Troubleshooting

Q: My Mac still goes to sleep

Try these steps:

  1. Make sure Wakeful is keeping your Mac awake (the eye icon in the menu bar should be open)
  2. Check System Settings → Battery → Options → “Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter”
  3. Check if any other apps are forcing sleep

Q: The mouse jiggler isn’t working

  1. Verify Accessibility permission is granted (see above)
  2. Make sure “Enable Mouse Jiggler” is turned on in Settings → Mouse Jiggler
  3. Check if “Pause when user is active” is enabled - the jiggler pauses while you’re working

Q: My status still shows as “Away” in Slack/Teams

Some apps are more aggressive about detecting idle. Try:

  1. Reduce the jiggle interval (Settings → Mouse Jiggler)
  2. Try a different jiggle pattern (Pro feature)
  3. Make sure the app window is visible (some apps only check activity when in focus)

Q: How do I restore my Pro purchase?

  1. Open the Wakeful Pro upgrade sheet from the locked Pro control or upgrade prompt.
  2. Choose Restore Purchases.
  3. Sign in with the Apple ID used for the original purchase if Apple asks.

Battery

Q: Does Wakeful drain my battery?

Wakeful uses very little power. The mouse jiggler is extremely lightweight, and preventing sleep is a standard system feature. However, keeping your Mac awake will naturally use more battery than letting it sleep.

Q: What does “Disable on Low Battery” do?

When enabled, Wakeful stops keeping your Mac awake on battery power when your battery drops below the threshold (default 10%). A timer you started stops for good; a schedule pauses and resumes by itself when you plug in, as long as its time window is still running. Pro lets you adjust the threshold. This helps preserve battery when you’re running low.

Contact

If you can’t find an answer here:

Apple handles App Store billing and purchase refunds. Email us for Wakeful help; we cannot change Apple’s billing records.

When reporting an issue, please include:

  • macOS version
  • Wakeful version
  • Steps to reproduce the problem
  • Any relevant screenshots