How to Choose When the Screen Saver Turns on for Your Mac

When you don’t use your Mac for a little while, it’s possible for it to show a screen saver. This is meant to prevent any screen burn in that could occur if certain elements on the screen are displayed in the same location for too long.

The amount of time that the screen saver waits before coming on is variable, however, and you can specify the period of inactivity before it triggers. Our tutorial below will show you where to find and change this setting.

 

How to Set the Screen Saver Time on a MacBook Air

The steps in this article were performed on a MacBook Air in the MacOS High Sierra operating system. By changing the setting in this article you will change how long your Mac waits before displaying the screen saver after a period of inactivity. Note that you can also specify that the screen saver never turns on.

Step 1: Open System Preferences.

how to change screen saver time on mac

Step 2: Select the Desktop & Screen Saver option.

mac screen saver settings

 

 

Step 3: Click the Screen Saver tab at the top of the window.

set amount of time before screen saver on mac

 

 

Step 4: Click the dropdown menu to the right of Start After, then choose the amount of time to wait before the screen saver comes on.

set period of inactivity before screen saver mac

 

 

Would you like to change the resolution of your screen? Find out where the screen resolution setting is located on your Mac so that you can choose from the different resolution options available for your computer.

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