Illustrator 28.6 prevents screensaver from kicking in

[Inélsòre]

I have updated to 28.6 yesterday and, ever since, whenever Illustrator is running, the screensaver is not being allowed to follow the System Settings set in macOS Sonoma 14.5 (M3 Max).

How do I know it is Illustrator?

1. it persists through log out and macOS restart

2. through trial and error, I excluded all other apps and it is the only one doing this.

I do not recall this happening on 28.5, and I will likely uninstall this version and revert to the older one if this persists. 

Thank you

[Sandy067]

I too am having this problem with my screensaver not working when Illustrator is running. I have version 29.1 (64 bit) on windows 11. This is the only program in adobe that I have this issue with and we should not have to turn off auto saving to fix it.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Sandy067,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Would you mind confirming the details of your exact problem, like whether Illustrator is preventing your computer from sleeping or the lock screen does not appear, so I can better assist you?

Also, try running Illustrator under a different administrator account (Windows) and share your observations.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[K0ssi]

I'm having the same problem. Mac OS 14.6.1 (23G93), Adobe Illustrator 29.1 (2025). When Illustrator is on, screen saver will not turn on and the display(s) won't turn off automatically after a set time (in System Settings / Lock Screen). After shutting down Illustrator the screen saver and the automatic display turn off work as expected. The screen saver can be activated manually by setting a Hot Corner Shortcut in the Desktop & Dock page of System Settings, but the automatic display turn off still does not kick in.

[Jasinski]

Yup. Until this thread grows to 300+ reports, nothing will change. Thank you for contributing to this issue; maybe it will get fixed soon.

[K0ssi]

FYI: I updated my Mac OS to Version 15.2 (24C101) and lo and behold my screensaver is working even when Illustrator is open. 

[Jasinski]

Good for you! But for most of us it's still here 😞

even after the update

[LucasFonts]

On both my Mac and my Windows PC, the screensaver/sleep mode does not work when Illustrator is running..

[Martha5FD3]

I'm also having this issue. 

I'm running Illustrator 28.7 on Monterey 12.7.6

Screen saver will not work. 

Computer will not sleep unless it's manually told to. But, it then wakes itself back up after around 15 minutes. 

I have disabled auto save, reset SMC etc, but the issue persists. 

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Martha5FD3,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Would you mind updating Illustrator (https://adobe.ly/404M0cv) and the OS (https://adobe.ly/4a7yHwq) to the latest version to see if it helps?

Also, try running Illustrator under Safe Mode (macOS) and share your observations.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[CGS_Prepress]

Hi there,

I’ve been encountering issues with Illustrator 2024 and 2025. These versions prevent my computer from going to sleep automatically. Whenever the app is open, it keeps my computer from turning off the screens and going to sleep.

I narrowed down the problem by closing one program at a time until my computer finally went to sleep. I’ve also adjusted the computer settings to go to sleep after a minute. I’ve already tried uninstalling and reinstalling Illustrator, but nothing seems to work. I either have to force the computer into sleep mode or quit Illustrator to get sleep to function correctly. I suspect it’s a software bug preventing my computer from sleeping.

Currently using Mac Studio M2 Max with Sequoia 15.2

Illustrator 29.2.1

[RAILhead]

I can confirm this on my system, as well. I have been fighting this issue for WEEKS, and then I stumble don this thread. 

All I have to do is close Illustrator (I'm running v29.2.1), and the screen saver kicks on as it should, and the display goes to sleep as it should.

Sequoia 15.3 (24D60), Apple Studio Display.

[Inélsòre]

Something that may help the (possibly willing) developers pinpoint and eventually solve this issue is that, at least for me, the screensaver does kick in if and only if there is an open document in Illustrator and the app is not in focus. 

If the app is in focus with open documents or if the app is in not in focus but no document is open in it, the screensaver will not start.

It may not reproduce for you, though.

[Jasinski]

True! I noticed that if Illustrator is opened without any documents it doesn't affect the screensaver behaviour. But developers know that the cause of this problem is in the Auto Saving feature. I believe it's not a problem for them to debug this issue.

[Preston379836627bts]

I have the same issue.. when Illustrator is open and I step away, the animated wallpaper keeps running and the keyboard stops responding fully... I figured out that if I can close illustrator successfully I get pushed to the lock screen again and things go back to normal 

[Miles28374978az8d]

This is happening to me - on an Apple M2 Pro with latest version of Illustrator. Why is this not yet resolved?

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Miles28374978az8d,

I am sorry to hear about your experience and for the delayed response. I tried replicating this behavior on my end but could not do so. To better understand the problem, would it be possible for you to have a debug session with us? If yes, please send me your Adobe ID, Country & Timezone, phone number with country code, and preferred dates and times between Mon- and Fri over a private message.

To send a private message, click my profile picture and use the 'Send a message' button.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[Viet233071027ige]

Yes. and my chat gpt easily find out it is because of. CEPHtmlEngine of Adobe. 🙂 
Adobe is going to be nightmare everyday!!!