Will a pen tablet wake a Mac mini?

[WelshRich]

I’ve just bought a Mac mini to replace an aging MacBook. I have a screen with an inbuilt KVM switch that means I can switch between my work laptop in a docking station and the Mac mini - so far so good…

However, if I haven’t used the Mac for a while, it won’t wake up using the mouse connected via the KVM switch - The only way to wake the Mac seems to be with a second mouse connected directly to the Mac.

It seems a bit pointless to have an extra mouse just for the job of waking the Mac. I wouldn’t mind having a pen tablet instead, as I would also use this for some fairly basic photo editing.

Does anyone know whether a Wacom pen tablet can be used to “wake” a Mac mini that’s been powered on, but left unused for a couple of days?

[tangerine_sedge]

Doesn't it wake up on keyboard input?

[benny.c]

I use an M1 Mini with a Wacom tablet. The pen wakes the Mini from sleep but I’m not sure if it will after a few days as I always shut down after using the computer. I generally wake it with a key stroke on the keyboard though, or sometimes the power button on the computer. The pen seems to take longer to wake it.

One caveat to the above - I have my tablet wired rather than using Bluetooth as I find there is a tiny but perceptible lag between the pen and cursor when moving quickly, which is enough to be annoying when using CAD. I’m not sure if the pen would wake the computer if connected by Bluetooth.

I don’t know if your Mini is tucked away and not that accessible but it will wake with a tap of the power button. That would seem to be the simplest solution if your switch is causing issues.

Edited by benny.c on Tuesday 12th November 09:46

[WelshRich]

Thanks Benny, I think that’s sufficient encouragement for me to go ahead and buy something that I wanted to anyway

The Mac is behind my screen (in a corner of the room) so hard wiring the tablet won’t be a problem, it’s just a bit of a faff to access the power button - Apple have chosen to put it on the underneath of the new Mini…

[benny.c]

Why the heck have they done that!? Just taken a look and supposedly it’s easy enough to reach but a bit odd nonetheless. I have all my home office computer gear connected to a smart plug which turns everything off each evening so I prefer to turn the Mac off. I guess I’ll have to try out a new one before upgrading.

Wacom tablets are excellent. Had a few now and not used a mouse for work for maybe 15yrs.

Edited by benny.c on Tuesday 12th November 21:39