'Require password to wake from sleep' is unreliable

scruffy

scruffy

Notorious Olive Counter
Has anyone else noted this?

I have my computer set to require a password to wake up from sleep or from the screensaver (security settings in system preferences), and yet I can leave my computer for hours, come back, wiggle the mouse, and it just wakes up without my having to enter a password.

This is not 100% reliable - maybe one time in five it does ask me for a password. And we're talking about stepping away for a long time, usually eight hours or more.

Some possibly relevant settings: I have the computer set to go to sleep after 20 minutes, to put the display to sleep after 5 minutes, and the screensaver is set to never kick in. It's a Blue and White G3, OS 10.3.6; a fresh install from the 10.3 CD about two or three weeks ago, then upgraded all at once (well, it took a couple of reboots to get everything up to date)

I haven't tried setting the screensaver time shorter than the sleep time, I'll look into that.

So - should I submit a bug report to Apple (and where do I do this, anyone have a link handy?), or is this a known issue?
 
Mine has NEVER done that.

From my understanding, the password on wake just initiates the screensaver when you're putting it to sleep, so it's there when you open it again.

...I've left my 'Book on sleep for over twenty four hours in the past, and it's all good - password every time.
 
OK - I set the screensaver to kick in at 18 minutes, and the system to go to sleep at 20. Now it works correctly.

Next test: we'll see what happens when the screen saver is set to go on after the system sleeps, but not 'never'.
 
Easy:

Expose a corner to start the screen saver.

Set it to start in 20 minutes.

Password protect it.
 
Update - sleep in 20 minutes, screensaver in 30, wait 25 minutes : no password required.

Next test - screensaver in 5 minutes, sleep in 3, and I'll wait more than 5.

Just to clarify - I'm now no longer looking for a way to make this work; I'm investigating the precise circumstances in which it does and does not work, so that my bug report can be as accurate as possible.

Because this is definitely a bug. If I check a box that says "require a password to wake the computer from sleep or from the screensaver" and there are any circumstances in which a password is not required to wake the thing from sleep, this is a bug. The fix may be as simple as changing the wording next to the checkbox, so that it claims only to require a password for the screensaver - that could be a valid bug fix.

But, any time when the I am led to believe the computer will behave one way, and it behaves another, that's a bug.
 
Interesting - in the final test, it did require a password.

Conclusion, as far as I can tell - even when the computer is asleep, the screensaver timer counts down, and when that runs out, you will need to put in a password. However, whether the computer is asleep or not, doesn't matter.

Could well be a simple change in wording to correct the problem.

So, anyone have that link handy? Any suggestions for extra information I might have left out or not thought to check?
 
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