How can I disable autoboot on Macbook Pro M3 Pro 2023?

Currently there is no way to disable the auto boot feature.

You can provide Apple with product feedback here:

Product Feedback - Apple

FYI, be careful using any "nvram" commands on an Apple Silicon M-series Mac since they can temporarily brick the Mac since many of those "nvram" settings are only for Intel Macs. Several users have reported they had to resort to a DFU firmware Restore which destroys all data on the internal SSD to get their M-series Mac working again after trying to use the "auto boot" setting you tried....perhaps Apple changed something since those reports a couple of years ago.

unfortunately in theory maybe.

#autoboot is an undesirable feature.

reality is that auto boot turns on the mac when user does not want to turn the system on.

plugging in peripherals, connecting to power or opening lid will turn on the mac even though this has never been expected macos behavior.

other than unplugging from Studio Display, external drives, not touching the MBP as described above there is no way to conserve power, nor completely power off connected hard drives, auto boot is a #powerconsumption #hog & depletes the MBP battery much much faster & causes MBPs to stay hot even when not in use.

what EXACTLY are you trying to accomplish with this?

if you want your MacBook Pro OFF with the display Open, just choose Shutdown from the Apple menu, and don't touch any keys.

CPIMEL50 wrote:

Thank you very much for your quick response HWTech, it's really a shame that we don't have a solution at this time. Thanks also for the tip about the nvram code. I guess I'm lucky I didn't damage anything.

FYI, it is safe to clear the NVRAM using as I had to use it to fix a problem caused by a macOS update bug last year which prevented macOS from booting normally:

sudo nvram -c

If using the command while booted in Recovery Mode, then omit the "sudo " part.

It doesn't seem unreasonable to be able top touch the keyboard on an open laptop - one which has a specific power key to start it up - and not have it reboot. My Intel PowerBook screen sleeps after a while so I sometimes prod a key to see if it's asleep or off - if I do that on my new M3 Air, it starts up regardless.

I might also want to get the laptop out of my bag, put it on my desk and open it up so it's ready for me to use the next morning, without it starting up there and then. There are numerous reasons a long-time Mac user would want to disable autoboot, but no reason I can think of to take this control away from us and not even give us the option to disable it.

could you be more specific?

how would you like to use the computer that is different from all the ideas posted so far?

or is this merely "I want to be in COMPLETE control"

How are you expected not to touch any keys when cleaning your macbook pro?