We have a macOS Screen Saver policy configured in Hexnode to start the screen saver after 2 minutes of inactivity. It used to work, but on multiple MacBooks it looked like users could still change the inactivity timing from System Settings.
The policy shows as applied on the devices, but the setting named “Turn display off” is still editable by users. Does that mean the Screen Saver policy is not being enforced, or is this a different macOS setting?
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Hello @mees ,
The editable “Turn display off” setting does not necessarily mean the Hexnode Screen Saver policy has failed.
To confirm whether the Screen Saver policy is applied on the Mac, check the following on the device:
If “Start Screen Saver” is locked, the screen saver idle time from the policy has been applied. The “Turn display off” option controls display sleep behavior and may still be adjustable by the user depending on the macOS settings exposed on the device.
Regards,
Simon Scott
Hexnode UEM
Oh, okayy. I checked one of the affected Macs and the Screen Saver profile is present under Device Management. Also, “Start Screen Saver” is locked and cannot be changed.
The confusing part was that “Turn display off” was still changeable, so we assumed the 2-minute lock policy was not working.
Those are two separate settings in macOS.
The Hexnode Screen Saver policy controls when the screen saver starts. Once the policy is applied, users should not be able to modify the managed “Start Screen Saver” value.
The “Turn display off” setting is related to display power management. Users may still be able to change when the display turns off, but that does not override the managed screen saver start time.
In this case, since the profile is installed and “Start Screen Saver” is locked, the policy is being enforced. After the configured idle period, the device should enter the screen saver state according to the policy.
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