Try These Fixes for the MacOS Persistent Splash Error
A strange bug affects some owners of Apple’s Mac M1 line (laptops and desktops), which triggers the macOS screensaver to launch at a random time. It doesn’t sound so bad at first – who doesn’t love Flurry? – except for an even more bizarre issue where the affected Mac splash screen cannot be disabled when turned on.
You will basically lock your system if you run into this error, which seems to be related to macOS ‘Fast User Switching feature. If you’re only using one account on your MacBook, you probably won’t run into this error; however, if you have multiple accounts on your Mac, there are several steps you can take to fix the problem before it locks you out of your system at an inconvenient time.
For starters, if you can only use one account so far, try this. I realize this is weird advice, but if you’ve created a new account for a family member and he has never used it, for example, then perhaps consider getting rid of it until Apple fixes the problem (or if family member should get on the computer finally).
You can also try this trick, courtesy of the MacRumors commenter writes :
I had the same problem on my mini, I tried to disable the splash screen for both users and install Amphetamine and the problem was fixed. Hopefully a fix is on the way and I’m glad to see that the problem isn’t just me.
It also looks like Apple Support is advising people to try entering this command in Terminal, which disables the timeout on the login screen itself:
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.screensaver loginWindowIdleTime 0
This should prevent the problem with your Mac. You can also try to “disable” Fast User Switching. I hesitate to recommend this as my first troubleshooting method as System Preferences> Users and Groups> Login Options allows you to remove the Fast User Switching menu from the menu bar, but I don’t believe that disables it. However, it’s worth a try if you want to try a quick and easy solution first.
Another ingenious solution comes from a MacRumors commenter:
The solution that I think works every time is to set the “hot corner” of the screen to put the display to sleep. Then when this splash screen error occurs, simply hover your mouse over the corner, let the screen sleep for a few seconds, and then move the mouse again to wake it up. The screensaver will stop. Hope this helps.
You can also try installing macOS 11.2 Big Sur Beta , which reportedly fixes the issue permanently. Otherwise, remember this shortcut – Command + Option + Power button – and use it to put your system to sleep if your screen saver is unresponsive. Once your Mac wakes up, you can access your computer as usual.