What power mode does Mac mini enter after display turns off based on Lock Screen settings?

From Set sleep and wake settings for your Mac - Apple Support:

Set your Mac to go to sleep after inactivity

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Settings, then click Lock Screen  in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
2. Do any of the following:

• • Click the pop-up menu next to “Turn display off on battery when inactive,” then choose an option.
  • Click the pop-up menu next to “Turn display off on power adapter when inactive,” then choose an option.

That means the Mac goes to sleep when the display is off (which is the same thing that happens if you have a Mac laptop in clamshell mode and disconnect the display).

Depending on a combination of settings, the Mac mini goes, Screen Saver, Display Off, Lock Screen, then Automatic Sleep Mode.

The later Automatic Sleep Mode can present problems for some setups that have active background processes, network processes and externally connected devices.

These are the Lock Screen and Energy settings that I use on my Mac mini's...

The Mac mini's skip over screen saver and turn off the displays after 10 minutes.

They are in a secure controlled place, so I run with require password is disabled.

These new Mac mini's are very energy efficient when left on and awake with the display(s) off.

If you are having issues waking and/or crashing during computer sleep mode..?

Then turn on "Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off"

Dan the blood bank man wrote:

My question was "What power mode is my Mac mini ...?". Your response was relevant only for a Mac laptop!

The screen turns off, the Mac goes to sleep unless you tell it not to sleep.

It depends on whether you are connected to mains power, and whether this is set or not (in System Settings->Battery->Options):

If you do not set it to on (or are running on battery only), then your mac will be in sleep mode when the display is off.

If not, it will continue working but just turn off the display.

You may want this on if, for example, you are running some long task but want to let the display turn off.

Thank you for the above

It only thing missing would be the suggestion from @ a Brody " Etrecheck " application

To avoid a session of Q&A, Q&A  and Q&A  

Download the Application Etrecheck  ( External Link ) directly from the Developer.

This is a Diagnostic Tool that makes no changes to the computer.

It makes a coherent and readable inventory of both the Hardware and Software used on the computer 

The application is free or paid for added features. 

The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information. 

Post back the Full Report - Share Report >> Copy , then  paste  >>>> using the Additional Text Icon  <<<<

Lastly - should you decide to use and post the Full Report now or at a later time, someone maybe willing to have a very close look and offer some insights 

Dan the blood bank man wrote:

My question was "What power mode is my Mac mini ...?". Your response was relevant only for a Mac laptop!

Sorry, I missed that.

Just ignore the "power adapter" vs "battery", because your Mac is always connected to power, and you have the answer, just as BobHarris and den.thed noted.

Dan the blood bank man wrote:

My question was "What power mode is my Mac mini ...?". Your response was relevant only for a Mac laptop!

I think the user needs to figure out what is causing the " m4 Mac mini wakes up from sleep unexpectedly" before they try to figure out what the phases are the machines goes through before it goes to sleep

They seem inter-related IMHO

Dan the blood bank man wrote:

Please see my reply to Owl-53.

Thank you. 👍

Keep experimenting with different settings.

Again the Mac mini’s uses very little power when left awake with the display(s) off.

Late Edit: I don’t see any red flags in your EtreCheckPro report.

Having looked at your report in great detail

I have since run your report through an AI /LMM  just to confirm some of what I have suspected 

Basically,  it does confirm many things I already knew and added a few extra I overlooked

Below is what it does report in a coherent and logical way 

The system overall looks healthy — the issue is almost certainly caused by peripherals, background processes, network activity, or wake settings.

Based on your report, the most likely causes are:

1. USB devices (especially Logitech hardware / YubiKey / Studio Display)

USB peripherals commonly trigger wake events. You have:

• Logitech Options+ agent running
• LogiRightSight daemon installed
• Studio Display (which contains cameras, USB hubs, sensors)
• YubiKey
• USB wireless receiver

These all can generate HID events, power assertions, or Display wake events

Network interfaces (multiple adapters, bridging, iPhone USB interface)

You have:

• en0, en5, en6, en7, en9 (iPhone), bridge0
• Wi-Fi enabled

Wake causes from network issues include:

• Wake for network access
• Bonjour/mDNSResponder traffic
• iPhone USB tethering interface sending power assertions
• Ethernet/Thunderbolt adapters checking link status

Software daemons

Likely suspects:

• Logitech Options+ updater and agent
• audiomxd repeatedly showing high CPU (7 times)
• Safari / WebKit processes using >1 GB RAM

4. System power settings

macOS often enables these by default:

• Wake for network access
• Power Nap
• Allow Bluetooth devices to wake
• Allow accessories to wake the Mac

Any of these can cause unintentional wake-ups.

Dan the blood bank man wrote:

Thanks for the analysis. I have a few questions. Does the LLM distinguish between laptops and desktop computers (there is no setting Power Nap for Mac mini)? It is my understanding that when Mac in connected to Ethernet cable that WiFi is automatically disabled, is that correct?

No.

Depending on System Settings->Network, if Ethernet is placed before Wifi, and Ethernet is connected, your Mac will use Ethernet to connect to the internet, but Wifi is not turned off, nor "disabled". It is still used for things like location services, airdrop, airplay, to name a few that things that come to mind.

AI / LMM is not infallible and does make mistakes, as I did 😔

Using the same hardware configured M4 Mac Mini with an Asus 27” Display, Apple Magic Keyboard and Mouse 

Use the machine for about 9 - 10 hours per day with these setting 

When done, all goes off expect for the APC UPS BN1350M2-CA which stays on 24/7