MacBook – Can a connected Thunderbolt display be put to sleep while the MacBook Pro remains running

macbook prosleep-wakethunderbolt-display

Does anybody know a way to sleep the Thunderbolt display if I don't need it for a short time? Like if I'm going to watch TV, normally I've just got my MacBook Pro's display turned on, while my old external then got turned off.

I'd like to do the same with the Thunderbolt display – to sleep it, or at least turn off the display, but still keep the screen on in my MacBook Pro.

I don't care if I need to use a program or something to do so. I would just like to be able to actually sleep the Thunderbolt display because there's no power off button.

Best Answer

SwitchResX lets you disable an unused display via a handy menubar item (bottom of page). This should cause your Thunderbolt Display to sleep.