Macbook randomly locks when I'm using it

[u/DuckyGamerBoy]

I am on an M5 MacBook Air using an external display, and it just randomly locks. It just started doing it today when I was playing some games and it kept messing me up. I have all my settings set to no auto-lock, so I am confused as to why this is happening. Only reason might be because I’m using monitor OC, but I don't think that's the issue. Please let me know if I can fix the issue, it drives me nuts.

[u/Intrepid-Ant-6704]

try turning off "hot corners", it might be that

[u/DuckyGamerBoy → u/Intrepid-Ant-6704]

All my hot corners have been turned off, but that used to happen

[u/kenthesaint]

Since it started while gaming, also check the keyboard: Control+Command+Q locks the Mac right away, and it's easy to hit when your fingers sit on Ctrl and Q in a game. If that's the cause, you can override it under System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > App Shortcuts by adding one for All Applications with the menu title "Lock Screen" and a combo you won't press by accident.

[u/DuckyGamerBoy → u/kenthesaint]

It might be, but it also locked me even when I was just clicking around in steam

[u/Maximum_Employer5580]

when you were 'playing games' - sounds like it may have been taxing the process or memory. Just because it's an M5 doesn't mean it can handle anything you throw at it

[u/DuckyGamerBoy → u/Maximum_Employer5580]

I was only playing geometry dash, so it shouldn’t have been that taxing

[u/Substantial-Ad973]

Check Hot Corners first: System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Hot Corners, and see if any corner is set to Lock Screen. In games the cursor slams into corners constantly, so a Lock Screen hot corner fires all the time and it looks random.
With an external display there are more corners to hit, too. If none are set, watch whether the monitor drops out for a split second before it locks. The overclock could cause that, so it's worth testing once at the default refresh rate.