Because of the power-saving state, you can also set timers to make your laptop go into sleep mode automatically. However, many users reported that after the upgrade to Windows 10, their computer won’t sleep automatically like it used to. This problem can be traced back to many reasons such as a controller disrupting the sleep timer of your computer or a third-party application keeping the computer awake. Follow the solutions from the top and work your way down.
How to check if Sleep Mode is actually enabled?
Before we move on with the troubleshooting, we will check if the sleep mode is actually enabled on your computer. There is a specific timer in the system. If the computer remains unused for that period of time, it goes into sleep mode automatically.
If you own a PC and don’t see this option, press Windows + S and type “choose a power plan”. Click on the most relevant result.
Solution 1: Resetting your Computer
We can try completely restarting your computer by plugging out the power source after shutdown or removing the battery. It may be possible that your cache or RAM is still retaining some data even after the shutting down/restart process. Shutdown your computer normally and after a few minutes plug out the plug/remove the battery. Now, wait for a couple of minutes before turning it back on. This might solve the problem but is more of a blind shot. If it doesn’t, move on with the other solutions.
Solution 2: Checking your Browser
Browsers tend to exchange data with websites even when you are not using it. Website such as web.whatsapp or Skype etc. tends to use push notifications which keeps your browser awake which in turn keeps your PC awake. You should try closing all of your browsers properly using the task manager and then wait to see if the computer goes into sleep mode. If it does, you can easily diagnose which website is causing the problem. Start with interactive websites (WhatsApp, yahoo, live, Skype), etc. and once diagnosed, refrain from keeping the tab open.
Solution 3: Checking Connected Devices
Several connected devices require “always-on” correspondence with your computer. It is possible that a device is connected to your computer which is disrupting the sleep timer, hence, disabling your computer to go to sleep. These devices include wireless mouse/keyboard, Xbox console or devices, interactive speakers, or some other external device (even a USB or hard drive!). Unplug these devices from your computer and wait for the timer to put your computer to sleep mode. If the issue still persists, feel free to plug these devices back on and proceed with further solutions.
Solution 4: installing the latest Windows Updates
Windows roll out important updates targeting the bug fixes in the operating system. If you are holding back and not installing the Windows update, we strongly recommend that you do. Windows 10 is the latest Windows operating system and new operating systems take a lot of time to get perfect in every regard. There are a lot of issues still pending with the OS and Microsoft rolls out frequent updates to target these issues.
Solution 5: Turning off Cortana
Cortana is a new feature in Windows 10. It is a virtual assistant which monitors your computer usage and aims to help you by giving suggestions. It also responds to voice commands and has the capability to perform small tasks like making an appointment or playing some music. The voice command “Hey Cortana” has been known to cause problems with sleep in Windows. Turns out that due to some technical problem or a bug, the computer always stays awake to listen to the command “Hey Cortana” made by the user. We can try disabling Cortana and check if this solves the problem. If it doesn’t, feel free to turn her back on.
Solution 6: Turning off Hybrid Sleep
Hybrid sleep is a combination of sleep mode and hibernation. The contents of the RAM are copied to non-volatile storage (just like in regular hibernation) but then, instead of powering down, the computer enters sleep mode. This approach aims to combine the benefits of sleep mode and hibernation. The machine can resume instantaneously while also powering down to save energy. Many users reported that because of hybrid sleep, their computer wouldn’t sleep at all. After disabling hybrid sleep, the computer seemed to sleep normally after the set time. We can try disabling hybrid sleep from your power settings and check if it works.
If you own a PC and don’t see this option, press Windows + S and type “choose a power plan”. Click on the most relevant result.
Solution 7: Checking Device Wake-up Call Settings
Many devices have the ability to keep your computer awake. These devices can include the mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc. You should disable this setting for all the devices except for Ethernet and check if you still face the problem. In the majority of cases, a slight movement of the mouse or some external device communication with the computer disrupts the sleep timer. We are demonstrating how to disable the setting for a mouse. Make sure that you implement these for all the other devices as well (except the Ethernet).
Solution 8: Changing UpdateOrchestrator
Windows 10’s UpdateOrchestrator scheduled task folder contains a task named as Reboot. This task will force your computer to wake up and install updates on whether or not any of them are available. This setting can be with-holding your PC from going into sleep mode. We cannot rely on simply removing the permissions. We need to change ownership so Windows won’t be able to change the settings later on.
It is called “Reboot” with a file extension. Right-click it and select Properties from the list of options available.
Restart your computer for the changes to take effect and check if the problem is solved
Solution 9: Downgrading the version of Intel Management Engine Components Driver
We will download the Intel Management Engine Interface Driver (version 9 or 10) and exploit the show or hide updates package to stop the system from installing version 11 again. We will have to pause the update service of your computer using the services menu to ensure that Windows doesn’t automatically install the version 11 itself.
Note: You don’t need to uninstall version 11 before installing version 9 or 10. The presence of some version of the driver is required in order to downgrade it. If you own a PC and don’t see this option, press Windows + S and type “choose a power plan”. Click on the most relevant result.
Solution 10: Ignoring all Power Requests by srvnet driver
Another solution which the users reported was that they disabled all the power requests by the srvnet driver and the problem automatically disappeared for them. There can be many explanations for this phenomenon but there shouldn’t be any assumptions without proper research. We will be executing the command on Command Prompt and check if this fixes anything for us.
You can also reverse the changes if the solution doesn’t work for you by executing this command:
Solution 11: Disabling Media Sharing Settings
Windows has a feature to share media with other clients from your computer through the network. This feature can have traffic on your computer and may disrupt the sleep timer. We can try disabling it through advanced power options and check if this fixes the problem. If you own a PC and don’t see this option, press Windows + S and type “choose a power plan”. Click on the most relevant result.
Solution 12: Starting Computer in Clean-Boot state
If all the above solutions don’t work, it is recommended to restart your computer. If it doesn’t bring any improvement, we can try Clean Booting. This boot allows your PC to turn on with a minimal set of drivers and programs. Only the essential ones are enabled while all the other services are disabled.
Solution 13: Checking which Processes are Disrupting the Sleep Cycle
Windows has an inbuilt command which lets you identify which process/application is causing the sleep process on your computer to halt. Once you have identified the application/process correctly, you can stop them. Note: This tool isn’t perfect and doesn’t list all the processes/applications necessary. Try disabling your antivirus, VPN services, unplugging USB’s, and monitoring applications (such as CC Cleaner). To disable a service which is the culprit, press Windows + R and type “services.msc”. A new window will pop up containing all the services running on your computer. Double-click the one which is causing the problem, stop the service and select Startup Type to Disabled. Press Ok to save changes and exit. To uninstall an application, open the control panel and select Uninstall a Program. All the programs installed on your computer will be listed here. Right-click the one which is causing your problems and select “Uninstall”.
Solution 14: Closing Edge in the Background
In some cases, Microsoft Edge runs in the background while you are using your computer and it prevents the computer from going into sleep. This behavior is usually implemented to prevent interruptions during browsing but it can be a hectic task to turn this off on the browser. Therefore, you will have to turn the Browser off from the task manager to get rid of it. For that:
Solution 15: Generating Sleep Diagnostics Report
In some situations, there might be multiple background services or applications that are preventing your computer from going into sleep. Some services can run in the background and the computer thinks that there are still tasks being performed that need the screen to be on and it doesn’t go into sleep mode. We will be generating an in-depth sleep report and check which programs are currently running that aren’t letting the computer sleep.
Solution 16: Remove Physical Hurdles
This solution might seem odd to most people but sometimes when you put your mouse down, your Mousepad or the surface where you have placed the mouse might be vibrating due to which the mouse might be slightly slipping. This can prevent the computer from going to sleep because the mouse is constantly moving and although the cursor might seem stationary, it might actually be moving slightly. So what we found useful was to remove the mouse pad or to make sure that the mouse wasn’t moving at all.
Solution 17: Closing out of Steam
Steam is usually a suspect in situations like these because it can sometimes keep running some processes in the background that triggers the computer to think that you need to screen to be ON and this can prevent the computer from going into Sleep. Therefore, it is best that you close out of Steam at least temporarily to check. Note: You should also try moving the Steam off of Desktop if there are any shortcuts or files there. This seems to fix the issue in some cases. Also, if you wanna leave it on in the background, try moving Steam to the Library mode instead of the homepage. This has to do with the software usually loading some videos or audio while on the homepage which leads the computer to think that the software is still in use.
Solution 18: Running a Trace
This is a form of trace which should help you figure out the processes that prevent your computer from going into the sleep mode. In order to run this, we will first be opening an administrative command prompt and type in some commands to run the test. In order to do that:
Solution 19: Allowing Only a Magic Packet to Wake the PC
Sometimes the network card that you are using might be waking the computer and some of its power settings might need to be reconfigured in order for the sleep function of your computer to work properly. Therefore, in this step, we will be reconfiguring some of the network card power settings. For that:
Solution 20: Determining the Last Wake
This solution is only applicable if your computer suddenly wakes back up from the Sleep mode. In this, we will be using the power cfg details to determine what process caused the computer to wake back up from the sleep mode by running some commands in the command prompt.
Solution 21: Closing out of Utorrent
It is possible that Utorrent is running in the background even though you have closed it from the taskbar. The program keeps on downloading from torrents or seeding other torrents in the background even if you close out from the application. Therefore, in this step, we will be eliminating it from the app tray and the task manager. For that:
Solution 22: Power cycling your Computer
In some cases, the issue might be encountered if your RAM or Pagefile isn’t being cleared properly and it can end up preventing the computer from going to sleep. Therefore, you can try to completely power cycle your computer and get rid of the static electricity being stored by the components to fix this issue. In order to do that:
Solution 23: Unplug Controller
Some devices in particular that can end up causing this issue are Xbox and PS4 controllers. These devices weren’t showing up in any of the tracing tests that we ran so far and they were preventing the computer from going to sleep. Therefore, if you have connected an Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4 or any other controller to your computer, it is best to temporarily disconnect it and check if your computer goes to sleep.
Solution 24: Reinitializing Power Settings
If your computer is stuck between the state of the power settings being set to always on and turn off after some time, the issue might be seen. What we can do to get rid of this issue is to reinitialize these settings by selecting one and then changing it to the other. For that:
Solution 25: Installing Missing Drivers
It is possible that some important drivers on your computer have gone missing or have been corrupted due to a system failure. Therefore, in this step, we will be checking the computer for missing drivers from the device manager and update or install any that are missing. For that:
Solution 26: Stopping WMP Service
In certain situations, the WMP service that is most probably enabled on your computer might be preventing it from going to sleep by running in the background. The service is by default enabled and allowed to run without interference so we will be stopping it in this step to check if it really is the culprit behind this issue.
Solution 27: Checking and Stopping Wake Timers
Windows can be configured to wake at certain times for important functions such as Windows Update. But sometimes this can be annoying if you want the computer to stay in sleep mode. Therefore, in this step, we will be checking to see if there are any wake timers set on your computer and then disable them promptly. For that:
Solution 28: Disable Wake Timers
It is possible that you have enabled wake timers on your computer but you are unable to disable these services from awaking your computer. Therefore, in this step, we will be disabling wake timers on our computer’s power plan, and doing so will prevent your computer from being waked by a background service. For that: Voice Meter is an application that is also known to malfunction with the sleep function of Windows. Note: If you are on an outdated version of Bios, this error can be triggered due to certain missing features/glitches that some versions of the Bios tend to have. Therefore, it is recommended to immediately apply a Bios update if your Bios is outdated and you are facing this issue.
Windows 11 Won’t Wake Up from Sleep? Try these FixesFix: Computer Won’t Stay in Sleep ModeFIX: Screen Goes to Sleep/Off By Itself on Windows 10Fix: Windows 10 Shuts Down Instead of Sleep
