The Sleep mode is almost similar to shutting down your computer, except in Sleep mode every ongoing process like applications and files are saved to RAM, and other systems like the display are turned off. In Windows 11, if you leave your computer unattended for a long period, your computer will automatically go into Sleep mode. This feature is present to increase battery life by reducing power consumption and also prevents screen burn-in if your display is turned on for very long. This can be very helpful if you are using a laptop and the charger is not plugged in.
You can manually set low long the idle time can be before your computer automatically goes into sleep mode. But if your computer is not going into sleep mode even after reaching the idle time or your computer is waking up from sleep mode automatically then follow this guide to know about different methods that you can use to fix the Sleep timer not working issue in your Windows 11 computer.
Check the Sleep Mode Settings
If the sleep timer is not properly working, the first thing you should do is to check if the sleep timer is set up properly. You can do this by going to the Control Panel. Open the Control Panel by searching for it in Windows search.
On the Control Panel window, select the ‘Hardware and Sound’ option.
After that, click on ‘Power Options’.
Now, click on the ‘Change when the computer sleeps’ option located on the left side of the window.
From here, you can change the Sleep settings for your current power plan. Make sure that the dropdown menu next to ‘Put the computer to sleep’ is not set to never. If it is, then choose a time interval like 1 hour or 2 hours and then click on ‘Save changes’.
After that, click on the ‘Change advanced power settings’.
A window will appear called ‘Power Options’. Now, scroll down and click on ‘Multimedia settings’. From the dropdown menu, select ‘When sharing media’ and set the Setting to ‘Allow the computer to sleep’.
Troubleshoot the Sleep Mode using the Power Troubleshooter
Windows 11 has a dedicated troubleshooter for Power options and you can use this troubleshooter if the Sleep timer is not working on your computer. Start by opening the Settings menu by searching for it in the Start Menu search or by pressing Windows+i on your keyboard.
Now, scroll down on the right panel and then select ‘Troubleshoot’.
After that, select ‘Other troubleshooters’.
You will be presented with a lift of specific troubleshooters. Scroll down and click on the ‘Run’ button next to the ‘Power’ text.
A new window will appear and the troubleshooter will automatically detect any existing problem and suggest you apply a fix that you can apply if you want to.
Manually Check for Power Requests using the Command Prompt
You can manually check which applications or systems are sending power requests and keep waking up your computer from Sleep mode. To do this you have to run a specific command in the Command Prompt window which is also running in Administrator mode.
First, type Command Prompt in Windows search and then right-click on the app from the search results. Select ‘Run as administrator’ to launch the Command Prompt interface in administrator mode.
On the Command Prompt window, type powercfg /requests inside the command line and press Enter.
After you press Enter, it will show you every single process and devices that are keeping your computer awake. Now you can disable devices or applications and check if the sleep timer is working.
Boot Your Computer Into Safe Mode
If the Sleep Timer is not working on your Windows 11 computer, you can try to boot into Safe Mode. Booting into Safe Mode makes Windows run with default system settings and only necessary services and background processes.
First, open up the Run window by pressing Windows+r on your keyboard. Type ‘msconfig’ inside the Command line and then press Enter.
After the ‘System Configuration’ window opens up, switch to the ‘Boot’ tab by clicking on it.
On the Boot tab, tick the box before the ‘Safe boot’ option under ‘Boot options’ and make sure the toggle is set to ‘Minimal’. Lastly, click on ‘OK’ and restart your computer.
After restarting your computer, set the Sleep timer and check if it is working.
Stop Devices from Waking Up your computer
Devices like your mouse or the network adapter that is connected to your computer have the ability to wake your computer up from Sleep mode. You can stop these devices from waking up your computer from the Device Manager.
To start, open up the Device Manager by searching for its Windows search and selecting it from the search results.
On the Device Manager window, first, select ‘Mice and other pointing devices’ and after that select the mouse that you are using.
After the ‘HID-complaint mouse Properties’ window opens, switch to the ‘Power Management’ tab.
On the Power Management Tab, uncheck the box which says ‘Allow this device to wake the computer’ and then select ‘OK’.
Disable Wake-on-LAN from Your Computer
Wake-on-LAN or WoL is a feature in Windows 11 that allows you to remotely wake your computer up from Sleep mode with a different device if both are connected to the same Local Area Network. If you have this feature turned on, it is possible that due to some bug it is interfering with the sleep timer.
To easily disable WoL first open up Settings by pressing Windows+i on your keyboard. On the Settings window, first, select ‘Network & internet’ from the left panel and then select ‘Advanced network settings’ from the right panel.
After that, click on ‘More network adapter options’.
A new window will appear labeled as ‘Network Connections’ and your network adapter will be listed here. Double click on the network adapter.
After you double-click on your network adapter the Status window will come up. From there, click on ‘Properties’.
After that, click on ‘Configure’.
On the Properties window, switch over to the ‘Power Management’ tab and uncheck the box that says ‘Allow this device to wake the computer’.
After that, switch over to the Advanced tab. From there, scroll down and select ‘Wake on Magic Packet’ and set the value to ‘Disabled’. Click on ‘Ok’ to save the change.
Disable Fast Startup from Your Computer
Fast Startup puts your computer into a Hibernate-like state. In most computers, the Fast Startup mode is enabled by default and it can cause problems with the sleep timers, especially if you are running old hardware.
To disable Fast Startup, first, open up the Control Panel by searching for it in Windows Search and selecting it from the search results.
After the Control Panel window appears, click on ‘Hardware and Sound’.
Now, click on ‘Power Options’.
After that select the ‘Choose what the power buttons do’ option.
Click on the blue ‘Change settings that are currently unavailable’ text.
Now you will see that the Turn on fast startup option is not greyed out anymore. Uncheck the box before it and then click on ‘Save changes’.
Manually Check for Driver Updates
Faulty or buggy drivers can cause problems with the Sleep timer. You can use the Device Manager to manually check for driver updates.
To open the device manager, first launch the Run window by pressing Windows+r on your keyboard. After the Run window appears, type ‘devmgmt.msc’ and press Enter.
On the Device Manager window, right-click on any device and select ‘Update driver’.
After that, you can either let Windows search for any available driver update online by clicking on ‘Search automatically for driver’ or if you have downloaded any driver update, you have to select ‘Browse my computer for driver’.
Check for Updates
If you have a pending Windows update, it can interfere with the Sleep timer. To check for a pending update, first, open up the Settings menu by searching for it in Windows search.
On the Settings window, first, click on ‘Windows Update’ from the left panel and then click on the ‘Check for updates’ button.
After that, Windows will automatically start searching for any pending update.
If there is any update available, it will be downloaded and installed automatically. Depending on the update you might have to restart your computer several times.
This is how you fix the Fix Sleep Timer Not Working Issue in Windows 11.
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