How to fix problems with Sleep mode in Windows 10

Putting your PC to sleep is a great way to save power and still be able to continue using your computer when you want. But what do you do if your PC randomly wakes up or goes to sleep? This can be a difficult problem to diagnose and can be a real pain in the ass.

The troubleshooting process can be quite complex, depending on the different PC manufacturers. The best way to solve this problem is to try different solutions. This article will list the steps to fix problems related to Sleep mode in Windows 10 .

Find out what causes problems with Sleep mode

• Find out what's preventing Windows 10 from going to Sleep
• Check settings for Sleep mode
• Disable Fast Startup for older computers
• PC cannot go to Sleep mode
• PC automatically goes to Sleep state
  • Verify if your PC is actually “sleeping”
  • Restore default package
  • Check screensaver settings
  • Disable third party themes
  • Remove the battery
• Check attached equipment
• System Update
• Check Windows PC Health

Find out what's preventing Windows 10 from going to Sleep

1. Search for CMD in Windows 10 search box. Right-click on the Command Prompt icon and select Run As Administrator to open CMD with admin rights .

2. Run the command below to know which applications are interfering with Sleep mode other than the basic necessary applications.

To see which apps are always interfering with Sleep mode, run:

powercfg -requests

Note : The results will show all the applications that are interfering with Sleep mode. Try to find the culprit from the results and uninstall it. If the cause seems to be a software program you installed, uninstall it from the Control Panel.

If you want to disable this process directly from Command Prompt, run the command below.

powercfg -requestsoverride “”

For example, the yc.exe process seems to be the culprit that is preventing Windows 10 from entering Sleep mode, so we will run the following command.

powercfg -requestsoverride PROCESS “yc.exe” SYSTEM

To find out what's been preventing your laptop from going to Sleep recently, run:

powercfg -lastwake

To see all the devices that wake your computer, run:

powercfg -devicequery wake_armed

Assuming, the problem seems to be originating from the network adapter, just follow the steps below.

• Search for device manager in the Windows 10 search box.

• Expand Network adapters.
• Right-click on the network adapter that seems to be causing the problem and select Properties.

• Click on the Power Management tab and select the Allow the computer to turn off this device option .

Check settings for Sleep mode

When your computer won't go to Sleep, check all the settings and factors that prevent Sleep from happening. Hardware, power options, and configurations can affect how the power and Sleep buttons work. If your PC has installed updates or an application that requires a restart, your PC may not be able to go to Sleep at all.

If you share a computer with someone else or work on someone else's PC, it's likely that someone else has adjusted the power options. To access these settings, navigate to Control Panel > Power Options and click Choose when to turn off the display .

Just to the right of the Put the computer to sleep option , check the values ​​and make sure they are set correctly. If your PC is going to Sleep too soon or taking too long to get to this state, this should be the first thing to look at.

Disable Fast Startup for older computers

The Fast Startup feature in Windows 10 is a setting that helps your PC start up faster after shutting down. Fast Startup saves the kernel image and loaded drivers to C:\hiberfil.sys when you shut down your PC. When you shut down and restart your PC, Windows loads the hibernation file into memory so your PC can resume operation.

If you're using an older device and find that your PC isn't going to sleep, you can disable Fast Startup. Open Control Panel > Power Options and click Choose what the power buttons do .

Click Change settings that are currently unavailable and uncheck Turn on Fast Startup to disable this feature.

PC cannot go to Sleep mode

Please refer to the article: Windows 10 cannot sleep error, here is how to fix it for more details.

PC automatically goes to Sleep state

If your PC goes to sleep after a short period of inactivity, you risk losing the data you're working on. This can be even scarier than a PC that won't go to sleep. But rest assured, this error is easy to fix.

Verify if your PC is actually “sleeping”

When your PC randomly “sleeps,” make sure it actually went into Sleep mode. Sometimes hibernation or random shutdowns are caused by overheating .

If the temperature inside the PC exceeds the allowable threshold, the PC will automatically enter hibernation mode or shut down completely to protect the hardware components. Refer to the article: How to check the CPU temperature of the computer? for more details.

Restore default package

If you recently upgraded your PC to Windows 10 or performed a major update from Windows 10 1803 to 1809, specific power-related settings may have become problematic. To fix this, open Settings > System and under Power & sleep settings , click Additional power settings .

From here, select Choose when to turn off the display . Select Restore default settings for this plan .

If this option is not available or does not work, click Change advanced power settings . From the new window that appears, click Restore plan defaults . Repeat this step for each custom power plan.

Check screensaver settings

The screensaver utility allows your PC to go into Sleep mode to conserve power. The screen is turned off and if you have incorrect settings configured, your PC may go into Sleep mode randomly.

Go to Settings > Personalization and type “screen saver” into the search bar.

From the pop-up window that appears, select None from the Screen saver drop-down menu.

Disable third party themes

There are many third-party themes available from the Microsoft Store. It’s possible that a theme is causing your PC to “sleep” at random times. You can disable that theme and switch back to the default theme.

Go to Settings > Personalization and click on Themes. Now click on the default Windows 10 theme and restart your PC.

Remove the battery

If all of the above methods fail and you are dealing with a laptop, the culprit may be the battery. Turn off your PC and remove the battery. Wait a moment and reinsert the battery.

Check attached equipment

Peripherals attached to your computer can be the reason why your system wakes up from Sleep mode. Your printer, scanner, webcam, or game console, any of these could be the reason why your system’s Sleep mode isn’t working as intended. All you need to do is unplug any of these devices and then check if the problem persists. If it does, you can visit the online manual for the device to check for any updates. Some of the manuals may not work well with the latest versions of Windows 10.

System Update

You may want to update your system to make Sleep mode work properly. This is important because sometimes you delay updates and end up compromising the functionality of your system.

Check Windows PC Health

If your PC fails or goes to Sleep randomly, use the troubleshooting steps above to resolve the issue.

If you’re still not sure what’s causing the problem after trying all of the above methods, it’s time to run a full system scan for any hardware issues. The cause could be anything from your system overheating and going into sleep mode to a drained battery. You can always have a technician check your system to keep things under control.

Also, you must remember that every PC manufacturer has its own applications and drivers. And they are known to cause problems related to Sleep mode in Windows 10 PC.

In addition to these troubleshooting tips, you can periodically check your PC's health to keep it in top shape.

Hope you get the problem resolved soon!