Windows can put your PC to sleep while the user is away for a long time. This helps the PC save power and increase battery life. However, some users have reported a flaw that prevents the display from turning off after a specific period. So, to solve the display won’t turn off after the specified time in the Windows issue, some settings need to be changed on your Windows PC to troubleshoot this issue. Let’s see how to go about it in Windows 11, Windows 10 and any other version of Windows.
Display Won’t Turn Off After the Specified Time in Windows
If the display on your Windows PC remains active after a certain period, follow these six suggestions to resolve the issue:
- Check and Configure Power and Sleep Settings
- Unplug External Devices
- Check Applications That Interfere With the Display via Windows Terminal
- Choose Prevent Idling to Sleep From Power Options
- Run Power Troubleshooter
Check if the issue is resolved after trying out each of them.
1] Check and Configure Power and Sleep Settings
You check the Power and Sleep settings in Windows to check whether the sleep screen is activated. This is how you go about it:
- Press the Windows key + I to open Settings.
- Click on System from the left pane. Next, locate the Power & battery option on the right and click on it.
- Under Power, click on Screen and sleep to expand it. Check whether the options are set to Never or not. If so, you can change it by clicking on the drop-down box and selecting after how much time you want your PC to fall into sleep mode automatically.
2] Unplug External Devices
In this method, you must check whether external devices like a keyboard or any other controller are plugged into your Laptop. If so, unplug these devices and shut down your PC. Also, unplug the display cable if you use a PC with an external monitor. After a few minutes, re-plug the display cable of the external monitor and turn your PC on.
Sometimes, even after set sleep intervals, external gadgets connected to your Laptop through USB or Bluetooth can prevent your display from turning off. Thus, unplug any external devices connected to your PC and restart it to see whether it resolves the problem.
3] Check Applications That Interfere With the Display via Windows Terminal
The built-in tool of your Windows PC, the Windows Terminal, will help you find complex applications that may prevent the display from falling into sleep mode. Let’s see how to go about it:
- On your Windows PC, right-click on the Windows logo at the bottom left corner of your screen and click the Windows Terminal (Admin) option.
- Click Yes on the User Account Control prompt.
- Copy and paste the command given below and press Enter:
powercfg -requests
- After the scan is done, and if you find any programs in the list, these programs prevent your display from turning off.
- Once you have noted the program, press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC to launch task management.
- Find the program, right-click on it, and then select End task from the context menu.
- Additionally, click the Startup tab, find and right-click on the program creating the issue from the list, and then select Disable from the context menu. This will prevent the program from starting on its own after a restart.
4] Choose Prevent Idling to Sleep From Power Options
Sometimes, your PC’s screen will not turn off while copying a large folder from your device to an external USB flash drive. In this case, you should look at the advanced power settings. Let’s see how to go about it:
- Type power plan into the Windows Start menu and click the Choose a power plan option.
- Click on Change plan settings and Change advanced power settings on the next page.
- In the Power Options window, scroll down and expand Multimedia settings. Again, expand When sharing media and click on the drop-down boxes next to On battery and Plugged in and choose Prevent idling to sleep. Click OK to save changes.
5] Run Power Troubleshooter
There is a power issue when a computer screen remains on after a predetermined amount of time. Using the Power troubleshooter may therefore resolve the issue. Here is how to go about it:
- Press the Windows key + I on your Windows PC to open Settings.
- Click on System on the left pane. On the right, scroll down and choose the Troubleshoot option.
- On the next page, click on the Other troubleshooters option.
- On the next page, click the Run button next to the Power troubleshooter.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to resolve any persisting issues.
Conclusion
If your computer screen does not turn off after a specific time, these methods demonstrate what you can do. A Windows update/upgrade might bring that on, but it could happen anytime. If this problem reappears after unplugging external devices, changing screen time from Windows Settings, running a troubleshooter, making changes in the power plan, etc., try restarting your device first, as it might solve the problem as well.
