Displays Going to Sleep

LuckyC14 20 Reputation points
2026-06-02T12:28:43.6433333+00:00

Set up a new Windows 11 PC at work (I'm the network admin). We have a power plan we apply to all PCs (same one that was on my last PC). On this computer, however, whenever I lock my PC (using Win+L), within 30 seconds the displays just go on standby/sleep/hibernate. This is annoying and I cannot figure out why.

 

Power plan is set up accordingly. NO it is not due to monitor settings, for sure Windows. Send help. Thanks.User's image

Windows for business | Windows 365 Business
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Answer accepted by question author
Darrell Gorter 2,991 Reputation points
2026-06-02T22:10:46.78+00:00

Hello,

Open an elevated cmd prompt.

Run powercfg /query

This should show the power setting on this computer

Verify the your power policy is correctly applied.

Also check your monitor some monitors have their own internal power settings

Darrell Gorter

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  1. HLBui 13,020 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-06-04T07:55:51.2833333+00:00

    Hi LuckyC14

    Your system’s locked into S0 Low Power Idle, which basically replaces the older S1–S3 sleep states. When that’s active, Windows treats “lock” as a semi‑idle state and powers down the display almost immediately, regardless of your power plan. It’s a firmware‑level design choice, not something you can fully override from Windows settings.

    Here’s what you can do:

    • Check your BIOS/UEFI for an option to disable Modern Standby or S0 Low Power Idle some vendors hide it under “Sleep States” or “Platform Power Management.”
    • If you can’t toggle it off, you can disable Modern Standby via registry (set PlatformAoAcOverride to 0 under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power). That’ll bring back S3 and make your power plan behave normally.
    • Also, confirm that Device Guard or Hyper‑V isn’t enforcing S0 both can block legacy sleep states.
    • After changing any of these, run powercfg /a again to verify S3 is available.

    Once you’re back on S3, your display should stay awake when locked, just like your old machine.

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  2. HLBui 13,020 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-06-02T15:57:04.7933333+00:00

    Hi LuckyC14

    Sounds like your new Windows 11 setup is giving you a bit of a headache with that display snoozing too quickly after locking. From what you described and looking at your power plan settings the culprit is likely Allow wake timers or a Modern Standby behavior that’s more aggressive on newer hardware. Even though your plan says “Never sleep,” Windows 11 sometimes overrides that when the system enters a low-power state after locking.

    Here’s what I’d do:

    1. Open Advanced power settings and under Sleep, set Allow wake timers to Disable.
    2. Then check Screen saver settings sometimes it’s configured to turn off the display after locking.
    3. Also, make sure Modern Standby isn’t kicking in by running powercfg /a in Command Prompt; if you see “Standby (S0 Low Power Idle)”, that’s the one.
    4. If your organization uses Group Policy, confirm there’s no Display timeout policy being pushed that overrides your local plan.

    Once you tweak those, your monitor should stay awake like it used to. Don't forget to share your experience with "Accept the answer" That others in community with similar issues can benefit from the guidance. If you need more information, feel free to leave a message. We are happy to help!

    Thank you!

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