Ashwin Lewis
Windows 10 is designed to update automatically to keep your system safe and secure. While your PC is in sleep mode, it saves the current system state and stores that information in memory, then enters a low-power mode. What happens next depends on your PC's power profile and wake timers, which can be disabled. If you want to prevent your PC from waking up to perform updates, there are several methods you can use, including altering power settings and permissions in the Task Scheduler.
Does Windows Update Wake From Sleep?
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Can Windows 10 update if a PC is asleep? | No |
| How does sleep mode work? | Saves the current system state and stores that information into memory, then goes into low-power mode, shutting down everything except RAM sticks |
| What happens after sleep mode is activated? | Depends on the PC, its active power profile, and wake timers |
| Can wake timers be disabled? | Yes, especially if the laptop is running on battery power only |
| How to disable wake timers? | Go to Control Panel > Power Options > Sleep > Allow Wake Timers > Disable |
| How to disable wake timers on a laptop? | Go to Control Panel > Power Options > Sleep > Allow Wake Timers > On Battery and Plugged In > Disable for both |
| How to disable wake timers on a PC connected to a local network via Ethernet cable? | Enter a specific command into an administrative command prompt, then go to Device Manager, and under the Power Management tab, remove their ability to wake the computer up |
| How to disable the "Reboot" task? | Go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Task Scheduler > Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > UpdateOrchestrator, then alter the permissions for the task so that Windows cannot molest it |
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What You'll Learn
Windows 10 PCs will not update when in sleep mode
To prevent your Windows 10 PC from updating while in sleep mode, you can disable the "wake timers" feature. Here's how:
- Go to the Control Panel and select "Power Options".
- Click on "Change advanced power settings".
- Expand the "Sleep" setting by clicking on the "+" sign next to it.
- Expand the "Allow Wake Timers" setting by clicking on the "+" sign next to it.
- On a desktop, you will see a single setting, either "Enable" or "Important Wake Timers Only". Select this setting and choose "Disable" from the drop-down menu.
- On a laptop, you will see two settings: "On Battery" and "Plugged In". Select "Disable" for both settings.
Disabling the "wake timers" feature will prevent your Windows 10 PC from waking up to install updates while in sleep mode. It's important to note that this may also prevent other important tasks from waking up your PC, such as drive scans or antivirus sweeps.
Another way to prevent your Windows 10 PC from updating while in sleep mode is to hibernate your computer instead of putting it to sleep. Hibernate is a deeper version of sleep mode that saves the current system state to the local hard drive or SSD, not the memory. This way, your PC will not be able to wake up to install updates until it is turned on again.
Additionally, you can try using a shutdown blocker or manually checking for updates before putting your PC into sleep mode to prevent it from waking up to install updates.
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Users can schedule 'active hours' to prevent inconvenient Windows 10 updates
Windows 10 updates are designed to keep your PC safe and secure by applying updates automatically. However, users can schedule active hours to prevent inconvenient restarts during updates. Active hours refer to the period of time when you expect your device to be in use.
There are two ways to set active hours in Windows 10. The first method involves allowing the system to configure active hours automatically based on your activities. To enable this, go to Settings, click on Update & Security, then Windows Update, and finally, click on the Change active hours option. Turn on the "Automatically adjust active hours for this device based on activity" toggle switch. Once you complete these steps, Windows 10 will analyze your device usage and adjust the active hours accordingly. This means that as your screen time schedule changes, the active hours will also adjust.
The second method involves manually setting a specific time range for your active hours. To do this, go to Settings, then Update & Security, followed by Windows Update, and select Change active hours. Next to your current active hours, select Change, and then select the start and end times for your desired active hours before saving.
In addition to scheduling active hours, you can also disable wake timers to prevent your PC from waking up to install updates. Wake timers are like an "alarm clock" for your PC within Windows 10. To disable these, go to Control Panel > Power Options, and select "Change Advanced Power Settings." Click on the "+" sign next to "Sleep" and then "Allow Wake Timers" to expand these settings. On a desktop, you will see a setting that says "Enable" or "Important Wake Timers Only" by default. Click on this setting and select "Disable" in the drop-down menu. On a laptop, you will see "On Battery" and "Plugged In" settings, and you should select "Disable" for both.
By scheduling active hours and disabling wake timers, you can prevent inconvenient Windows 10 updates and ensure your PC remains asleep when you don't want it to install updates.
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How to disable wake timers on Windows 10
Windows 10 provides the means to stop automatic updates while the computer is asleep, although it is not immediately obvious how to do so. To disable wake timers on Windows 10, follow the steps below:
Step 1:
Open the Start menu, then search for and select "Control Panel".
Step 2:
In the Control Panel, select "Power Options".
Step 3:
Click on the ""+" next to "Sleep" in the list to expand this setting. Then, click the ""+" next to "Allow Wake Timers" and expand this setting.
Step 4:
If you are using a desktop, you will see a single setting that may say "Enable" or "Important Wake Timers Only" by default. Click on this setting and select "Disable" in the drop-down menu.
Step 5:
If you are using a laptop, you should see two specific settings: "On Battery" and "Plugged In". Select "Disable" for both settings.
Additional Tips:
- You can also determine which tasks wake your PC using the PowerShell, Event Viewer, and Task Scheduler.
- If your device is connected to a local network via an Ethernet cable, you can send communications that will wake your PC when received. To prevent this, you can disable the ability for these devices to wake your computer up under the Power Management tab in the Device Manager.
- Windows runs an Automatic Maintenance set of tasks once per day, which includes software updates and security scans. You can change the time this runs or prevent it from waking the computer by unchecking the "Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer" option.
- You can also disable the "Reboot" task in the Task Scheduler, as this task will wake your computer to install updates regardless of whether updates are available.
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How to disable the 'Reboot' task on Windows 10
Windows 10 will update your PC when it is in sleep mode. This is because the PC is in a low-power mode, and the current system state is saved. However, you can disable the 'Reboot' task in Windows 10 to prevent automatic restarts after updates.
First, go to the Control Panel and open Administrative Tools, then the Task Scheduler. From there, open the Task Scheduler Library, then Microsoft, then Windows, and finally UpdateOrchestrator. Here, you will see the Reboot task. Right-click on this task and select "Disable". You can also change the permissions to "Read & Execute".
To ensure that Windows 10 does not re-enable the Reboot task, you can rename the Reboot file. To do this, use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command. Type the following path and click OK: %windir%\System32\Tasks\Microsoft\Windows\UpdateOrchestrator. Select the Reboot file without an extension, right-click it, and select Rename. Rename the file to Reboot.old. Right-click inside the folder, select New, and create a new Folder. You can also try renaming the file to Reboot.bak.
If you want to revert the changes, go back to the UpdateOrchestrator folder, delete the Reboot folder, and rename the Reboot.old file back to Reboot. Then, follow the Task Scheduler steps again, but on Step 3, select Enable.
Disabling the Reboot task means that new updates won't apply, and future updates won't install until you manually reboot your computer.
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How to stop a Windows 10 PC from waking up without user intervention
Windows 10 will update automatically to keep your PC safe and secure. Typically, users schedule "active hours" so that Windows 10 does not install updates at inconvenient times. When your Windows 10 PC goes into sleep mode, it saves the current system state and stores that information into memory. The PC then goes into low-power mode, shutting down everything except for the RAM sticks.
There are a few ways to stop your Windows 10 PC from waking up without user intervention:
- Use Windows Update's built-in tools to schedule updates and reboots. Set your Active Hours and defer updates until you have time to install them.
- Disable the 'Reboot' task and re-configure the security permissions.
- Disable the 'Wake timers' settings.
- If your device is attached to a local network by a wired Ethernet cable, enter the following command into an administrative command prompt: "Control Panel -> Device Manager -> Power Management -> uncheck "Allow this device to wake up the computer".
- Open an Administrative PowerShell command prompt and place this command in the window: "Start, type 'Powershell', Ctrl+Shift+Enter". Go through all the tasks it lists and remove their permission to wake your computer.
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Frequently asked questions
Technically, no. When your Windows 10 PC goes into sleep mode, it saves the current system state and stores that information into memory. However, this depends on your PC's active power profile and wake timers.
Wake timers are your PC's "alarm clock" within Windows 10 that pulls it out of sleep.
Go to the Control Panel → Power Options. From here, pick whatever power profile is first on the list and disable 'Wake timers'. Work through all profiles.
You can disable wake timers altogether so that nothing wakes your PC—not even drive scans or antivirus sweeps.
Hibernation is a deeper version of sleep mode that saves the current system state to the local hard drive or SSD, not the memory. The only difference between this mode and fully shutting down your PC is that apps, programs, and files remain open after waking from hibernation.
