Miya Pearson
It can be frustrating when your Windows PC wakes up from sleep mode, especially when you have no idea what's causing it. There are several reasons this might be happening, such as scheduled backups, Windows Updates, or even your mouse or keyboard. To find out what's waking up your computer, you can use tools like Command Prompt or Windows Event Viewer to get more information. Once you know the culprit, you can take steps to prevent it from happening again.
Characteristics and Values
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Windows OS | Windows 7, Windows 10, Windows 11 |
| Cause | USB device, Ethernet controller, Windows Update, Scheduled backups, Power settings, Mouse or keyboard |
| Solution | Run Command Prompt as Administrator, Change power settings, Disable wake timers, Uncheck "Allow schedule maintenance to wake up my computer", Use Windows Update's built-in tools, Allow keyboard and mouse to wake up computer |
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What You'll Learn
Check if a USB device is waking your computer
If your Windows computer wakes up from sleep, it could be due to a USB device. Windows may tell you a USB device is waking your computer, but you’ll have to find the offending device. To do this, remove all your USB devices the next time you put your computer to sleep, and see if it wakes up on its own. If it doesn’t, leave one device plugged in the next time you put it to sleep. Connect a second device the next night. Keep doing this until you find the offending device.
Once you find the problematic hardware, open the Start menu and search for "Device Manager". You can also try entering the BIOS and disabling USB waking from there, if you see an option for it. (Enter the BIOS setup by pressing a key when your computer first boots, usually something like Delete or F2—the boot screen will tell you.)
In the Device Manager, you can also go to the Power Management tab and uncheck the "Allow this device to wake the computer" option. You may also find network wakeup options in the BIOS, as described above. Alternatively, you can keep that box checked, and select "Only allow a magic packet to wake the computer". A magic packet is useful if you use Wake-On-LAN to access sleeping computers remotely. It’ll ensure that Wake-On-LAN still works, without allowing just any network traffic to rouse your computer from its slumber.
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Disable wake timers
If your Windows computer keeps waking up from sleep mode, you may need to disable the wake timers. Here's a comprehensive guide to help you do that:
First, open the Start menu by clicking the Windows icon in the bottom-left corner of your screen. Then, search for "Edit Power Plan" in the search bar. This will open the Edit Plan Settings window.
Next, click on "Change Advanced Settings". This will open a new window with various power settings. Navigate to the "Sleep" section and look for "Allow Wake Timers". Change the settings for both Battery and Plugged In to Disabled.
It's important to repeat this process for all the power plans in the drop-down menu, not just the one you're currently using. This step ensures that the change applies to all possible scenarios. However, keep in mind that this setting is broad and may affect all wake timers, including those you want to keep enabled. Unfortunately, this setting is also known to be inconsistently effective, and your computer may still wake up from sleep despite these changes.
To further ensure that wake timers are disabled, you can open PowerShell by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting "Windows PowerShell" (for Windows 10) or "Windows Terminal" (for Windows 11). Then, run the following command:
Get-CimInstance -Class PowerPlan | Select-Object ElementName, Settings
This command will display the current power plan settings, including the wake timer settings. You can then identify and modify any remaining wake timers that could be causing your computer to wake up.
Additionally, you can disable specific hardware devices from waking up your computer. Open the Start menu and search for "Device Manager". Locate the device in the list, right-click on it, and select "Properties". Then, go to the "Power Management" tab and uncheck the "Allow this device to wake the computer" option. Click "OK" to save the changes.
If your computer continues to wake up unexpectedly, you may need to adjust your update and maintenance settings. Open the Start menu and search for "Automatic Maintenance". Change the time this runs or uncheck the "Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer" option. Similarly, you can disable Windows Update Power Management through the Local Group Policy Editor or the Control Panel, preventing updates from waking your computer.
By following these steps, you should be able to effectively disable wake timers and prevent your Windows computer from randomly waking up from sleep mode.
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Check power saving modes
If your Windows PC wakes up from sleep mode unexpectedly, you can try checking the power saving modes. Here's a detailed guide on how to do this:
First, open the Start menu by clicking the Windows icon. Then, in the search field, type "Power Options" and select it from the results. This will open the power settings for your device.
Next, click on the current power plan by selecting "Change power saving options". This will allow you to adjust the settings for your chosen power plan. In the new window, click on "Change advanced power settings". This will give you access to more specific power settings.
Now, look for the "Sleep" or "Sleep Mode" settings. Under these settings, you should see an option called "Allow Wake Timers" or "Allow timer for activation". Expand this setting if it has additional options.
For "Allow Wake Timers", change the settings for both "Battery" and "Plugged In" to "Disabled". This will prevent wake timers from activating your PC. If you are using a mobile PC, you may need to enable wake timers for "On Battery" and "Network Operation".
Additionally, you can try setting your wake timers to Important Wake Timers Only. This will ensure that your computer only wakes up for major Windows events. If your computer continues to wake up more often than you'd like, you can set the wake timers to "Disabled".
By following these steps, you can adjust the power saving modes and prevent your Windows PC from unexpectedly waking up from sleep mode.
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Check Windows Update settings
Windows Update can automatically wake your PC from sleep mode to install updates and hotfixes. This can be prevented by disabling the Windows Update Power Management setting. To do this, open the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) and navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Updates. Double-click on "Enabling Windows Update Power Management to automatically wake up the system to install scheduled updates" and set the setting to "Disabled".
Another way to prevent Windows Update from waking your PC is to disable wake timers. This will prevent anything from waking your device, including Windows Update. To do this, open the Start menu, search for "Edit Power Plan", and click on "Change Advanced Settings". Head to "Sleep" > "Allow Wake Timers" and change "Battery" and "Plugged In" to "Disabled". Repeat this process for all power plans in the drop-down menu.
Additionally, you can try using Windows Update's built-in tools to schedule updates and reboots more meticulously. Set your Active Hours and defer updates until you have time to install them. In Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update to pause updates or change active hours. Windows 11 users can open Settings > Windows Update to pause updates and click on Advanced options > Active hours to change active hours.
If you are using Windows Media Center (WMC), a scheduled task called mcupdate_scheduled may be waking your computer. To prevent this, open the Task Scheduler and navigate to Microsoft > Windows > Media Center. Right-click on the mcupdate_scheduled task, choose Properties, and on the Conditions tab, uncheck the "Wake the computer to run this task" option.
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Check the Ethernet controller
If your Windows PC is randomly waking up from sleep mode, it could be due to your Ethernet controller or connection. To check this, open the Start menu and search for "Device Manager". In the resulting list, find your Ethernet or Wi-Fi adapter under "Network Adapters". Right-click on it and select "Properties".
Now, open the "Power Management" tab and check if the "Allow this device to wake the computer" option is enabled. If it is, you can disable it by unchecking the box. This will prevent the Ethernet device from waking up your computer.
Alternatively, you can keep the box checked and select "Only Allow a Magic Packet to Wake the Computer". A magic packet can be useful if you use Wake-On-LAN to access your sleeping computer remotely. This will ensure that only a magic packet can wake your computer, rather than any network traffic.
If you are still facing issues, you can try disabling Wake-On-LAN altogether. To do this, go to your power settings and advanced plan settings for your current power plan. Here, you should find options related to sleep. Expand this section and disable Wake-On-LAN or any other wake timers that may be enabled.
Additionally, you can try unplugging your Ethernet cable to see if your computer stays asleep. If it does, then you know that the issue is related to your Ethernet connection. You can also try disabling "Wake from Sleep" for your network device in the Device Manager.
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Frequently asked questions
Search for "cmd" using Windows Search, then select "Run as administrator" and run Command Prompt as Administrator. Type "powercfg –lastwake" and press Enter. This will show you what woke up your computer last.
Try using Windows Update’s built-in tools to more meticulously schedule updates and reboots. Set your Active Hours and defer updates until you have time to install them.
Open the Start menu and search for "Device Manager". Find the device you want to change and open its Properties window. Click on the Power Management tab and uncheck the "Allow this device to wake the computer" option.
