Stop Your Laptop from Sleeping – Easy Fixes You Need to Try!

Published: 6 Feb 2025

Assume you’re working on an important task and your laptop screen goes black as soon as you start typing. Isn’t this annoying? Many people suffer from this problem, particularly when they don’t change their power settings. While sleep mode saves power, it isn’t always helpful. In this post, we’ll show you how to prevent a laptop from sleeping so you can use it without disturbance.

Table of Content

Why Does Your Laptop Go to Sleep?
How to Stop Laptop from Sleeping on Windows
Extra Tips to Keep Your Laptop Awake
1. Use an External Mouse or Keyboard
2. Use Third-Party Apps
Conclusion

Why Does Your Laptop Go to Sleep?

Laptops automatically go to sleep mode to conserve battery power and prevent overheating. However, this feature might be frustrating at times—for example, when you’re in the middle of a download or reading something and the screen switches off.

There are a few typical reasons why your laptop repeatedly goes to sleep:

Power settings: Default configurations set the laptop to sleep after a few minutes of inactivity.

Cover closing: Closing the laptop lid frequently activates sleep mode.

Low battery: Some laptops go into sleep mode when the battery is very low.

System updates or applications: Windows updates or certain apps have the ability to change your sleep settings.

How to Stop Laptop from Sleeping on Windows

Tired of your laptop going to sleep at the wrong time? You can easily stop this by changing a few settings. Follow these simple steps to keep your laptop awake.

Change Power & Sleep Settings

The simplest method to keep your laptop from sleeping is by changing the power settings:

1. Open the laptop setting or press (Win + I).

2. Find the System option and click on it > Then click on Power & Sleep.

Find System settings in the Windows control panel easily.

3. Under Screen and Sleep, set both choices to Never.

Configure screen and sleep settings in Windows for battery and plugged-in modes.

Change Power Plan Settings

For more control over sleep settings, modify the power plan:

1. Open the Control Panel or press (Win + R) type control, and then press the Enter button.

Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog and access Control Panel.

2. Navigate to Hardware and Sound.

Navigate to Hardware and Sound settings in the Control Panel.

3. Click on Choose a Power Plan.

Access power settings like sleep and battery configurations in Windows Power Options

4. Then find the Change plan setting and click on it.

Access and modify power plan settings through Control Panel in Windows

4. Under Put the computer to sleep, set both On battery and Plugged in to Never, so your laptop stays on all the time.

Edit power plan settings in Windows to prevent the computer from going to sleep

5. Click Save Changes.

Prevent Sleep When Closing the Laptop Lid

By default, closing the lid puts your laptop to sleep. Here’s how to prevent that:

1. Open the Control Panel and then click on Power Options.

2. Click Choose what closing the lid does (from the left panel).

3. Change When I close the lid and select Do Nothing for both On battery and Plugged in.

4. Click Save Changes.


This is important if you plan to use your laptop as an external monitor or keep it operating with the lid closed.

3. Extra Tips to Keep Your Laptop Awake

Want to avoid laptops from sleeping in different situations? Try these easy tricks.

Use an External Mouse or Keyboard

1. Some computers go into sleep mode when no one is using them. If you are using an external monitor, a simple tip is to connect an external mouse or keyboard.

2. Moving the mouse or hitting a key stops the system from going to sleep.

3. You can change the settings in Device Manager to let your keyboard & mouse wake up the laptop.

Use Third-Party Apps

If you don’t want to tweak Windows settings, you can use apps like:

Caffeine – Keeps your laptop awake by simulating a keypress.
NoSleep – Prevents automatic sleep mode.
Mouse Jiggler – Moves the cursor slightly to stop the system from going idle.

These apps are useful if you don’t have admin rights to change settings.

Where do i find the control panel on my laptop?

You can find the Control Panel on your laptop by pressing Win + R, typing control, and hitting Enter. Alternatively, search for “Control Panel” in the Start menu.

4. Conclusion

Stopping your computer from falling asleep is simple provided you understand the proper settings. You may keep your laptop awake for as long as you need by adjusting power parameters, changing lid settings, or using easy third-party solutions.

However, don’t forget to maintain a balance between performance with battery life. If you’re on the go, turning your laptop to sleep when not in use will help extend its battery life. And, if you’re working, downloading files, or displaying anything important, these methods will keep your laptop awake and eliminate unnecessary disruptions.