Set monitor option for when to turn off display

Phillip Richcreek 1,035 Reputation points
2026-09-13T23:04:06.08+00:00

The monitor used to turn off after 15 minutes or so. Now it never turns off. How can I reset that?

Thanks for your help.

NOTE User "Ivan" had responded to my previous question of this. Something I did wrong caused his answer and my responses to get jumbled. I couldn't figure out how to fix that, except to start over.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Display and graphics
Answer accepted by question author
ApexNáV 275 Reputation points
2026-09-14T04:57:20.3133333+00:00

You can change it from settings:

  1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
  2. Select System → Power & battery.
  3. Expand Screen, sleep, & hibernate timeouts.
  4. Set “Turn my screen off after” to 15 minutes.
  5. On a laptop, set both On battery power and When plugged in.
  6. Make sure it is not set to Never.
  7. These settings control the display timeout separately from the computer’s sleep timeout.

If issue remains, Check the monitor’s own menu for settings such as Auto Power Off, Deep Sleep, or Eco Mode. Also close applications that may prevent idle detection, such as media players, presentation software, or remote-access utilities.

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Answer accepted by question author
Thomas4-N 21,845 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-09-17T07:50:34.7966667+00:00

Hello Phillip Richcreek,

Were you able to try Ivan’s suggestion by changing the timeout from 5 minutes to 4 minutes, saving the change, and then leaving the computer completely untouched? Did the monitor turn off after four minutes?

The Save changes button may simply be greyed out because 5 minutes is already the saved value, so Windows has not detected a new change.

If the monitor still stays on after Ivan’s test, please open Terminal as administrator, run the following command, and share the complete result:

powercfg /requests

This should help identify whether an application or driver is actively preventing Windows from turning off the display.

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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-13T23:04:18.8366667+00:00

    In Windows 11, first check the normal screen timeout setting:

    1. Select Start > Settings > System > Power & battery > Screen, sleep, & hibernate timeouts.
    2. Set Turn my screen off after to the time wanted for:
      • When plugged in
      • On battery

    If the display still never turns off, the lock-screen timeout may be involved. Windows uses a separate timeout when the PC is locked, and by default that can behave differently from the normal display timeout.

    To set the timeout from an elevated Command Prompt:

    1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
    2. Run these commands, replacing <time in seconds> with the value wanted:
    powercfg.exe /setacvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_VIDEO VIDEOIDLE <time in seconds>
powercfg.exe /setacvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_VIDEO VIDEOCONLOCK <time in seconds>
powercfg.exe /setactive SCHEME_CURRENT
    • VIDEOIDLE controls the timeout while the PC is unlocked.
    • VIDEOCONLOCK controls the timeout while the PC is at the lock screen.
    • For battery power, use /setdcvalueindex instead of /setacvalueindex.

    In Windows 10 and Windows 11, the Console Lock Display Off Timeout option can also be exposed in power plan settings by running this in an elevated Command Prompt:

    powercfg.exe -attributes SUB_VIDEO 8EC4B3A5-6868-48c2-BE75-4F3044BE88A7 -ATTRIB_HIDE

    That makes the lock-screen display timeout setting available under Change Plan Settings.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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