Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Windows 10  

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    Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Windows 10

    Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Windows 10

    How to Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Windows 10
    Published by Category: Performance & Maintenance
    08 Apr 2018
    Designer Media Ltd

    How to Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Windows 10


    The System unattended sleep timeout power setting is the idle timeout before the system returns to a low power sleep state after waking unattended.

    Adjusting the system unattended sleep timeout period can be handy if you had created a task in Task Scheduler to wake up the PC to run something. You could set this timeout to be long enough for the task to have time to finish running before Windows goes back to sleep automatically.

    This tutorial will show you how to change the system unattended sleep timeout for how many minutes you want before automatically going back to sleep or hibernation in Windows 10.

    If the PC wakes up from sleep or hibernate mode and is used by you (no longer idle) during this system unattended sleep timeout period, then Windows will no longer automatically go back to sleep after this timeout period. Instead it will use the time period you set in your Power Plan Settings for Sleep or Hibernation.


     CONTENTS:

    • Option One: To Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Advanced Power Plan Settings
    • Option Two: To Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Command Prompt





    OPTION ONE

    To Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Advanced Power Plan Settings



    The System unattended sleep timeout setting is not shown in Power Options by default.

    If you haven't already, an administrator will need to first add "System unattended sleep timeout" to Power Options to be able to do this option.

    1. Open the advanced power settings for your current chosen power plan.

    2. Expand open the Sleep setting, set the System unattended sleep timeout settings to how many minutes you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

    The default time is 2 Minutes.

    3. When finished, you can close Power Options if you like.

    Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Windows 10-system_unattended_sleep_timeout.png






    OPTION TWO

    To Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Command Prompt


    1. Open a command prompt.

    2. Enter the command(s) below you want to use into the command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshots below)

    (On battery)
    powercfg /SETDCVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT 238C9FA8-0AAD-41ED-83F4-97BE242C8F20 7bc4a2f9-d8fc-4469-b07b-33eb785aaca0 <seconds>

    AND/OR

    (Plugged in)
    powercfg /SETACVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT 238C9FA8-0AAD-41ED-83F4-97BE242C8F20 7bc4a2f9-d8fc-4469-b07b-33eb785aaca0 <seconds>

    Substitute <seconds> in the commands above with how many seconds you want for the time.

    The amount of seconds you enter will show rounded up or down to the nearest minute in Power Options.

    The default time is 120 seconds (2 minutes).

    3. When finished, you can close the command prompt if you like.

    Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Windows 10-system_unattended_sleep_timeout_command-1.png
    Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Windows 10-system_unattended_sleep_timeout_command-2.png


    That's it,
    Shawn






  1. Posts : 2
    Windows 10
       #1

    Good evening.
    New here, and not quick at understanding computer things. I have been given a friend's problem laptop.
    One problem is that it INSISTS on going to sleep after almost exactly two minutes if no activity is detected. I have tried some of the things mentioned on this and other forums, with no success, so will appreciate any ideas. Scans in progress do carry on but I don't know for how long, and it's a pain to be logging in afresh every two minutes, or sit here clicking the mouse every 1m59s! There's another problem (battery not detected) which I want to tackle afterwards; Windows says 100% charged, but no battery detected at the bottom power icon! Laptop only operates on mains. I've added that screenshot too, just in case anyone has come across that.


    I have attached images of settings following my "tweaking" which the laptop totally ignores.

    Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Windows 10-p1190270w800.jpg

    Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Windows 10-p1190271w800.jpg

    Change System Unattended Sleep Timeout in Windows 10-p1190269w800.jpg
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 68,668
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #2

    Hello Roger, and welcome to Ten Forums.

    Do you think it could possibly just be the display being turned off after 2 minutes instead of the PC going to sleep?

    Change Turn off Display after Time in Windows 10
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 2
    Windows 10
       #3

    Brink said:
    Hello Roger, and welcome to Ten Forums.

    Do you think it could possibly just be the display being turned off after 2 minutes instead of the PC going to sleep?

    Change Turn off Display after Time in Windows 10
    Ah! I wonder! She'll bring the laptop back over the weekend, so I'll look into that possibility, and let you know. Many thanks, Brink.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 68,668
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #4

    You're most welcome. Hopefully that's the culprit.
      My Computers


  5. apb
    Posts : 94
    win 7 64bit
       #5

    Thanks. But... What does setting unattended sleep timeout to zero mean? Does that mean Never, as I see claimed elsewhere?

    - - - Updated - - -

    Also, if zero means never, will the system then sleep/hibernate after the time period set in [sleep|hibernate] after? Thanks.
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 68,668
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #6

    apb said:
    Thanks. But... What does setting unattended sleep timeout to zero mean? Does that mean Never, as I see claimed elsewhere?

    - - - Updated - - -

    Also, if zero means never, will the system then sleep/hibernate after the time period set in [sleep|hibernate] after? Thanks.
    Hello,

    Correct. A value of "0" would be for never idle to sleep.

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/win...d-idle-timeout

    This wouldn't affect the sleep/hibernate idle timeout value when the computer is running. The System unattended sleep timeout power setting is the idle timeout before the system returns to a low power sleep state after waking unattended instead. For example, if the system wakes from sleep because of a timed event or a wake on LAN (WoL) event, the sleep unattended idle timeout value will be used instead of the sleep idle timeout value.
      My Computers


  7. apb
    Posts : 94
    win 7 64bit
       #7

    Thanks.

    I'm still a little confused. Say I set System unattended sleep timeout to zero, and hibernate after is set say to 30 minutes.
    Now I hibernate the machine, some time later the wake timer causes machine to exit hibernation and start running some program. I do not touch the machine (no kbd or mouse). Will the machine hibernate after 30 minutes? (Or, if the program had put in some power requests, 30 minutes after the program closes and those requests time out?)
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 68,668
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #8

    apb said:
    Thanks.

    I'm still a little confused. Say I set System unattended sleep timeout to zero, and hibernate after is set say to 30 minutes.
    Now I hibernate the machine, some time later the wake timer causes machine to exit hibernation and start running some program. I do not touch the machine (no kbd or mouse). Will the machine hibernate after 30 minutes? (Or, if the program had put in some power requests, 30 minutes after the program closes and those requests time out?)
    In that situation, when the computer wakes up from a wake event, it will not go back to hibernate if left idle with System unattended sleep timeout set to zero. It will only go back to hibernate if you become active on the computer so it's no longer unattended, and then leave the computer idle for what you set for the hibernate after time (ex: 30 minutes).
      My Computers


  9. apb
    Posts : 94
    win 7 64bit
       #9

    Thanks. That's what I was afraid of. I guess the only way to do what I want is to create a task scheduler item that's triggered by return from hibernation.

    The problem I am trying to solve is in this other thread: System hibernates despite "hibernate after" set to "never"

    Maybe you have some thoughts on that problem that you could add to that thread?

    -peter

    - - - Updated - - -

    Oh, yet another question about this.

    Suppose I do this:

    1. System unattended sleep timeout is at 2 minutes.
    2. I set System unattended sleep timeout to zero (i.e. never) manually.
    3. I hibernate the machine manually.
    4. machine wakes from a wake timer to run a prog
    5. prog runs and sets System unattended sleep timeout back to 2 (minutes) just before it exits.


    Will the system hibernate after 2 more minutes, zero more minutes, or never?

    Thanks.

    --peter
      My Computers


 

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