Top Solutions to Fix Windows Waking From Sleep Randomly

Does your Windows computer wake up randomly from sleep? You’re not alone—this is a common issue faced by many Windows users. For example, I recently dealt with it after reinstalling Windows 11 on my laptop. This can happen because one or more of your hardware devices are waking your computer from sleep. For example, it might be the WiFi activity, built-in wake timers, peripheral devices such as mouse, keyboard, or other connected hardware devices.

Whatever the reason, if your Windows computer is waking from sleep randomly, I will show you how to check what’s waking your PC and make changes to power options and other hardware device settings to fix the problem.

So, without further ado, let me show you the steps to stop Windows from waking up from sleep automatically.

Why Does Windows Wake From Sleep Automatically?

Two of the most common reasons why your computer wakes from sleep are wake timers and hardware device settings.

Wake Timers: This built-in feature allows Windows and installed programs to wake the system from sleep to perform specific tasks. For example, it might wake the computer to install updates, run scheduled tasks, or reboot the system.

Hardware Device Settings: Connected hardware devices, such as the mouse, keyboard, Bluetooth, or WiFi, can also wake your system from sleep. Fortunately, you can disable this behavior by modifying the settings for each device in the Device Manager.

Before You Begin

• You need administrator rights to fix sleep mode issues in Windows.
• The below steps are tested to work on Windows 11 and Windows 10.

How to Check What’s Waking Windows From Sleep

On Windows, you have two methods to check what’s waking your computer from sleep. You can either use the Event Viewer or Command Prompt. I’ve already written a detailed guide on how to do it. Just follow the link and perform the steps to check which devices are waking your computer from sleep.

Steps to Fix Windows Waking Up from Sleep Automatically

1. Disable Wake Timers

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Search and open “Control Panel“.
3. Select “Large Icons” from the “View by” dropdown.
4. Select the “Power Options” setting.
5. Click the “Change plan settings” link next to the active plan.
6. Click the “Change advanced power settings” link.
7. Expand the “Sleep” option.
8. Expand the “Allow wake timers” option.
9. Select “Disabled” from the dropdown menu.
10. Click the “OK” button.
11. Close the control panel.
12. Restart the system

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, open the Control Panel. To do that, press the “Windows” button on the taskbar, type “Control Panel” and click “Open”.

Next, select “Large Icons” from the “View by” dropdown menu in the top right corner of the Control Panel window. Click the “Power Options” setting.

Here, click the “Change plan settings” link next to the active power plan. The above power plan will appear in bold characters.

Click the “Change advanced power settings” link.

Now, expand the “Sleep” > “Allow wake timers” option. Next, select “Disabled” from the dropdown menu. Click the “OK” button to save the change.

Finally, restart the system to apply the changes. From now on, your computer will not wake from sleep randomly. If it is still happening, follow the second method.

2. Change Device Hardware Device Settings

The hardware devices connected to your computer, such as the keyboard, mouse, WiFi, and other USB devices, can wake your PC from sleep. To stop this, you need to modify the power management settings in the Device Manager for each device. Here’s how to do it.

1. Right-click on the Windows button on the taskbar.
2. Select the “Device Manager” option.
3. Expand the first category under your computer name.
4. Right-click on the device entry and select “Properties“.
5. Go to the “Power Management” tab.
6. Uncheck the “Allow this device to wake the computer” checkbox.
7. Click the “OK” button to save the change.
8. Do this for all the hardware devices connected to your system.
9. Close the Device Manager window.
10. Restart your computer.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, open the Device Manager by right-clicking the “Windows key” on the Taskbar and selecting the “Device Manager” option.

In the Device Manager, expand the first category, right-click on the hardware device entry, and select the “Properties” option.

Go to the “Power Management” tab in the “Properties” window. Next, uncheck the “Allow this device to wake the computer” checkbox. Click the “OK” button to save the change.

Do this for all the hardware devices such as the keyboard, mouse, WiFi, sound card, etc.

Note: If there is no “Power Management” tab or the “Allow this device to wake the computer” checkbox is greyed out, ignore the hardware device and proceed to the next one.

Finally, close the Device Manager window and reboot your system.

Wrapping Up — Stopping Windows From Waking Randomly

The two methods I’ve shown should resolve the issue of your computer waking from sleep automatically for most users. However, if your system continues to wake at random times even after applying these fixes, the cause might be a third-party application or a BIOS/UEFI setting, such as “Wake-on-LAN.” In such cases, you’ll need to identify the application and adjust its settings or uninstall it. Additionally, consider disabling the “Wake-on-LAN” feature in BIOS/UEFI.

If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to help.