How to Enable or Disable Modern Standby in Windows 11

What is Modern Standby?

Modern Standby is a power-saving feature in Windows that keeps your PC connected to the internet and ready to wake up quickly, much like your smartphone does.

There are two main power modes in Windows:

• S3 (Old Sleep Mode): Your PC goes into a deeper sleep and uses less power. But it takes longer to wake up.
• Modern Standby (New Sleep Mode): Your PC stays in a light sleep and uses a bit more power. But it wakes up instantly and stays connected to the internet.

Modern Standby can work in three ways:

• Connected – stays connected to the internet during sleep (uses more battery)
• Disconnected – sleeps without internet connection (saves battery)
• Managed by Windows – Windows decides when to connect or disconnect

Why Turn Off Modern Standby?

You might want to disable it if your PC or device doesn’t work well with Modern Standby. Some older programs or hardware need the S3 sleep mode to work properly. Turning it off can also help fix crashes or other power-related issues.

Important Notes Before You Start

Before you try to disable Modern Standby, make sure you’re signed in as an administrator, as this is required to make the changes.

How to Check if Modern Standby is Enabled

1. Open Command Prompt.
2. Type this command and press Enter:
   
   powercfg /a
3. Look for “Standby (S0 Low Power Idle)” in the results. If you see this, Modern Standby is enabled.

How to Turn Off or Turn On Modern Standby

Option 1Use Command Prompt or Windows Terminal (Admin)

1. ⚙️ Admin Required: Right-click the ⊞ Start button and choose Windows Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin).
2. To turn ON Modern Standby (default), copy and paste this command and press Enter:
   
   reg delete "HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power" /v PlatformAoAcOverride /f
3. To turn OFF Modern Standby and enable S3 sleep, copy and paste this command and press Enter:
   
   reg add HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power /v PlatformAoAcOverride /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
4. 🔄 Restart your computer to apply the changes.

To disable Modern Standby using the command line, first open Windows Terminal or Command Prompt as an administrator by right-clicking the ⊞ Start button.

Option 2Use Registry Files

You can disable Modern Standby by editing the Windows Registry, but be very careful as mistakes can cause problems.

reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power" /v PlatformAoAcOverride /f

To Disable Modern Standby:

reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power" /v PlatformAoAcOverride /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Note: Editing the registry can be risky. Always back up your registry before making changes.

Summary

• Modern Standby lets your PC wake up fast and stay connected but uses more power.
• S3 Sleep uses less power but takes longer to wake up.
• Turning off Modern Standby can give you more control over power settings but might cause slower wake-up times.
• You need administrator rights to change these settings.
• If your PC doesn’t support S3 in its hardware (BIOS/UEFI), turning off Modern Standby might cause problems.

Learn More

Microsoft: What is Modern Standby?

Modern Standby vs S3 Sleep

Modern Standby FAQs