How to Change Screen Timeout to Turn Off Display After in Windows 11

This tutorial shows you how to set how long your computer waits before turning off the display when you’re not using it in Windows 11.

You can choose a screen timeout for how long your PC stays inactive before your display automatically turns off.

Why does this matter?

Turning off your display when you’re not using it saves power and helps your battery last longer.

What happens when you do this?

The fastest way to change screen timeout in Windows 11 is through the Settings app: press Win+I, click System, select Power & battery, click Screen and sleep, then use the dropdown menu to select Never or your preferred timeout duration in minutes or hours.

By default, Windows 11 turns off your screen after 5 minutes on battery power and 15 minutes when plugged in.

Starting with Windows 11 build 29550.1000 (Canary), changes you make to power settings (like display, sleep, and hibernate timeouts) from Settings now apply to all power plans. This means your choices stay the way you want them.

Reference:

Power settings in Windows 11 – Microsoft Support

You can use screen and sleep settings to save energy and make your battery last longer.

If your device has a presence sensor, you can turn on or off Automatically turn off my screen when I leave and turn on or off Automatically wake up my device when I approach. The location of presence detection settings varies depending on your device brand and model.

Option One

The fastest way to change screen timeout in Windows 11 is through Settings. Here’s how:

1. Press Win+I to open Settings.
2. Click System on the left side.
3. Click Power & battery on the right side (depending on whether your PC has a battery).
4. Click Screen and sleep on the right side.
5. Select Never or choose how many minutes or hours you want for screen timeout. Use the drop-down menus for “On battery power, turn off my screen after” and/or “When plugged in, turn off my screen after.”
6. Close Settings.

Change Screen Timeout in Settings

Option Two  Open Power & battery settings

You can also change screen timeout using Control Panel. This method gives you access to your power plan settings.

1. Open Control Panel in icons view.
2. Click the Power Options icon.
3. Click Choose when to turn off the display on the left side.
4. Select Never or choose how many minutes or hours you want for screen timeout. Use the drop-down menus for “On battery” and/or “Plugged in.”
5. Click Save changes.
6. Close Control Panel.

Change Screen Timeout in Power Plan Settings

Option Three

For more detailed control, you can use Advanced Power Plan Settings.

1. Open Control Panel in icons view.
2. Click the Power Options icon.
3. Click Change plan settings for your active power plan (for example: “Ultimate Performance”).
4. Click Change advanced power settings.
5. Scroll down and expand Display and Turn off display after.
6. Select Never or choose how many minutes or hours you want for screen timeout. Use the drop-down menus for “On battery” and/or “Plugged in.”
7. Click OK.
8. Close Control Panel.

Change Screen Timeout in Advanced Power Plan Settings

Option Four

⚠️ Admin privileges required

If you prefer typing commands, you can use Windows Terminal to change your screen timeout.

1. Open Windows Terminal and select Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell.
2. Type one of the commands below and press Enter.

For battery power:

powercfg -change -monitor-timeout-dc <minutes>

OR

powercfg /SETDCVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT 7516b95f-f776-4464-8c53-06167f40cc99 3c0bc021-c8a8-4e07-a973-6b14cbcb2b7e <seconds>

For plugged in:

powercfg -change -monitor-timeout-ac <minutes>

OR

powercfg /SETACVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT 7516b95f-f776-4464-8c53-06167f40cc99 3c0bc021-c8a8-4e07-a973-6b14cbcb2b7e <seconds>

Important:

• Replace <minutes> with how many minutes you want before the display turns off.
• Replace <seconds> with how many seconds you want before the display turns off.
• Using 0 (zero) minutes or seconds works the same as choosing “Never.”

3. Close Windows Terminal.

Summary

You now know how to change your screen timeout in Windows 11. You have four different ways to do it:

• Option One: Use the Settings app for a quick and easy change.
• Option Two: Use Power Options in Control Panel to adjust when your display turns off.
• Option Three: Use Advanced Power Plan Settings for more detailed control.
• Option Four: Use command-line tools if you prefer typing commands (requires admin privileges).

Choose the option that works best for you. All of these methods will help you save power and extend your battery life.