How to Enable or Disable Modern Standby in Windows 11

What is Modern Standby?

Modern Standby is a Windows power state that keeps your computer connected to the internet and ready to wake up instantly, much like a smartphone. While this mode lets your PC resume work in a split second, it drains more battery and can cause the system to run warm while closed.

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?

Disabling Modern Standby might be necessary if your PC or device experiences issues with it. Some older programs or hardware rely on the S3 sleep mode to function correctly. This change can also help resolve crashes or other power-related problems.

Important Notes Before You Start

Administrative privileges are required to change power states. Sign in with an administrator account before you start.

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 windows using Command Prompt, you need to run an administrator window and enter a specific registry command. This method updates the PlatformAoAcOverride key in the system registry to force your computer back into the older S3 sleep mode.

Option 2Use Registry Files

Using Registry Editor to disable modern standby involves manually adding or deleting the PlatformAoAcOverride key in the Windows registry. Because making mistakes in the registry can cause system issues, you must follow these steps carefully to switch your PC back to standard S3 sleep.

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

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