Windows 11 Won’t Sleep? Check for App and Driver Requests

Windows 11 can stay awake after its idle sleep timer should have put it to sleep. Before disabling a driver or closing random background tasks, check active power requests with powercfg /requests. Microsoft documents this read-only command as a way to list application and driver requests that can prevent Windows from automatically turning off the display or entering low-power sleep. Run it while the problem is happening: it shows current requests, not a history of earlier idle periods. Microsoft’s Powercfg reference explains the command.

First identify which problem you have:

• The screen never turns off. Check the screen timeout and look for a DISPLAY request.
• The screen turns off, but the PC stays awake. Check the sleep timeout and look for a SYSTEM request.
• The PC enters sleep, then wakes. That is a different problem. A request that blocks automatic sleep is not the same as a device or timer waking a sleeping PC.

Windows tracks display and system idle timers separately. An application can ask Windows to keep the display on or keep the system awake while it does something that needs it. A request is a useful lead, not automatic proof that an app or driver is malfunctioning. Microsoft’s System Sleep Criteria describes the separate timers and application requests.

Run powercfg /requests while the problem is happening

1. Note whether the PC is plugged in or running on battery, and whether the display stayed on. Windows can use different idle timeout values for each power state.
2. Open Command Prompt or Windows Terminal and run:

powercfg /requests

1. Look for a non-empty DISPLAY or SYSTEM section that matches the symptom. Record the exact owner name shown beside it. It may identify a process, service or driver. The label describes a request Windows has received; it is not an error code.
2. If the output is empty, run the command again while the issue is visible. A request can disappear when an app finishes its task, so a later snapshot may miss it.

Keep the output private if it includes account names or local file paths. If you need to send it to a PC maker or IT team, remove personal details first.

If the output names an app or driver

If the request belongs to a presentation or media app, it may be expected while that activity is in progress. Microsoft specifically documents presentations and multimedia as cases where an app may request that the display stay on. Let that activity finish, or use the app’s own controls to pause or close it normally. Then run powercfg /requests again and repeat the same idle test without changing the timeout or power state.

If the request disappears and the PC now sleeps as expected, that app or driver was likely involved. The command does not prove that it was the only cause. If the request remains after you close the app, save your work, update the app and check its support instructions. For an unfamiliar service or driver, keep the exact name and ask the PC maker or your organisation’s IT team before disabling anything.

Do not begin with powercfg /requestsoverride. Microsoft documents it as a way to set an override for a particular process, service or driver. An override changes how Windows honours that request; using one without understanding why the request exists can let the PC sleep while an active task still expects it to stay awake.

If there is no matching request

Check the configured display and sleep timeouts separately. A screen going dark only shows that the display timeout took effect; the system sleep timer is a different setting. Check the value for the state you are testing, plugged in or on battery, and make sure the sleep timeout is not set to Never.

If Windows says a sleep state is unavailable, run powercfg /a. It reports which sleep states are available on the PC and attempts to explain why other states are unavailable. This is useful when a sleep option is missing; it does not identify an app that is keeping the PC awake.

If the PC goes to sleep and then wakes by itself, use a wake-source check instead. Our guide to tracing what woke a Windows 11 PC covers powercfg /lastwake, active wake timers and devices allowed to wake the computer. If you deliberately enabled PowerToys Awake, see how its timed keep-awake interval works .

The useful result is a repeatable one: the same timeout, the same power state, and a request that appears or clears when the identified task changes. That is a better basis for a targeted fix than disabling unrelated services or drivers.

Sources

• Powercfg command-line options — Microsoft Learn — documents /requests, /requestsoverride and /a.
• System Sleep Criteria — Microsoft Learn, July 2025 source version — explains display and system idle timers and application requests.