If you use the sleep mode frequently, you may need a way to put your computer into this mode as fast as possible.
You can simply click the Start button and access the shutdown menu.
It’s not always that convenient.
Sometimes, you may not have a mouse, and the only way to put the PC in sleep mode is through the keyboard.
Can you enable the sleep mode using the keyboard?
How To Put Computer To Sleep With Keyboard (Windows, Mac)
Windows computers don’t have a fixed and default shortcut to put the device in sleep mode unless the keyboard has a dedicated sleep button.
If you have a laptop, closing the lid will put it into sleep mode if you’ve enabled it before.
You can also adjust settings by pressing the power button and putting the computer into sleep mode instead of powering it off.
You can create shortcuts and define combination keys for sleep mode.
On the other hand, Mac devices have several key combinations for sleep mode.
1. Use The Computer’s Sleep Button
Some computers have a dedicated sleep button on the top row.
It has a Zz or crescent moon label, so you can simply press it to put your computer in sleep mode.
Depending on your PC brand, you may need to use combination sequences, like pressing the Alt, Fn, or Windows keys.
That said, you should make sure that the Sleep key is assigned the correct action.
To do so, right-click the Start button and select Power Options.
Under Related settings on the right, select Additional power settings.
On the left panel, click on the Choose what the power buttons do link.
Expand the menu in front of When I press the sleep button and select Sleep.
Click Save changes at the bottom of the page and exit.
However, not every computer has this dedicated key.
So, if your computer doesn’t have one, you should use other methods.
2. The Power User Menu
Right-clicking the Start button opens the Power User Menu, which gives you a wide range of essential options for different system settings.
You can use the keyboard to access this menu if you don’t have a mouse.
However, it’s not a true shortcut to putting your computer into sleep mode.
Rather, you can use different key combinations to access the Sleep option in the Shutdown menu.
Here’s how to do it:
Press the Windows key + X to open the Power User Menu.
Expand the Shutdown menu by pressing U.
Press the S key to put the computer to sleep.
You can select the other options in the Shut Down menu:
H: Hibernate
R: Restart
U: Shut down
I: Sign out
You can also use other keys to select the options on the Power User Menu.
For example, pressing V will open the Event Viewer, while the Command Prompt will open by pressing C.
However, note that these shortcuts aren’t available in all Windows versions.
But the shortcut keys for the sleep mode are available for Windows 10 and 11.
3. Alt + F4
This combination shortcut may not give you the fast result that you want.
When you want to put your computer to sleep, you look for a quick way like closing the laptop lid or pressing a single key like the dedicated Sleep key.
In addition, the good thing about sleep mode is that you don’t need to close your applications.
Users put their computers into Sleep mode to resume their work immediately after waking up the system.
The main disadvantage of the Alt + F4 shortcut is that you must close all the windows.
If you have a window open on your desktop, pressing Alt + F4 will close it.
After closing all the windows, you can press the Alt + F4 keys to open the Shut Down menu.
Then, select Sleep from the options and press Ok.
4. Use The Power Button
The main function of the Power button is to shut off your computer, be it a PC or a laptop.
However, you can adjust your device settings to make it do another thing, like putting the computer into sleep mode.
To reassign the button, right-click the start menu and select Settings > System > Power Options.
Select Additional power settings on the right panel to open a new window.
On the left side of the new window, select Choose what the power buttons do.
In front of When I press the power button, expand the dropdown menu and select Sleep.
If you have a laptop, you have two options, On battery and Plugged in.
Select Sleep for both of them.
Don’t worry about not being able to shut down your computer using the Power key.
Press the Power key and hold it for a few seconds to power off your device.
5. Assign New Shortcut Keys
If you’re not happy with the above options, you can create your own shortcut keys to your preferred ones.
Although it involves different steps, this process is pretty straightforward.
Right-click a blank space on your desktop and select New > shortcut.
Under Type the location of the item, copy and paste the following command:
rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0
Click Next to continue.
Select a name for the shortcut and hit Finish.
You’re halfway there and can put your computer to sleep by clicking this shortcut folder on your desktop.
Now, you can assign combination keys to this shortcut.
Right-click the shortcut and select Properties > Shortcut.
In the box next to the Shortcut key, you can define your preferred combination.
It should be a combination that other programs don’t use, so the system will suggest a good one.
Click Ok, and you’re done!
Note. If hibernation is activated on your PC, the above command will put your device into hibernation instead of sleep.
Therefore, you should deactivate hibernation.
Right-click the Start button and go to Command Prompt.
Copy and paste the following command in the window:
powercfg -h off
Close the window, and hibernation will be turned off.
6. Sleep Shortcuts On Mac
On a Mac device, you have different options to put your computer to sleep.
You can also press combination keys to open a dialog box and select your power option, including restart, sleep, and shutdown.
Press Control and the Power button or Control and Media Eject to open this dialog box.
Here’s how you can do it:
Press the Power button and hold for 1.5 seconds.
If you hold it longer, your Mac will shut off.
Option > Command > Media Eject.
Option > Command > Power button.
Control > Shift > Media Eject.
Control > Shift > Power Button.
7. Additional Sleep Settings
The Sleep mode is a great power-saving option that reduces your battery usage without turning off the computer.
In addition to the keyboard, you can use other ways to put your computer to sleep.
If you have a laptop, you can put it to sleep simply by closing the lid.
You can adjust the settings through the Start button > Power Options > Additional power settings > Choose what closing the lid does.
Select Sleep in the dropdown menu for both On battery and Plugged in.
Another setting that you can adjust is the time when your computer automatically goes to sleep after being inactive for a certain time.
You can find this setting in the Power Options window.
It has two power-saving options: turning off the screen and going to sleep after being inactive.
Adjust the time based on your normal activities and determine when the screen turns off and goes to sleep after being inactive.
Sleep Vs. Hibernate
Sleep and Hibernate are options that allow you to save power without turning off your computer.
You can use both options to resume your work quickly without relaunching your applications.
While these two may be used interchangeably, they have subtle differences.
Sleep mode stores all your current work on RAM to reduce your power consumption.
On the other hand, hibernation will store the computer’s current state on the hard drive, allowing for a deeper sleep mode and much lower power consumption.
It can take longer to wake up, so it’s better when you don’t plan to use your computer for longer periods.
How To Wake Up The Computer
After the computer goes to sleep, you can wake it in different ways.
You can press the power button to go into the sign-in screen.
After entering your password (if you’ve set it before), your computer will launch.
However, you can use other peripherals, like the mouse and keyboard, to wake your computer.
To do so, right-click the Start button and go to Device Manager.
Click Keyboards and expand it.
Right-click the device and go to Properties.
Click Power Management and select Allow the device to wake the computer.
If you have several entries under Keyboards, enable this option for all of them.
Do the same for the mouse if you want to wake your computer with it.
If you can’t find the Power Management tab for these devices, you should update the keyboard and mouse drivers.
However, updating the drivers may not solve the issue if your mouse and keyboard don’t support this feature.
Why Doesn’t The PC Go To Sleep Mode?
If your computer doesn’t go to sleep mode automatically or when you press the shortcut key, you can try the following methods to solve the issue.
1. Disable The Hybrid Mode
Hybrid mode is one of the main causes that prevent the computer from going into sleep mode.
It combines sleep and hibernation, making your computer go into hibernation but waking it up with the sleep mode’s speed.
To deactivate it, go to Additional power settings and click Change plan settings under your current power plan.
Click Change advanced power settings and expand the menu under Hybrid Sleep.
Turn it off for both on battery and plugged in states.
Click Apply to save changes and hit Ok.
2. Enable Sleep Mode
If you want the computer to go into sleep mode automatically, you should enable it in the Power Options menu.
Click Additional power settings > Change plan settings > change advanced power settings > Multimedia settings > When sharing media > Allow the computer to sleep.
Click Ok to save changes.
3. Disable Your Mouse
Using your mouse to wake your computer from sleep is a great and convenient feature, but it can have opposite effects.
If your mouse is too sensitive, any small movement can prevent the computer from going into sleep mode and wake it.
Try disabling the mouse as a waking device and see if it helps.
Go to Device manager > Mice and other pointing devices > Properties > Power Management.
Disable Allow this device to wake the computer and hit Ok.
The Computer Doesn’t Wake From Sleep
When the computer doesn’t wake from sleep, you have to long-press the power button to start Windows normally.
However, you won’t lose your work and can resume it after the computer boots up.
It’s annoying, though, and you should be able to wake your computer instantly.
You could disconnect the mouse from the USB port and reconnect it.
If it doesn’t work, here’s what to do:
A. Disable Power-Saving Controllers
If your computer doesn’t wake with the keyboard or mouse after sleep, your Universal Serial Bus controllers may be at fault.
These controllers turn off the USB ports when the computer goes into sleep mode to save more power.
As a result, the mouse and keyboard can’t wake the computer because they’re disconnected in a sense.
To solve the issue, go to Device Manager and expand the menu under Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
Right-click each entry and go to the Power Management tab.
Uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
Another setting that turns off the USB ports when the computer goes into sleep mode is in the Additional power settings window.
Click Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings > USB settings > USB selective suspend setting.
Disable this option and then click Ok.
B. Turn Off Fast Startup
Fast startup is a useful feature that allows your computer to boot up fast by entering it into a deep hibernate mode when you shut it down.
However, it can cause different issues, especially while booting up.
Disabling the Fast startup feature can help it wake up after sleep.
To do so, go to Power Options and click Choose what the power buttons do > Change settings that are currently unavailable.
Now, go to the bottom of the window and disable Turn on fast startup (recommended).
Save changes and close the window.
C. Change Power Settings
Some other power settings prevent the computer from waking.
Try tweaking these settings and see if it helps.
Go to Power Options > Additional power settings > Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings.
Click on the + icon next to Sleep, turn off Allow hybrid sleep, and enable Allow wake timers.
D. Disable Hibernation
Although hibernation is a great power-saving feature, it can mess with the correct operation of the sleep mode.
In some devices, the system will hibernate after being in sleep mode after a certain time.
As a result, the computer may have difficulty waking from sleep.
You can disable hibernation through the steps described before and see if it helps.
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