How to Change the Screen Timeout on Windows 11

10 Min Read
How to Change the Screen Timeout in Windows 11

Screen timeout is a feature that automatically turns off your screen after a certain period of inactivity to save battery life and prevent unwanted power consumption. However, sometimes the default timeout setting may not be suitable for your usage, and you might need to change it.

In this article, we will guide you on how you can change the lock screen timeout and screen saver timeout Settings in different ways in Windows 11. However, if you want to improve the battery life on your Windows 11 laptop, then you can check out our guide on; how to change the power mode on Windows 11.

How to Change the Lock Screen Timeout on Windows 11

Windows 11 offers a range of customization options to make your computing experience more efficient and personalized. One of these options is the ability to change the screen timeout setting, which determines how long your computer will remain idle before the screen turns off.

Changing the screen timeout can be particularly useful for laptops. Here, we have discussed four ways to change it. So, let’s discuss them one by one.

1. Using System Settings

Windows Settings is all in one place to change any options on the Windows operating system. First, let us discuss how we can change the screen timeout using the Windows settings. For that, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Start Menu button in the bottom-left corner of the screen and then click on the Settings icon. Alternatively, you can use Win + I to open the Windows settings.

Accessing Settings from the Start Menu on Windows 11

2. Click on the System tab from the left panel of the Settings window. Then click on the Power & Battery option.

Note

You can always jump directly to the power settings by right-clicking on the Windows icon on the taskbar and then selecting Power Options from the pop-up menu.

Power and Battery Settings on Windows OS

3. The Power & battery setting window will appear, and click on the Screen and Sleep section.

4. Here, you will find the Power Saver Plans, as shown in the attached screenshot.

5. Choose the option according to your convenience and select the drop-down to change the time duration for screen timeout. By default, it is set to Never, but you can change the time between 1 minute to 5 hours.

Options to change the Screen Timeout on Windows 11

2. Using Control Panel

Another method to change the screen timeout is by using the Control Panel. The control Panel in the Windows system is a unit where you have all the settings of the operating system.

To change the screen timeout, you can check the below steps:

1. Open the Start Menu, and in the search bar, search for Control Panel. Click on the icon to open it.

Openning Control Panel from Start Menu

2. Once you are inside the control panel, click on the Hardware and Sound option to get the power options settings.

Hardware and Sound Settings on Control Panel

3. Then locate Power Option and you will find a sub-menu option Edit Power Plan option.

Editing Power Plan

4. In this step, you will see the drop-down menu with the timer options. You can select any one of the time duration as per your convenience and click on the Save Changes button to apply all the changes.

Change the Screen Timeout in Windows 11

3. Using Advanced Power Options

You can also use the Control Panel’s advanced power settings options to configure the lock screen timeout settings. Here’s how you can do it.

1. Open the Control Panel on your system.

2. Navigate to Hardware and Sound, and under Power Options, select the Edit Power Plan option. It will open up the edit plan setting window.

3. Here, click on the Change advanced power settings option.

Avanced power settings

4. Next, you will get the Advanced Settings window. Here, click on the Display option.

5. Then, click on the Turn-off display after setting. Select the On battery option, and then configure the lock screen timeout settings using the arrow buttons. Apply the same settings for the Plugged-in option from there.

6. Then click on the Apply and OK button to save the changes.

Advanced Power Settings to Change the Screen Timeout on Windows

4. Using the Command Prompt

You can also use the Command Prompt or Terminal to edit all kinds of settings in Windows, and it is quite easy if you are aware of the commands used.

Here are the steps, you can follow to change the screen timeout:

1. Search for Command Prompt in the Start menu and run it as administrator.

Run Command Prompt as Admin

2. Once the terminal is open, type in the commands inside the command prompt window as mentioned below one at a time—and press Enter in each case.

powercfg.exe /setacvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_VIDEO VIDEOIDLE 60
powercfg.exe /setacvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_VIDEO VIDEOCONLOCK 60
Terminal Command to Change the Screen Timeout

Note

The command “60” specifies the duration (in seconds) for displaying the lock screen. If you wish to extend the lock screen duration, repeat the previous steps and replace “60” with a value of your preference.

3. When you finish running the above command, type the following command and press Enter:

powercfg.exe /SETACTIVE SCHEME_CURRENT
Saving Screen time settigns

4. After that, restart your PC to save these changes.

That’s it! This is how you can change the screen timeout settings. Alternatively, you can also use PowerShell to accomplish the same.

How to Change the Screen Saver Timeout on Windows 11

Now, let’s explore how to change the screen-saver timeout settings on Windows 11. A screen saver is a program or animation that activates when your system is idle for some time. So, let’s change it.

1. Using System Settings

The Windows system settings are consistently useful in a variety of scenarios. Now, let us explore the process of utilizing these methods to change the screen-saver timeout settings on Windows 11.

1. Press the Win + I to open the system settings.

2. Now, click on Personalization from the left-hand side pane and click on the Lock Screen option.

Look Screen Settings on Windows 11

3. Next, on the Lock screen setting option, look for the Screen Saver option under the Related Settings section and click on it to access the screen saver settings.

Screen Saver Timeout Settings on Windows

4. It will open the screen saver settings window. If you haven’t set a screen saver yet, you cannot change the screen saver timeout. To do that, you need to select a screen saver from the drop-down menu.

Screen Saver Settings

5. Once you select the screen saver, navigate to the Wait option on the Screen Saver Settings window and use the arrow buttons to change the screen saver duration (in minutes).

6. Then click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes.

Chaning Screen Saver Time

2. Using Local Group Policy Editor

The Local Group Policy Editor (LGPE) is a top-notch tool that simplifies the configuration of various system settings. With this tool, we can also configure the screen-saver timeout. Let’s find out how you can do it.

1. Open the Run box by pressing Win + R on your keyboard.

2. Now, type in the command gpedit.msc inside the run box. Then click on OK to open the Local Group Policy Editor Tool interface.

Accessing Local Group Policy Editor

3. Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization. Then double-click on the Screen saver timeout option on the right-hand side.

Local Group Policy Editor

4. Here, you will get a window to change the screen saver timeout. Select the option Enabled and use the arrow keys to adjust the seconds for activating the Screen-saver timeout.

Enabling Screen Saver

5. After adjusting the timing, click on Apply and OK to save the settings, and then close the tool and restart the computer to complete the process.

That’s it! You can use any of the methods to change the screen saver timeout settings on Windows 11 using the system settings and Local Group Policy Editor.

Conclusion

In Windows 11 systems, you can edit screen timeout settings and screen saver timeout by following the steps mentioned above. With these simple adjustments, you can easily change the screen timeout duration, which not only saves battery life but also reduces power consumption.

By setting an appropriate screen timeout duration, you ensure that your display turns off when not in use, effectively conserving power and extending battery life on portable devices. Additionally, you have the option to adjust the display’s refresh rate to further optimize battery usage.

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He is a prominent tech writer with over six years of experience and the founder of TheCoderWord. He delivers high-quality content revolving around troubleshooting and how-to guides for Windows, Linux, macOS, Chrome, and more.
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