How to Change the Windows 11 Lock Screen Timeout
Below are three ways to do this, but we recommend this first method for most people since it’s the easiest.
Use Settings to Edit Power Settings
The power options in Settings is one way to adjust how long Windows 11 stays awake.
Use Control Panel to Edit Plan Settings
You can customize your power plan in Control Panel to choose when to turn off the display.
Use the Powercfg Command
Another way to keep the screen active, or to change the monitor timeout so it turns off faster is through a specific command at the command line. This is easy to do even if you’ve never executed a command before.
The Differences Between Screen Timeout and Sleep
At a glance, a computer that’s asleep might look the same as one that’s awake but with the display turned off. In reality, these are two different things. Edit 60 to whatever you want the time to be, in seconds: A similar command is used for when the computer is on battery power: This means the duration your computer waits before turning off the display can be different from the duration that passes before it puts the computer to sleep. See our How to Change Windows Sleep Settings guide to edit how long Windows 11 should wait before going to sleep. A PC in sleep mode is just in a low-power state, so while some things are shut down to save power, the computer isn’t fully off (all your open programs and files remain open). When the display is off, the computer itself isn’t affected at all; it’s just the monitor that goes black, which can be done to avoid wasting energy or to just prevent unnecessary light in the room.
