On Windows 11, if your computer keeps waking up automatically in the middle of the night, it could be a device or scheduled task that has the power management settings to run even though the device is sleeping or hibernating.

The operating system has multiple power states, including sleep, hibernation, and hybrid, when you use any of these features, even though the computer is not running, the system is still able to wake up automatically to run scheduled tasks. Also, peripherals like network cards, mice, keyboards, and others can turn on the power automatically.

If you have a computer that keeps waking up randomly, Windows 11 includes the tools to discover the reason for the problem and disable the wake timers.

In this guide, you will learn the steps to prevent Windows 11 from waking up automatically.

  • Check what wakes PC up on Windows 11
  • Disable wake timers on Windows 11

Check what wakes PC up on Windows 11

To determine if a device or scheduled task is waking up the computer, use these steps:

  • Open Start on Windows 11.
  • Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
  • Type the following command to check devices allowed to wake up the computer and press Enter:
  • powercfg /devicequery wake_armed
  • Type the following command to determine the device waking up Windows 11 and press Enter:
  • powercfg /lastwake
  • Type the following command to find out the tasks waking up Windows 11 and press Enter:
  • powercfg /waketimers
  • Confirm whether a device and task are waking up the computer.

Once you complete the steps, the commands will let you know the devices and services waking up the computer at night or when you are not using it.

Open Start on Windows 11.

Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

Type the following command to check devices allowed to wake up the computer and press Enter:

powercfg /devicequery wake_armed

Type the following command to determine the device waking up Windows 11 and press Enter:

powercfg /lastwake

Type the following command to find out the tasks waking up Windows 11 and press Enter:

powercfg /waketimers

Confirm whether a device and task are waking up the computer.

Disable wake timers on Windows 11

On Windows 11, you can disable the device or task waking up the device individually, or you can disable all of the wake timers.

Stop device from waking up computer

If you figured out a device (network card, keyboard, mouse, etc.) is waking up the computer every night, you can disable the feature on Device Manager.

To prevent the device from waking up the computer on Windows 11, use these steps:

  • Open Start.
  • Search for Device Manager and click the top result to open the app.
  • Expand the branch with the device you want to configure.
  • Right-click the device and select the Properties option.
  • Click the Power Management tab.
  • Clear the Allow this device to wake the computer option.
  • Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, the device will no longer wake the computer in the middle of the night or any other time. You may need to repeat the steps for any other device causing problems.

Open Start.

Search for Device Manager and click the top result to open the app.

Expand the branch with the device you want to configure.

Right-click the device and select the Properties option.

Click the Power Management tab.

Clear the Allow this device to wake the computer option.

Stop tasks from waking up computer

If the problem is a scheduled task, modify or disable the task to prevent the computer from waking up on Windows 11.

To stop a scheduled task from waking up the computer, use these steps:

  • Open Start.
  • Search for Task Scheduler and click the top result to open the app.
  • Navigate to the task causing the random wake up.
  • Quick tip: The path of the task can be found in the output of the powercfg /waketimers command that you run earlier.
  • Right-click the task and select the Properties option.
  • Click the Conditions tab.
  • Clear the Weak the computer to run this task option.
  • Quick tip: If you want the task to run at a different time, modify the schedule from the “Triggers” tab.
  • Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, the task will no longer try to wake up Windows 11.

Search for Task Scheduler and click the top result to open the app.

Navigate to the task causing the random wake up.

Right-click the task and select the Properties option.

Click the Conditions tab.

Clear the Weak the computer to run this task option.

Click the OK button.

Disable system scheduled task

If you don’t have enough permissions to modify the scheduled task, you can use the Microsoft PsExec tool to disable the task using Command Prompt.

  • Open Sysinternals website.
  • Click the Download PsTools link and download the file on your device.
  • Open the zip folder with File Explorer.
  • Select the PsExec.exe file.
  • Click the Copy option from the command bar.
  • Click on This PC from the left pane.
  • Open the root of the “C” (Local Disk) drive.
  • Click the Paste option from the command bar.
  • Open Start.
  • Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
  • Type the following command to navigate to the root of the drive and press Enter:
  • cd
  • Type the following command to start the tool and press Enter:
  • psexec.exe /s cmd.exe
  • Type the following command to disable the task waking up Windows 11 and press Enter:
  • schtasks /change /tn “PATH\TO\TASK” /disable
  • In the command, change PATH\TO\TASK with the path for the scheduled task.
  • This example disables the task that starts the Windows Update services to perform scheduled operations:
  • schtasks /change /tn “Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\Scheduled Start” /disable

Once you complete the steps, Windows 11 should no longer wake up your computer. You may need to repeat the steps for any other device causing problems.

Open Sysinternals website.

Click the Download PsTools link and download the file on your device.

Open the zip folder with File Explorer.

Select the PsExec.exe file.

Click the Copy option from the command bar.

Click on This PC from the left pane.

Open the root of the “C” (Local Disk) drive.

Click the Paste option from the command bar.

Type the following command to navigate to the root of the drive and press Enter:

cd

Type the following command to start the tool and press Enter:

psexec.exe /s cmd.exe

Type the following command to disable the task waking up Windows 11 and press Enter:

schtasks /change /tn “PATH\TO\TASK” /disable

In the command, change PATH\TO\TASK with the path for the scheduled task.  

This example disables the task that starts the Windows Update services to perform scheduled operations:

schtasks /change /tn “Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\Scheduled Start” /disable

Stop automatic maintenance from waking up computer

On Windows 11, the automatic maintenance feature can wake up your computer automatically. If this is the case, you can disable the feature to prevent random wake-ups in the middle of the night.

To prevent automatic maintenance from waking up the device running Windows 11, use these steps:

  • Open Control Panel.
  • Click on System and Security.
  • Click on Security and Maintenance.
  • Expand the Maintenance section.
  • Under the “Automatic Maintenance” section, click the Change maintenance settings option.
  • Clear the “Allow scheduled maintenance to wake my computer at the scheduled time” option.
  • (Optional) Change the maintenance schedule time as needed.
  • Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, the laptop or desktop computer will no longer wake up to perform automatic maintenance on Windows 11.

Open Control Panel.

Click on System and Security.

Click on Security and Maintenance.

Expand the Maintenance section.

Under the “Automatic Maintenance” section, click the Change maintenance settings option.

Clear the “Allow scheduled maintenance to wake my computer at the scheduled time” option.

(Optional) Change the maintenance schedule time as needed.

Disable all wake timers on Windows 11

If you want to stop all scheduled tasks and devices from waking up the computer, you can disable all wake timers globally on Windows 11.

To disable wake timers on Windows 11, use these steps:

  • Open Control Panel.
  • Click on System and Security.
  • Click on Power Options.
  • Click the Change plan settings option for the current power plan option.
  • Click the Change advanced power settings option.
  • Expand the Sleep branch.
  • Expand the Allow wake timers branch.
  • In the “Setting” field, select the Disable option.
  • Click the Apply button.
  • Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, the device nor the scheduled task will be able to run while the computer is asleep or hibernating.

Click on Power Options.

Click the Change plan settings option for the current power plan option.

Click the Change advanced power settings option.

Expand the Sleep branch.

Expand the Allow wake timers branch.

In the “Setting” field, select the Disable option.

Click the Apply button.