When you open Windows 10’s power menu, you usually see the Shut Down, Restart, and Sleep options. However, if you’ve recently done an upgrade or set up a new PC, you may notice that the Sleep option is missing from the Power menu.
For most laptop users, a missing sleep option is highly annoying, as it means they can’t put their laptop to sleep and save battery. Luckily, you can restore the sleep option in Windows 10 with a few tweaks.
Why is the Sleep option missing from the Power Menu in Windows 10 or 11?
Usually, the Sleep option disappears from the Power menu after upgrading or installing a Windows feature update. However, if the problem persists after a clean install, it could be a driver issue. Whatever the cause, we’ll look at some quick and uncomplicated fixes to fix this problem.
1. Enable the Sleep option via Control Panel
On some PCs, Windows 10 may have disabled the Sleep option by default depending on driver availability or system configuration. The first thing you should do to fix missing sleep options is check your power options configuration in Control Panel.
If you can’t find the Sleep option under Power Options in Control Panel, you’ll need to enable it with one of the other methods listed. If the Sleep option is grayed out, you may need to update your display driver.
2. Restore power options to defaults in Command Prompt
Windows 10 allows you to customize power plans to meet your needs. However, power options can be corrupted due to an incorrectly configured power scheme. You can restore the default power plans using a command through the Command Prompt.
3. Enable Sleep Mode via Local Group Policy Editor
Group Policy allows you to configure your computer and user settings for the local computer using the Group Policy Editor. For example, you can edit the Show sleep on power options menu policy in the editor to enable sleep mode on your system.
Group Policy Editor is only available on Windows 10 Pro and above. If you are not using the Pro version, follow our guide to enable Group Policy Editor on Windows 10 Home. Once you have enabled Group Policy Editor, you are ready to go.
That should restore the Sleep option in the Power menu in Windows 10. If you don’t see the changes right away, restart your computer and check again.
If that doesn’t work, try changing the Sleep Settings policy in the Group Policy Editor. To do this, open Group Policy Editor and navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Power Management > Sleep Settings.
In the right pane, right-click Allow standby states (S1-S3) when sleeping (plug-ins) and choose Edit. Set it to Enabled/Not Configured and click Save Changes.
Open the power menu again and see if your sleep button is back.
4. Run Power Troubleshooter
Windows 10 has built-in troubleshooters that can help you find and fix problems with system-related hardware and settings. The Power Troubleshooter is one such tool and can help you fix problems with your computer’s power settings. Here’s how to use it.
You can also run the Power Troubleshooter from the Run dialog box. To do this, press Windows key + R, type msdt.exe /id PowerDiagnostic and press Enter. Then, in the Power Troubleshooter window that appears, click Next to run it.
5. How to Enable the Grayed Out Sleep Option in Control Panel
Sometimes you can physically see the Sleep option on Your Computer, but you can’t actually click on it because it’s grayed out. Luckily, if this happens to you, there’s an easy way to fix it.
If you’ve just bought a Windows 10 laptop with the Sleep option enabled, the system may be using older drivers than those installed on the production line. Thus, the best thing you can do after setting up your new PC is to install all pending drivers and Windows updates.
To do so, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and check for available Windows Updates.
If you have a discrete graphics unit, you can install the latest display drivers manually from the laptop/GPU vendors’ website, Windows Device Manager, or use proprietary tools such as GeForce Experience or AMD Radeon software.
We have a detailed guide on how to update graphics drivers in Windows 10 that you can follow for more details.
6. Enable InstantGo on Compatible Systems Using Registry Editor
Some laptop manufacturers equip their laptops with the InstantGo feature to optimize power usage on Windows computers. This is a hardware feature separate from the regular standby (S3) sleep option available on most computers.