On Windows 10, the default power settings are set to turn off the display automatically after several minutes of inactivity to minimize the power usage. Although it’s a useful feature, especially to laptops and tablets running on battery, it’s not a feature for everyone, since many users prefer to have the screen active all the time.
If you want to keep your screen from turning off, you can set the power options to “never” to prevent the display timing out using the Settings app, Control Panel, and Command Prompt.
In this guide, you’ll learn the easiest ways to prevent the computer screen from turning off on Windows 10.
- Set screen to never turn off using Settings
- Set screen to never turn off using Control Panel
- Set screen to never turn off using Command Prompt
Set screen to never turn off using Settings
To prevent the screen from turning off automatically, use these steps:
- Open Settings on Windows 10.
- Click on System.
- Click on Power & Sleep.
- Under the “Power & sleep” section, use the “On battery, turn off after” drop-down menu and select the Never option. (Option available on laptops only.)
- Keep screen from turning off
- Use the “When plugged in, turn off after” drop-down menu and select the Never option.
Once you complete the steps, the screen will no longer turn off automatically after some time of inactivity.
Open Settings on Windows 10.
Click on System.
Click on Power & Sleep.
Under the “Power & sleep” section, use the “On battery, turn off after” drop-down menu and select the Never option. (Option available on laptops only.)
Keep screen from turning off
Use the “When plugged in, turn off after” drop-down menu and select the Never option.
If you’re using a laptop, you may also want to set the Sleep settings to “Never,” since using the default configuration will turn off the display when the device enters into the sleep power mode.
Set screen to never turn off using Control Panel
To keep the display from turning off with Control Panel, use these steps:
- Open Control Panel.
- Click on Hardware and Sound.
- Click on Power Options.
- Click the Choose when to turn off the display option from the left navigation pane.
- Choose when to turn off display option
- Use the “Turn off the display” drop-down menu and select the Never option for the “On Battery” and “Plugged in” settings. (The “On Battery” option is only available on laptops.)
- Screen timeout options in Control Panel
- Click the Save changes button.
After you complete the steps, Windows 10 will never turn off the display again automatically to save power.
Open Control Panel.
Click on Hardware and Sound.
Click on Power Options.
Click the Choose when to turn off the display option from the left navigation pane.
Choose when to turn off display option
Use the “Turn off the display” drop-down menu and select the Never option for the “On Battery” and “Plugged in” settings. (The “On Battery” option is only available on laptops.)
Screen timeout options in Control Panel
Click the Save changes button.
Set screen to never turn off using Command Prompt
To set the screen timeout to never with a command, use these steps:
- Open Start.
- Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
- Type the following command to set timeout setting to never and press Enter:
- powercfg -change -monitor-timeout-ac 0
- Command Prompt powercfg never turn off screen
- (Optional) Type the following command to set screen timeout settings to never when running in battery and press Enter:
- powercfg -change -monitor-timeout-dc 0
Once you complete the steps, the display timeout setting will be set to never turn off, even when you’re not actively using the device.
Open Start.
Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to set timeout setting to never and press Enter:
powercfg -change -monitor-timeout-ac 0
Command Prompt powercfg never turn off screen
(Optional) Type the following command to set screen timeout settings to never when running in battery and press Enter:
powercfg -change -monitor-timeout-dc 0
The above commands run in Command Prompt as well as in PowerShell.
If you’re changing the screen timeout setting on a laptop, keep in mind that leaving the display all the time, even when you’re not actively using the device, it’ll drain the battery a lot faster.
