How to Fix a Computer Screen That Keeps Turning Off 

Quick Tips

• A computer screen that keeps turning off is usually due to power or battery settings or the monitor itself.
• Check your monitor’s power and video cables for faults and check its power settings.
• In Windows, check your machine’s power plan and disable any screen-off timers.

If you’re stuck with a PC or laptop screen that refuses to stay on, even when you tell it to, this article is for you. It might be battery-saving settings, power profiles, a faulty cable, or something to do with your monitor, but we’ll show you how to fix a computer screen that keeps turning off.

How to Fix a Computer Screen That Keeps Turning Off – Our Fixes

As mentioned above, a screen that turns off is either a power-saving-related issue or a problem with the monitor. Our fixes will address both scenarios:

Check Your Monitor Cable

Let’s start with the obvious. If your PC monitor is flickering in addition to turning off, the issue may be due to its power supply or cable. Ensure the cable is properly plugged in on both sides and not damaged. If possible, try swapping the cable out with a spare to double-check.

Confirm Your Monitor Settings

Every monitor comes with different settings, and some have settings that turn the display off to conserve power. Check your own monitor settings or consult its manual to see if this applies to yours.

Check Your Windows Settings

Windows will also switch off your monitor to save power by default. If you have a laptop, these times will vary between plugged in and on battery. Here’s how to stop screen from turning off by checking your screen sleep settings and adjusting them:

Step 1. Open Settings (Win + I) and click “System” in the sidebar.

Step 2. Scroll down to “Power & battery” and click it.

Step 3. Under “Screen, sleep & hibernate timeouts,” adjust the relevant screen-off settings.

Step 4. Increase the “On battery power” and “When plugged in” screen-off times, or set them to “Never” if you don’t want Windows to turn off the screen automatically.

Turn Off Presence Sensing

Some laptops come complete with a presence sensor that detects when you’ve left your machine and switches off the screen. You can disable this through the presence-sensing settings in Windows 11, although the exact option depends on your PC’s hardware and Windows version. If you don’t see it, your laptop doesn’t have it.

Change Power Plan Settings

If you have a laptop, you can also change your power plan via the Control Panel:

Step 1. Open “Control Panel” via Windows Search.

Step 2. Click “Power Options.”

Step 3. Next to your active power plan, click “Change plan settings.”

Step 4. In the next window, increase the “Turn off the display” timers or set them to “Never” if you don’t want the display to turn off automatically.

Disable Lock Screen Power Off

A PC on the lock screen will turn off after 60 seconds. If this is what you want to change, stay in Control Panel and Power Options:

Step 1. In your Power Plan, click “Change advanced power settings.”

Step 2. In the new window, expand the “Display” option and adjust the relevant display timeout setting.

Step 3. Click “Apply” and “OK” to finalize.

Change Settings via Command Prompt

If you still aren’t having luck, you can change the display timers via Command Prompt. Here’s how:

Step 1. Open the Run Dialog (Win + R) and type “cmd,” then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to run Command Prompt as an administrator.

Step 2. In Command Prompt, type “powercfg /change monitor-timeout-ac 0” and press “Enter.” This sets the plugged-in (AC) timer to 0, i.e., never.

Step 3. Enter “powercfg /change monitor-timeout-dc 0” and press “Enter.” This does the same for battery, only necessary if you have a laptop.

If you also want to disable automatic sleep when plugged in, enter “powercfg /change standby-timeout-ac 0” and press “Enter.”