Fix
Lock screen versus display sleep
Your screen going dark and your computer locking are two separate settings. Display sleep turns the screen off after a timeout; the sign-in lock asks for your password when you come back. A screen saver, Dynamic lock or a work policy can lock you out as well. A wake lock stops display sleep only, so to stop the lock, check each setting in turn and find the one doing it.
On this page
Check each Windows 11 setting in 5 steps
0 of 5 doneThese paths are for Windows 11. On older Windows 11 builds the timeouts section is called Screen and sleep.
If the setting is greyed out
If choices are greyed out and Settings notes that your organisation manages them, IT has set them. One common source is the “Interactive logon: Machine inactivity limit” policy, which can lock the screen while the pill says “Screen awake”. Ask IT. Managed machines get their own page: keeping a work laptop display awake.
What looks like “the screen locked”
| What you see | The setting behind it | Does a wake lock change it? |
|---|---|---|
| Screen dark; a key brings it back with no password | Display timeout | Yes, while its tab is visible |
| Screen dark; you must sign in to get back | Display timeout, then the sign-in rule | It stops the dark screen; the sign-in rule stays as set |
| A pattern or picture, then a sign-in | Screen saver with a password on resume | Not reliably; change the screen saver |
| Locked soon after you walk away with your phone | Dynamic lock (Windows) | No |
| Locked after a fixed time on a work PC | An inactivity policy from IT | No |
| PC asleep or in standby | Sleep or Modern Standby | It prevents idle sleep while the tab is visible; not after the lid closes |
A screen that goes dark after only a minute has its own guide: Windows 11 screen turns off after 1 minute.
Mac: where each setting lives
On macOS Ventura and later, almost everything is in System Settings > Lock Screen:
- Turn display off on battery when inactive and Turn display off on power adapter when inactive set the display timeout.
- Start Screen Saver when inactive sets the screen saver.
- Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off sets the sign-in rule. “Immediately” means any dark screen is a locked screen.
A work Mac can have these set by a profile, in which case they are greyed out. To confirm the display request, run pmset -g assertions in Terminal: the output should include a PreventUserIdleDisplaySleep line from the browser. Browser steps are on the Mac device page and the Windows 11 device page.
Modern Standby: the part a wake lock can’t touch
Many recent Windows laptops use Modern Standby (S0 low-power idle) in place of classic sleep. When the screen goes off, firmware and drivers run the PC in a low-power state, more like a phone.
A wake lock keeps the display on, so the PC does not enter standby while the tab is visible. Once the screen is off or the lid is closed, drivers and firmware decide what happens.
To see whether your PC uses it, run powercfg /a in an administrator terminal. “Standby (S0 Low Power Idle)” in the list means Modern Standby.
Or skip the settings: open AwakeTab
The 30-minute timer keeps the display on while its tab is visible, with no admin rights needed. It leaves every lock rule in place; if your employer sets one, follow it.
Questions
Can I stop Windows 11 asking for my password without admin rights?
If the choice under Accounts > Sign-in options is not greyed out, you can change it yourself. If it is greyed out, your organisation sets it and only IT can change it. Keeping the display on from a tab needs no admin rights.
My PC locked even though the screen never went dark. What did that?
Something other than display sleep: usually Dynamic lock (your paired phone left with you), a work inactivity policy, or a screen saver that asks for a password.
Does Modern Standby drain my battery with the lid closed?
It can, and the cause is usually a driver or an app waking the PC. Run powercfg /sleepstudy in an administrator terminal: the report shows each standby session and what used power during it. A wake lock plays no part once the lid is shut.
Is the Mac's password delay the same as its display timeout?
No. The timeout decides when the screen turns off; the password delay decides how long after that you can wake the Mac without typing your password. Each can be set without the other.