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Guide · 5-minute read

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.

Sources checked Saturday, 26 September 20265 min readBy Soubhik Biswas
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Check each Windows 11 setting in 5 steps

These paths are for Windows 11. On older Windows 11 builds the timeouts section is called Screen and sleep.

0 of 5 done

  1. Step 1 · Check the display timeout

    Next upSettings › System › Power & battery

    Open the timeouts section. This decides when the screen goes dark, and it is the one a wake lock holds.

  2. Step 2 · Check when Windows asks you to sign in

    Settings › Accounts › Sign-in options

    Find "If you've been away, when should Windows require you to sign in again?" This decides whether a dark screen comes back locked.

  3. Step 3 · Check Dynamic lock

    Settings › Accounts › Sign-in options

    On the same page. It locks the PC when a phone paired over Bluetooth goes out of range, whatever the screen is doing.

  4. Step 4 · Check the screen saver

    Settings › Personalization › Lock screen › Screen saver

    Untick "On resume, display logon screen", or set the screen saver to (None).

  5. Step 5 · Confirm the display request

    Terminal (Admin) › powercfg /requests

    While the AwakeTab tab is visible, Chrome or Edge appears in the DISPLAY section. If it is there and the PC still locks, a sign-in rule or policy is doing it.

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 seeThe setting behind itDoes a wake lock change it?
Screen dark; a key brings it back with no passwordDisplay timeoutYes, while its tab is visible
Screen dark; you must sign in to get backDisplay timeout, then the sign-in ruleIt stops the dark screen; the sign-in rule stays as set
A pattern or picture, then a sign-inScreen saver with a password on resumeNot reliably; change the screen saver
Locked soon after you walk away with your phoneDynamic lock (Windows)No
Locked after a fixed time on a work PCAn inactivity policy from ITNo
PC asleep or in standbySleep or Modern StandbyIt 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:

  1. Turn display off on battery when inactive and Turn display off on power adapter when inactive set the display timeout.
  2. Start Screen Saver when inactive sets the screen saver.
  3. 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.

Try it hereOr skip the settings: open AwakeTabThe 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. Ends at … if you start now.Start a 30-minute session

Questions

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.

Soubhik Biswas · Builds AwakeTab. Sources checked Saturday, 26 September 2026. About AwakeTab