Skip to content
AwakeTabOpen timer
Device guide

Keep the screen on in Microsoft Edge

Edge 84 and later keep the screen on from a visible tab, on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. Edge shares Chrome's engine, so the wake lock behaves the same way. Sleeping tabs only put background tabs to sleep, never the AwakeTab tab you can see. To keep the screen on with the tab hidden, the AwakeTab extension also runs in Edge.

Sources checked Saturday, 26 September 20264 min readBy Soubhik Biswas
Open AwakeTab

Set it up in Edge

Two steps start a session. The last two are an optional check and a way to keep the screen on with the tab hidden.

  1. Step 1: Open AwakeTab in Edge and press Start

    Edge › awaketab.com

    Pick a length or an "Until…" time, then press Start. The pill reads "Starting…" while Edge answers, then "Screen awake" once it has agreed.

  2. Step 2: Keep the tab visible

    No minimising while it runs

    The window does not need focus, so a small one on a second monitor works while you type on the first. Minimise it or switch tabs and the pill changes to "Paused — tab hidden".

  3. Step 3: Check it on Windows

    Right-click Start › Terminal (Admin)

    Run powercfg /requests and look for Edge under DISPLAY. On a Mac, run pmset -g assertions in Terminal and look for a display-sleep line that names Edge. Hide the tab, run it again, and the entry is gone.

  4. Step 4: Optional: keep it on with the tab hidden

    awaketab.com/extension › Get it for Edge

    AwakeTab for Chrome also installs in Edge 116 or later. It asks the browser itself to keep the display on, so it carries on with the tab hidden or the window minimised.

Which Edge setups keep the screen on

Sources: browser documentation and Chromium's code, checked 26 September 2026. Real-device results appear once recorded.

Edge 84 or later on Windows, macOS or Linux, window visibleResult: SupportedWhat to know: The same version floor as Chrome. The window can be visible without focus.
Sleeping tabs turned onResult: SupportedWhat to know: Only tabs in the background sleep. The tab you can see keeps its lock.
Windows Energy saver onResult: SupportedWhat to know: Chromium has no Energy saver check, so the lock is not refused. The screen may still dim.
Efficiency mode onResult: Not yet testedWhat to know: We have not yet checked whether it changes anything for a visible tab.
Window minimised or another tab in frontResult: PausesWhat to know: The lock is released until the tab is back in front.
Edge on Android, tab on screenResult: SupportedWhat to know: Leaving Edge releases the lock, as it does in Chrome.
AwakeTab browser extension, Edge 116 or laterResult: SupportedWhat to know: AwakeTab for Chrome keeps the screen on with the tab hidden or the window minimised.

What turns the screen off anyway

Edge can only hold the display while its tab is showing. These still end the session.

  • Locking the PCA locked Windows PC hides the tab and uses its own 60-second monitor timeout.Windows 11 screen turns off after 1 minute
  • Closing the lidWindows follows its lid-close setting, and a Mac sleeps unless it runs in clamshell mode. No tab changes that.
  • A work screen lock policyA managed PC can lock the screen on its own schedule, separate from display sleep.Lock screen versus display sleep
  • A hidden tabA minimised window or another tab in front lets the display go. Bring the tab back and AwakeTab asks again.
Try it hereTry itStart a session, switch tabs, then come back and watch the pill. Ends at … if you start now.Start a 30-minute session

Questions

Not while you can see it. Sleeping tabs only affect background tabs, and once you switch away, Edge releases the wake lock anyway. AwakeTab asks again when you come back.

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