Keep Screen On When Laptop is Closed [Windows 11 Guide]

No other device can match the portability and convenience of a laptop computer. If you wish to buy and use a laptop for work purposes or if you like to consume some information on a screen larger than your laptop from time to time, you may wish to connect it to an external display.

This is where the issue arises since you will most likely want to keep the monitor on when the laptop is closed on Windows 11. By default, the Windows 11 lid close action is set to put your laptop to sleep when you close the lid.

As you might imagine, having an open laptop lid sitting on your desk while connected to a newly bought external monitor is not an ideal situation, nor is it a comfortable one to be exposed to. Thus we will show you how to customize the Windows 11 lid close action in order to fix this issue.

You don’t have to put up with this cruel condition, and you can close the lid of your laptop without putting it to sleep or interfering with its operation. Let’s see how you can achieve this, right after we understand what hibernate and sleep modes are.

How do I keep the monitor on when the laptop is closed on Windows 11?

1. 1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard to open the Windows Search function.

2. 2. Type Control Panel in the search box and click to open the topmost result.

   

3. 3. Navigate to Power Options.

   

4. 4. Next, select the Choose what closing the lid does option to edit the Windows 11 lid close action when opening your laptop.

   

5. 5. Here, you can select the Do nothing option under the On battery section and Plugged in one, in order to keep your monitor on when the laptop lid is closed.

   For more information on the other options, check out Microsoft’s page on those actions.

   

In order to do nothing when the laptop lid is closed in Windows 11, you need to tweak your PC’s Power Settings.

When your laptop is linked to an external monitor, you may now close the lid and continue working without having to worry about it going to sleep or hibernating.

Note that this mode of operation is called the clamshell mode and refers to a working laptop that has the lid shut off.

 

What can I do if lid customization settings are missing?

1. Note that this solution also works for the lid close action missing in Windows 10 error. Open your Command Prompt app by typing cmd inside the Windows Search function.
2. Next, type or copy-paste the following command and press Enter in order to fix the lid close action missing in Windows 11 / 10: REG ADD HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\4f971e89-eebd-4455-a8de-9e59040e7347\5ca83367-6e45-459f-a27b-476b1d01c936 /v Attributes /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f
3. If you wish to also add the missing Windows 11 lid open action type or paste the following command and press Enter: REG ADD HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\4f971e89-eebd-4455-a8de-9e59040e7347\99ff10e7-23b1-4c07-a9d1-5c3206d741b4 /v Attributes /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f
4. In order to customize the lid open action, go to the Power Options section inside Control Panel and choose Change plan settings next to your current plan.
5. Next, click on Change advanced power settings and expand the Power buttons and lid option in order to tweak the configuration.

Now you should be able to change the Windows 11 lid close action when starting settings as we have shown in the first solution, as well as tweak the lid open action configuration.

Are hibernate and sleep mode the same thing?

Two computer modes that must be distinguished are sleep and hibernate modes, which are frequently used interchangeably but are not the same thing in reality.

Sleep mode is a power-saving one that allows activities to restart once the device is ultimately charged again.

Hibernate mode, is intended to conserve power, but it differs from sleep mode in terms of what happens to your data. The documents and files that you are now working on are stored in the RAM, requiring only a minimal bit of power in the process.

The former effectively accomplishes the same thing as hibernate mode, except it stores the information on your hard disk, allowing you to power off your computer and saving all of the energy it would have consumed.

When you turn your computer back on, the hard drive allows you to pick up precisely where you left off with your work. Hibernate is primarily intended for laptops, and it is most effective when you are not planning to use your device for an extended time.

Moreover, if you encounter troubles when connecting a second monitor, check out our guide on what to do when your laptop doesn’t detect the second monitor.

Alternatively, take a look at our post on how to fix random external monitor behavior, such as turning off or disconnecting.

Don’t hesitate to tell us what you think in the comments section below as well as if you have more solutions in mind. Thanks for reading!