How to change power button action on Windows 11

• To change the power button action on Windows 11 (24H2 or higher), open Settings > System > Power, and choose the “Sleep,” “Hibernate,” “Shutdown,” “Display Off,” or “Do Nothing” action in the “Power button controls” settings.
• On Windows 11 (23H2 and older), open Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power > Choose what the power button does, choose the action, and click “Save changes.”

UPDATED 9/24/2024: On Windows 11, you can choose the exact action when pressing the power button on your laptop or desktop computer, and in this guide, I will explain the steps to complete this configuration. If you want to reduce the computer’s energy usage, in addition to using the “Energy Saver” or “Battery Saver,” you can change the action of the power button to sleep or hibernate instead of shutdown. However, the way to configure this feature will depend on the version of Windows 11 installed on your computer.

In the case of Windows 11 23H2 and older versions, you will have to use the Control Panel settings, while on version 24H2 and higher releases, the power button controls have been ported to the Settings app. Similar to legacy settings, the options available will depend on the type of device and whether or not it’s connected to a battery.

In this guide, I will teach you the different ways to decide the action when pressing the physical power button of your computer on any supported version of Windows 11.

• Change power button action on Windows 11 (24H2 and higher)
• Change power button action on Windows 11 (23H2 and older)

Change power button action on Windows 11 (24H2 and higher)

To change the action of the power button on version 24H2 and higher releases, use these steps:

1. Open Settings on Windows 11.

2. Click on System.

3. Click the “Power & battery” (or “Power”) page.

4. Click the “Lid & power button controls” (or “Power button controls”) setting.

5. Select the action for the power button for “Plugged in” and “On Battery:”

   • Sleep
   • Hibernate
   • Shutdown
   • Display Off
   • Do Nothing

   

If this is a computer with battery backup, you will have the option to change the action of the power button when the device is plugged in and on battery. Otherwise, you will only see the “Plugged in” option.

If this is a laptop, you will also have the option to change the action of closing the lid.

Regardless of the option you choose, you can still press and hold the power button for five or more seconds to trigger the immediate shutdown.

The “Hibernate” option will only be available if it’s supported and enabled on the device.

You can also follow these instructions in my video tutorial on my YouTube channel. (Remember to like and subscribe.)

Change power button action on Windows 11 (23H2 and older)

To change the power button action on version 23H2 and older releases, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Control Panel and click the top result to open the app.

3. Click on Hardware and Sound.

4. Click on Power Options.

5. Click the “Choose what the power button does” option from the left pane.

   

6. Select the action for pressing the power button for “On Battery” and “Plugged in:”

   • Sleep
   • Hibernate
   • Shutdown
   • Do Nothing

   

7. Click the Save changes button.

Once you complete the steps, whenever you press the power button, the computer will sleep or shut down according to the specified action.

Update September 24, 2024: This guide has been updated to include a video tutorial to follow these instructions.