The Windows Power Policy allows administrators to configure device power-management behavior on managed Windows devices.
This policy helps organizations optimize battery life, enforce energy-saving rules, and ensure consistent power settings across BYOD and corporate-owned devices.
Use this policy to control sleep behavior, display timeout, hibernation, unplugged vs. plugged-in thresholds, and other detailed power-management configurations.
Requirements
This policy is supported on the following Windows editions and versions:
Windows 10 Pro – 1709+
Windows 10 Enterprise – 1709+
Windows Education – 1709+
Windows IoT Enterprise – 1709+
Windows 11 Pro / Enterprise / Education / IoT Enterprise – 10x+
Overview
The Windows Power Policy allows IT admins to control:
Hibernate enablement
Sleep and standby timeout (battery vs. plugged in)
Display timeout
Energy saver thresholds
Power button behavior
Sleep button behavior
Hybrid sleep
Lock-screen behavior
Disk timeout
Unattended sleep timeout
These configurations provide fine-grained control over device energy use and user experience.
Configurable Settings
Below are all available settings in the policy, along with explanations.
Allow Hibernate
Defines whether Hibernate mode is allowed.
True – Hibernate is allowed
False – Hibernate is disabled
Null – System default
Minimum requirements vary by edition.
Allow Standby States (Battery / Plugged In)
Controls whether the device enters standby states under specific power conditions.
Battery: Manage standby when running on battery
Plugged In: Manage standby while connected to AC power
Setting this incorrectly may prevent devices from entering sleep.
Display Off Timeout
Controls when the display turns off.
Separate settings for Battery and Plugged-In
Value = seconds
0 disables the timeout
Energy Saver Battery Threshold (Battery / Plugged In)
Defines the percentage (%) at which Energy Saver turns on.
Valid values: 0–100
Hibernate Timeout (Battery / Plugged In)
Specifies inactivity time (in seconds) before the device hibernates.
0 disables hibernation timeout
Require Password When Computer Wakes
Controls whether a password is required when waking the device.
Enabled separately for
Battery
Plugged-In
Minimum requirements apply by Windows edition.
Select Lid Close Action
Specifies what happens when a user closes a laptop lid.
Options:
Sleep
Hibernate
Shut Down
Do Nothing
Separate settings for:
On Battery
Plugged In
Select Power Button Action
Defines the action for pressing the power button.
Options: Sleep, Hibernate, Shut Down, Do Nothing
Applies to:
On Battery
Plugged In
Select Sleep Button Action
Defines the action when pressing the sleep button (if present).
Options identical to power button settings.
Standby Timeout
Determines how long the device waits (seconds) before entering standby.
Separate settings for Battery and Plugged In
Turn Off Hybrid Sleep
Allows or disallows Hybrid Sleep.
Enabled separately for battery and plugged-in power
Unattended Sleep Timeout
Specifies how long the system waits before sleeping after unattended inactivity.
Valid values are typically 0–4294967295 seconds.
Separate settings for:
Battery
Plugged-In
Screen Saver Logon Screen Settings
Controls whether users must sign in after the screen saver activates.
True – Require password after screen saver
False – Do not require password
Screen Saver Wait Time
Defines the delay before screen saver activates.
Value: seconds
Example: 900 (15 minutes)
Disk Timeout
Controls when disks are turned off due to inactivity.
Separate settings for:
Plugged-In
On Battery
A value of 0 disables the timeout.
Best Practices
Enable password on wake for all organization-owned devices.
Shorter display-off time improves battery life dramatically.
Enable Energy Saver for laptops, especially for remote workers.
Use different settings for plugged-in vs. battery to optimize usability.
Avoid setting extremely low sleep or hibernate timers on workstations.
How to Configure This Policy
Open Swif Admin Console
Navigate to Policies → Create New Policy
Select Windows Power Policy
Configure battery and plugged-in behaviors
Click Continue
Assign to device groups
Save and apply
Devices will enforce the settings after their next MDM sync.
Troubleshooting
Device does not sleep or hibernate as expected
Confirm no conflicting GPOs or local power plans override MDM settings
Reboot the device after applying new power configurations
Ensure Hybrid Sleep is not conflicting with Hibernate settings
Screen saver password not activating
Ensure "Require password when computer wakes" is not set to False
Verify the device meets the minimum edition requirements
Disk Timeout settings not applying
Some endpoints may override disk timeout when performance mode is enabled