While Windows settings allow you to change monitor timeout, so it turns off when not in use, the PowerCFG command-line tool allows you to set it quickly without using any mouse-clicks. This post will guide you to set the monitor timeout using the powercfg command line in Windows 11/10. You will need admin permission to set this up.
Set Monitor Timeout using PowerCFG command line
Press the Windows key to open the Start menu, and then type Command Prompt. Once it appears in the list, right-click on it to open with administrator privileges. You can also open PowerShell instead of the command prompt to achieve the same.
Type, and then press Enter to execute the following command. Do remember the setting is different when it is plugged in and when it is running on battery. Replace minutes with numbers. The default is twenty minutes.
How long to wait before turning off the monitor while plugged in
To set the Timeout when the monitor is plugged in, execute this command:
powercfg -Change monitor-timeout-ac <minutes>
How long to wait before turning off the monitor while on battery
To set the Timeout when the monitor is on battery, execute this command:
powercfg -Change monitor-timeout-dc <minutes>
So if you want the monitor to turn off itself after 5 minutes, the command will be:
powercfg -Change monitor-timeout-dc 5
Turning off the monitor when unnecessary is an excellent way to save electricity and enhance battery life. Make sure to set it according to your needs. A shorter time out will be annoying if you read for a long time or watch movies.
I hope the post was informative and provided a good trick for quickly changing the monitor’s timeout based on conditions.
TIP: You can also use this tool to set the Hard Disk Timeout.
