Windows 11 Sleep Button is Missing: How to Get it Back

Enable sleep mode in Control Panel or run the power troubleshooter

by Sagar Naresh
Sagar Naresh
Sagar Naresh
Content Analyst
Sagar is a web developer and technology journalist. Currently associated with WindowsReport and SamMobile. When not writing, he is either at the gym sweating it out or playing... read more
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  • Power options show you a Sleep mode that lets you return to what you were doing quickly.
  • However, some users have pointed out that the feature is missing on their Windows 11 PCs.
  • You can easily fix it from the Group Policy Editor or update your display driver.

Several users have reported that on their Windows 11 PC, the sleep option is missing. This prevents them from quickly getting back to what they were working on. When you put your PC to sleep, you do not need to close all the tasks you were doing.

There are a bunch of solutions that will help you fix the sleep button missing on the Windows 11 problem. And this guide is exactly where you will find all the effective solutions to resolve the problem at hand. Let us get right into it.

Why is the sleep button missing on my Windows 11 PC?

We researched why the sleep button is missing on a Windows 11 PC. Here are some of the most common reasons that could trigger the problem:

  • Power option misconfiguration: This issue is triggered when you have misconfigured the power options settings in your Windows 11 PC.
  • Issues with the Power options: Some issues with the Power options can also cause this problem. This can be easily fixed by running the power troubleshooter.
  • Problems with the display driver: Chances are the display driver on your PC is outdated and is causing the problem. You should ensure that all drivers on your PC are up to date.
  • Important system files are corrupt: Some power options-related system files might have gone corrupt or are missing on your PC, causing the problem.

What can I do if the sleep button is missing on my Windows 11 PC?

In this article

1. Enable Sleep in Control Panel

  1. Press the Win key to open the Start menu.
  2. Open Control Panel.
  3. Select Power Options.
  4. Click on Choose what the power button does option from the left.
  5. If the Sleep option is unchecked, click on the Change the settings that are currently unavailable option.
  6. Click on Sleep.
  7. Hit Save changes.
  8. Check the power option in the Start menu and see if the Sleep option is available.

Often if the Sleep option is left unchecked, then the sleep option won’t appear within the power menu. Follow the steps and enable the Sleep option from the Control Panel and see if this fixes the issue or not.

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2. Enable sleep via Group Policy Editor

  1. Press the Win + R keys to open the Run dialogue.
  2. Type gpedit.msc and press OK.
  3. Click on Computer Configuration.
  4. Click on Administrative Templates.
  5. Select Windows Components.
  6. Expand File Explorer.
  7. On the right side, right-click on Show sleep in the power options menu policy and choose Edit.
  8. Select Enabled.
  9. Click OK.
  10. Go to the Power menu and check if the sleep option has returned.

Do note that on Windows 11 Home and Windows 10 Home, the Group Policy Editor is unavailable. However, you should worry as we have a guide that will help you to enable the Group Policy Editor on the Windows 11 and 10 Home edition.

3. Restore default power options

  1. Press the Win + R keys to open the Run dialogue.
  2. Type powercfg -restoredefaultschemes and press Enter.
  3. Restart your PC.

This simple run command will restore the default power option on your PC. Sometimes, we might do some extra tweaking to the power options, which might cause the issue. We would advise you to simply run this command and see if this fixes Windows 11 sleep button missing issue.

4. Run the power troubleshooter

  1. Press the Win + R keys to open the Run dialogue.
  2. Type msdt.exe /id PowerDiagnostic and press Enter.
  3. Click Next.
  4. The troubleshooter will run the scan and will prompt you to apply a fix.
  5. Restart your PC.

5. Update Display driver

  1. Open the Start menu by pressing the Win key.
  2. Open Device Manager.
  3. Expand the Display adapters section.
  4. Right-click on your GPU and select Update driver.update driver
  5. Select Search automatically for files.
  6. Install the latest driver.
  7. Restart your PC.

The sleep option missing from Windows 11 power menu is often caused because of some issues with the display driver. In such a case, we would suggest updating the driver.

However, you can also make use of a dedicated tool called Outbyte Driver Updater. Outbyte Driver Updater will help you keep all of your drivers up to date and keep you away from such issues.

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That is it from us in this guide. There are several user reports regarding the power options missing from a Windows 11 PC. Fortunately, we have a guide that will help you fix this problem.

You can also check out our guide that lists some effective solutions to fix the sleep mode closes all programs problem in Windows 11.

Feel free to let us know in the comments below which one of the above solutions helped you resolve the Windows 11 sleep button missing problem.

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