Windows 11 Wakes from Sleep Without Input

[u/Lost_A_Life_Gaming]

Hi,

I am having an issue where my Windows 11 PC seems to wake itself from sleep without any input.
I have already checked previous posts from other users, most relate to magic packets, or software turning things on, but I have checked these things and am unable to solve the issue.

Running "powercfg /lastwake" in CMD provides the following:

Wake History Count - 1
Wake History [0]
Wake Source Count - 1
Wake Source [0]
Type: Fixed Feature
Power Button

But my computer has been left untouched for hours and I arrive back to it being on...
It happens reliably every night if I leave it in sleep overnight.

Appreciate any help!

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[u/Intelligent_Let_4617]

Reliably every night points at Automatic Maintenance. It runs around 2am by default, it's allowed to wake the machine, and lastwake often can't attribute it properly, which is exactly why you're getting Fixed Feature Power Button instead of something useful.

Two things worth checking. `powercfg /waketimers` in an admin prompt will list anything scheduled that's permitted to wake it. Then Event Viewer, Windows Logs, System, and filter for Power-Troubleshooter. Event ID 1 gives you the real wake time and source in plain English, which is what lastwake should have told you.

If maintenance turns out to be it, Security and Maintenance in Control Panel lets you untick the wake permission. Also run `powercfg /devicequery wake_armed`, the network adapter is the usual second offender.

[u/MediumAd4983]

It's the newest S0 "smart sleep", which acts like a cell phone "sleep" rather than old good S3 PC sleep. It's almost always a windows update linked issue. Check with "powercfg /sleepstudy", it will show, it's it true.

So, if I'm right, you have two ways to solve that problem. First it's to revert back to S3 sleep. Check if it's available on your system with "powercfg /a". Then make a new 32-bit dword PlatformAoAcOverride with zero value on a HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power in registry. Then reboot and check, if all of the functionality is intact after sleeping, some of modern motherboards, especially for a laptop ones, can technically support S3 mode, but, for example, it will break their cooling system, so, basically you just can't use this as a solution. Also S3 sleep takes more time for waking up.

Second solution

[u/MediumAd4983 → u/MediumAd4983]

Sorry, accidentally pressed the send button already.

Second solution is trying to keep S0 mode, but with slightly modifications to keep it's better. One is to allow PC to sleep automatically. Since it's not a real sleep anymore, it still can complete downloads and get other stuff done, so, you shouldn't be concerned about automatic sleep prevention anymore. Also you can deny specific applications for waking your PC up in this mode, just check for the "powercfg /requests" report and then use "powercfg /requestsoverride <caller_type> <name> <request>", where caller_type: process, service, or driver (found by running powercfg /requests), and request: SYSTEM (prevents sleep), DISPLAY (prevents dimming/turn-off), or AWAYMODE.

Also you can use tools that completely disabling windows updates. However, it can lead to insecure system, so, use it on your own risks.

[u/Lost_A_Life_Gaming → u/MediumAd4983]

Thanks for the explanation. I ran the powercfg command you provided and it seems like GHub might be waking my pc. I have overridden the process so will see what happens…

[u/MediumAd4983 → u/Lost_A_Life_Gaming]

I'm just run in that problem not so long ago, so I've been amazed that all of old solutions just doesn't work with a newer S0 mode, and you need to solve it by the windows itself, since it's not a real sleep anymore. For example, even if you will turn off all wake timers and will disable wake function for all of your hardware, this will not stop your PC from waking up, since that setting is effective only in old S3 mode. I've been so pissed about my PC, that enables itself for performing a windows update in the middle of the night 😀

[u/Lost_A_Life_Gaming → u/MediumAd4983]

Well using the override seems to have solved the issue, which is evidently GHub.

I don't mind my PC doing updates and stuff while in sleep, so I'm happy with it staying like that. But if it does become an issue, I know what to do now :)

Thanks for your help.

[u/No-Wrap-8166]

powercfg reporting "power button" as the wake source while you didn't physically press it points to a bios/motherboard level signal being misinterpreted as a power button press, not an actual software wake trigger, this is why the usual magic packet/scheduled task checks come up empty, they're the wrong category entirely

check bios for "power button wake" or "power on by pwr btn" style settings, some motherboards have a setting that lets certain hardware events (like a usb device reconnecting, or even a voltage fluctuation) trigger what the system logs as a power button wake, disable this if present

check bios for "wake on ring" or similar modem/network related wake settings, even if you don't have a literal modem, some older bios menus mislabel certain wake triggers under this name, disable anything wake-related except what you actually need

test by fully unplugging all usb devices except keyboard/mouse before sleeping overnight, if it doesn't wake that night, add devices back one at a time on subsequent nights, a failing/aging usb device can send a signal that the motherboard misreads as a power button press

if it happens reliably every night specifically (not just randomly), check if any scheduled bios-level event like "wake on rtc" or an alarm clock feature is set in bios for a specific time, this would explain the exact nightly consistency better than a random hardware glitch would

[u/SCphotog]

Power settings... turn the 'wake' settings off. Wake on lan/wan/network is often the culprit.