It can be frustrating when your monitor goes black and enters power-saving mode.
This guide will walk you through the simple steps to get your monitor back up and running.
What is Power Saving Mode?
Power saving mode is a feature on most monitors that turns off the screen after a set amount of inactive time.
This helps conserve energy when the monitor is not in use.
The monitor will go black and appear to be turned off.
However, the monitor still receives power and will “wake up” when movement from the mouse or keyboard is detected.
Power saving mode helps save electricity, but sometimes the settings can be overly sensitive, causing the monitor to sleep unexpectedly.
Why Does My Monitor Keep Going Into Power Saving Mode?
There are a few common reasons why your monitor may keep entering power-saving mode:
- The power saving settings are too aggressive – Most monitors allow you to adjust the time before power saving mode kicks in. If it is set too low, regular pauses in usage can trigger it.
- The monitor is not receiving a signal – If it does not detect input from the computer for a specific time, it will go to sleep. Make sure your PC is powered on and active.
- The brightness is turned down – Lowering the brightness setting too far can sometimes cause a monitor to think it should go into power saving.
- The monitor or computer is malfunctioning – Rarely, a hardware or software issue may cause erratic power-saving behaviour.
How to Get a Monitor Out of Power Saving Mode
If your monitor keeps going black unexpectedly, use these steps to get it back up and running:
1. Move Your Mouse or Press a Key on Your Keyboard
The easiest way to get a monitor to wake back up is by moving your mouse or pressing any key on your keyboard.
This signals activity to the monitor, which will automatically exit power-saving mode.
Give your mouse a little shake, or press the spacebar. The monitor should quickly power back on.
2. Check Your Monitor and PC Connection
If moving the mouse doesn’t work, verify your monitor is still correctly connected to your computer:
- Check that the monitor power cable is firmly plugged into the wall and monitor.
- Ensure the video cable between the monitor and PC is securely attached at both ends.
- Confirm that your computer is powered on and not in sleep mode.
- Try using a different video cable if available.
Once everything is connected, try moving the mouse or pressing a key again.
3. Adjust Your Monitor’s Power Saving Settings
If the monitor is still not exiting power saving mode, the settings may need to be adjusted:
- Access your monitor’s settings menu by pressing the Menu button on the monitor.
- Look for options related to “Power Saving”, “Sleep Timer”, or “Standby” mode.
- Increase the amount of inactive time before power saving mode activates. Fifteen minutes or more is generally recommended.
- Save the settings and exit the menu.
This prevents the power-saving mode from kicking in as frequently.
4. Reset Your Monitor to Factory Settings
Resetting your monitor will clear out any problems.
- Access the monitor menu using the Menu button.
- Select Reset or Factory Reset. This varies by model.
- Confirm the reset when prompted.
- The monitor will revert all settings to the original factory configuration.
Try using the monitor as usual again. The power saving issue may be resolved.
5. Update Your Monitor and Graphics Drivers
Outdated monitor and graphics drivers can sometimes contribute to power-saving problems.
Updating them is recommended:
For the Monitor:
- Look up your monitor model and find the latest drivers from the manufacturer’s website. Follow their instructions to update.
For the Graphics Card:
- Open Device Manager on your PC.
- Expand the Display Adapters section.
- Right-click your graphics card and select Update Driver.
- Search automatically online and install any updates available.
Restart your PC after updating drivers. This can help clear up glitches.
When to Get Professional Help
If you still can’t get your monitor to stay powered on after trying these steps, an underlying issue may be causing the problem.
Contacting the monitor or PC support team could help resolve a stubborn power-saving failure.
Preventing Frequent Monitor Sleeping
Once you get your monitor usually working again, a few adjustments can help prevent frequent power-saving modes:
- Keep brightness at 50% or higher. Very dark settings can trigger sleep.
- Position your monitor so light from windows doesn’t shine directly on the screen.
- Set power saving timeout to at least 15 minutes or higher.
- Disable any screen savers which can activate sleep.
- Update monitor and graphics drivers regularly.
With a few simple tweaks, you can stop your monitor from unexpectedly going black while using it.
FAQs
Ques 1: Why won’t my monitor wake up from power saving?
Ans: Gently shaking the mouse or pressing any key should wake a monitor.
If that does not work, check connections, adjust settings, and update drivers. Persistent issues may need professional support.
Ques 2: Can I turn off the power saving mode on my monitor?
Ans: Most monitors allow you to turn off power saving in the settings menu.
This is not recommended for everyday use, as it wastes electricity, but it can resolve persistent issues.
Ques 3: Does power saving mode damage monitors?
Ans: No, power saving is a built-in feature of monitors that safely conserves energy by temporarily putting the screen to sleep.
There are no risks of damage from regular use of power saving.
Ques 4: How much electricity does power saving mode save?
Ans: Significant amounts! An LCD monitor that reduces power usage from 60 watts to under 5 watts when saving power can save over 50 watts per hour.
This quickly adds up over time to significant energy savings.
Ques 5: Why does my monitor sometimes enter power-saving mode even when using it?
Ans: This is likely due to aggressive power-saving settings, outdated drivers, or monitor/PC connectivity issues.
