If you have the problem of your Windows laptop not being able to wake up when you press the keys of your USB keyboard or click on the mouse buttons, here’s what might help.
The most common cause of the issue in my experience is that your laptop is in the Hibernate mode, instead of the Sleep mode at the time you try to wake it up with the keyboard and mouse.
You might think the laptop is in the Sleep mode because you have put it to sleep by pressing the power / sleep button, or selecting the Sleep option on the Windows shut down menu or simply because your power saving settings have done that automatically. But, it is a less known fact that by default Windows (Windows 11 and 10 at least) will put the laptop to the Hibernate mode after 3 hours of the laptop inactivity, regardless of the Sleep mode.
Here’s how to prevent your Windows laptop from hibernating, so you can avoid the problem of not being able to wake up the system with the keyboard and mouse.
- Type edit power plan in the Windows Search box and press the Enter key or the Edit power plan option to open Control Panel\System and Security\Power Options\Edit Plan Settings .
- Select the Change advanced power settings option.
- Go to the Sleep section of the Advanced settings window and select the Hibernate after option.
- By default, it is most likely set to 180 minutes. Select 0 (zero) in the On battery or Plugged in section or both, depending on your preference.
- Press the Apply button.
The option Never isn’t available at the time of the selection, but the system will convert the 0 you entered to Never, once you hit the Apply button on the Power Options / Advanced settings window.
Sidenotes
Preventing hibernation is probably the best solution for the problem of not being able to wake up Windows with the USB keyboard and mouse. There are other related areas such as configuring the keyboard and mouse devices’ ability to wake up the system in the Windows Device Manager. But, these settings allow the external USB input devices to wake up the system from the Sleep mode (not from hibernation) by default. Furthermore, some laptop models have the option to enable or disable the system wake up via USB devices, but this option is usually enabled by default.
When it comes to Bluetooth keyboard and mice, the solution might not work, since most Bluetooth devices and receivers aren’t able to wake up the system.
Also, please note that it’s not possible to wake up from the Sleep mode using the notebook’s built-in keyboard and trackpad. But, that shouldn’t be the issue at all, since all laptops have a power button on the keyboard deck or a power button that is shared with a specific keyboard key.