Looking for a Windows sleep shortcut? Wouldn’t it be great to shut down your computer by just a hand waving gesture or use your finger like a magic wand and utter the words “Finishio”, and the computer shuts down? Unfortunately, we don’t live in the world of Harry Potter, and there are no Dumbledores who can do that. So, do we have to stick to the regular process of moving our mouse cursor, clicking on the start button, and then confirming from a list of options what we exactly need to do- Sleep or Shutdown?
The answer to that question is a big “NO”. We can shorten the process by using a few keyboard shortcuts. Which when used frequently, gets stored in the muscle memory, and the action is completed within less than a second.
How to Shutdown Windows 10 and Enable Sleep Mode with a Keyboard Shortcut
To shutdown Windows 10 or enable Sleep mode on your system, you can either use the keyboard shortcuts inculcated into the Windows 10 operating system by Microsoft itself or create a new one. The first two methods on sleep shortcut Windows 10 explain using the default shortcut. The third method describes the steps on how you can create a customized shortcut.
Method 1. Use the keyboard via the Power Menu
One of the quick and simple ways to shutdown Windows 10 through the keyboard shortcut is by pressing a sequence of keys. It is an inbuilt Windows setting. and you don’t have to make any changes to your computer.
Press the Windows + X on your keyboard to activate the power menu.
The Power Menu contains a list of commonly used Windows in-built apps and functions, which contain an underline beneath a letter. This letter denotes the letter which can be pressed to initiate an app or a function. Press U on the keyboard to initiate the ShutDown or Sign Out function, and it will provide more options which also can be brought into action with the corresponding underlined letter.
| Sign Out | I |
| Sleep | S |
| Hibernate | H |
| Shut Down | U |
| Restart | R |
The complete path to shutting down Windows 10 using keyboard shortcut would be
Windows + X > U > U
Similarly, the Windows 10 Sleep Shortcut would be Windows + X > U > S
This way, by pressing only four keys, you can put Windows 10 into Sleep Mode using keyboard shortcuts only.
Method 2: Use Alt + F4 for Windows 10 Sleep Shortcut
The shortcut key for sleep mode in Windows 10 is a combination of Alt + F4 that is used to shut down an open window. When you press Alt and F4 together from the keyboard it closes the active window that is in focus. If you want to close another application, then you need to select that application through the Alt + Tab keys and then press Alt + F4. However, if you are wondering how to shut down Windows 10 through this method then either you can close all the open applications and arrive at the desktop wallpaper or simply press Win + D for desktop and then press Alt + F4. With no active application window in focus, the Windows Shutdown dialog box will appear on the screen.
The Windows shutdown dialog box contains a dropdown menu with Six options, namely Switch User, Sign Out, Sleep, Hibernate, Shut Down and Restart. The Shutdown option is generally selected by default, and if you wish the computer to go into the Windows 10 sleep mode, then you can use the arrow keys to navigate, select your preferred option and hit the enter key.
This is another method of initializing the Windows 10 sleep mode through keyboard shortcuts.
Method 3: Create a Windows 10 sleep shortcut
After having searched through the entire Windows operating system and going through the official Windows 10 forums, it is concluded that there is no shortcut created to activate Windows 10 sleep Mode. Hence, I decided to create a keyboard shortcut that would act as a Windows sleep shortcut. Follow the steps mentioned below to create a shortcut:
Step 1. Right-click on an empty spot on the desktop and from the contextual menu, choose New and then Shortcut.
Step 2. A new window will open. The first page on this window would require entering the command line to initiate a specific process. You can copy the command line from below and paste it in the space available and then click on Next.
Shut Down: shutdown.exe -s -t 00 -f
Note: The zeros denote the number of seconds which if increased, will act as a wait time before the computer shutdowns.
Sleep: rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0
Step 3. The next window will require you to label your shortcut. Click on Finish and a shortcut icon will be created on your desktop.
A double click on this icon will shutdown or activate the Windows 10 sleep mode depending on the command you have pasted in the shortcut window. However, that defeats the purpose of creating a keyboard shortcut to shutdown windows or make it enter sleep mode. To make this shortcut function via keyboard strokes, follow these steps:
Step 4. Right-click on the new shortcut created, and choose Properties from the contextual menu.
Step 5. Locate the Shortcut tab in the new window and click on it. In the text box next to Shortcut, you can type a combination of keys that would activate this shortcut and that in turn would act the command line mentioned.
Note: You need to be careful to pick a combination not currently used by another application. Also, make sure that the chosen combination cannot be activated accidentally because you wouldn’t want your computer to shut down in the middle of something important.
Step 6. Click on Ok and your shortcut will be ready.
Frequently Asked Questions –
1. What is the shortcut for sleep in Windows 11?
Sleep mode shortcut for Windows 11 is ALT + F4 > Select Sleep Mode. This is the easiest way to put your computer to sleep.
2. What is the sleep button?
On the laptops, it is the button with the crescent moon sign on it and used as the Windows sleep shortcut. For some devices, it can be used to enable sleep mode immediately.
3. How do I keep my computer awake on Windows 10?
You can use one of the methods to disable sleep mode on Windows 10. This will prevent your computer from going into sleep mode on detecting inactivity and stays awake.
Our thoughts on How to Shutdown Windows 10 and Enable Windows 10 Sleep Mode with a Keyboard Shortcut.
Most of us use the mouse to perform certain actions on our computer not because it is easy to do so but because it is the only way we know. You would not find many people using Keyboard Shortcuts to shutdown Windows 10 or activate the Windows 10 Sleep Mode. Pressing a combination of keys is always quicker than dragging your mouse to the start button and clicking thrice to shut down your PC. A simple default combination such as Win + X + U + U or Alt + F4 or something you set by following method 3 is always easier and more convenient.
Do share your thoughts on using the Keyboards shortcuts instead of the mouse. Keep Visiting WeTheGeek for more such tech-related content. We hope this article will help you learn about the Sleep mode Shortcut for Windows PC. Your suggestions and comments are welcome in the comment section below. Share the information with your friends and others by sharing the article on social media.
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