Strategies for prolonging battery life on Windows 11 and Windows 10 through hibernation utilization
Windows 11 offers a useful feature called hibernation, which can help save battery life by preserving data in memory and suspending the device when it's not in use. This article will guide you through the process of enabling hibernation on Windows 11, customising hibernation settings, and adding the hibernate option to the Power menu.
Enabling Hibernation on Windows 11
To enable hibernation on Windows 11, open Start, search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select Run as administrator. Then, type the command and press Enter. This command enables the hibernation feature on your device.
Customising Hibernation Settings
Once hibernation is enabled, you can customise settings to change the power button or laptop lid to put the computer in hibernation mode as soon as you press the button or close the lid. To change these settings on Windows 11, open Settings, click System, click Power & battery, and choose the Hibernate option for the "Pressing the power button will make my PC" or "Closing the lid will make my PC" option in the "Plugged in" or "On battery" setting.
To change the hibernation timers on your computer, open Control Panel, click on Hardware and Sound, click on Power Options, click the "Change plan settings" option under the current power plan in use, click the "Change advanced power settings" option, expand the Sleep settings, expand the Hibernate after settings, use the On Battery option to set the number of minutes of inactivity before the device goes into hibernation mode when the laptop is running on battery, and use the Plugged in option to set the number of minutes of inactivity before the device goes into hibernation mode when the laptop is connected to a power source.
Adding the Hibernate Option to the Power Menu
If you'd like to add the "Hibernate" option to the Power menu on Windows 11, open Start, search for Control Panel, click the top result, click Hardware and Sound, click Power Options, click Choose what closing the lid does, click Change settings that are currently unavailable, and check the Hibernate option.
Important Considerations
It's worth noting that enabling hibernation on Windows 11 may not be possible on all system configurations, and the graphics card driver may need to support the power state. Additionally, hibernation isn't as fast as sleep mode but is useful for preserving battery when the device is not in use or running low on battery power.
Starting on the Windows 11 2024 Update, the Settings app includes new settings to configure hibernation after the feature has been enabled through Command Prompt, making it even easier to manage your device's power settings.
By following these steps, you can make the most of the hibernation feature on Windows 11 to save power and customise your device's behaviour when it's idle.
