How to Customize Lid Close Action and Settings in Windows 10
Each time you shut down your laptop, two processes are affected. Primarily, shutting down a Windows laptop automatically puts it to sleep. On some laptops, Windows puts them into hibernation every time the cover is closed.
Typically, the default closing action of a laptop's cover is predefined by the operating system. The good thing is that you can customize and reconfigure these actions on the Windows operating system. When should you customize the action of your laptop cover and why? – we provide seven helpful tips below.
Before that, we will explain two different ways to configure the lid closing action on your Windows 10 PC.
How to customize the action of closing the cover in Windows
1. From the control panel
Here's how you can easily access the Windows cover close action settings from your PC's control panel.
Step 1: Type the term Lid or Closed lid in the search box on your computer.
2nd step: Press the first option in the search result – "Change the action of closing the cover".
This will take you directly to the System Settings section of the Control Panel, where you can easily change the action of closing the cover of your laptop.
Step 3: Now this is where it gets interesting. Under Windows, you can customize the action of closing the cover of your laptop depending on the power status of your device – when it is running on battery or when it is is plugged in.
Press the first drop-down button (left) to customize what happens when you close the lid of your laptop while it is running on battery.
As mentioned earlier, the option is set to Sleep by default. You can choose to hibernate, stop, or do nothing.
Note: Do nothing means your laptop will continue to operate. It will not go to sleep, hibernate, or stop.
Step 4: To customize the action of closing the cover when your laptop is charging, press the drop-down button (right).
Step 5: This option is also set to Sleep by default. Tap one of the four options (Do nothing, Standby, Hibernate or Stop) to select it.
Step 6: Press the Save Changes button to complete the process and save the newly customized lid close actions.
2. Personalization via PC Power Plan
It's a much longer process, but it gets the job done. The trick is to change the closing settings of your laptop's cover for the power plan on which it is running. You can do this via the Advanced Power Options menu on your PC.
Step 1: Press Windows key + keyboard shortcut X to launch the quick access menu.
2nd step: Select Power Options.
Step 3: Next to your active diet plan (balanced or energy saver), tap "Change plan settings".
Step 4: At the bottom of the Change plan settings page, select "Change advanced power settings".
This launches the Advanced Power Options menu page.
Step 5: Go to the bottom of the page and tap the + symbol to expand the "Power buttons and cover" option.
Step 6: Double tap the "Lid closing action" option or tap the + symbol next to expand the option.
Here you can also set a custom cover close action when your laptop is charging or running on a backup battery. By default, the lid close action for both states is set to Standby.
Step 7: For an action of closing the battery cover, press the default action. Then select a new action from the drop-down menu options.
Step 8: Do the same for the "Connected / Charging" state. Tap the default lid close action and select a new one from the drop-down menu options.
Step 9: Press Apply to activate the personalization you have just made.
Step 10: Press OK to finish and exit the Advanced Power Options menu.
Helpful hints for lid closing settings
When should you use the Do nothing option
If you have to connect your laptop to an external display, "Do nothing" is a perfect action to close the cover on active. The laptop saves battery power by turning off the screen light but keeps the other processes going. It also helps minimize distractions from your laptop while using a larger external monitor.
It is not recommended to set the option to close the lid of your laptop to "Do nothing" when it is not plugged in. This would quickly drain your battery.
You should not choose the lid closing action as "Do nothing" while your laptop is in your backpack for a long time. This will heat it up and could damage some of the electrical components in your laptop. Maybe making them stop working effectively.
When to choose hibernation or sleep
If you are not using your laptop for a few hours and are looking to extract more juice from the battery without turning it off, it is recommended to set the lid closure to Hibernate.
Hibernating your laptop doesn't consume as much as putting it to sleep.
The lid closing action should be set to Standby if you mainly shut down your laptop for very short periods – for example, short lunch breaks, coffee breaks, etc. Because, unlike Hibernate, your device will turns back on faster when you open the cover. However, putting your laptop to sleep uses more battery power than putting it into hibernation.
When should you select the shutdown option
It is not recommended to set your laptop to Off when you close the cover. You could lose valuable work if you or someone else accidentally shuts down your laptop.
The action of closing the Shut Down lid is convenient as an alternative method to turn off your device. If you have a faulty power button, for example, you can use it to turn off your laptop while waiting for you to fix the power button.
Scheduling automatic shutdown is another brilliant method for troubleshooting a faulty power button.
Store the battery intelligently
Customizing the closing of your laptop cover is a nifty feature that can help you save your laptop battery. With the procedures and tips mentioned above, you should use it to your advantage – remove more hours from your battery without, easily shut down your PC, etc.
Then: We have given a detailed breakdown of the differences between standby and hibernation on Windows computers in the linked article below. You should take a look at it.