How to Completely Disable ‘Automatic Maintenance’ (Background Wakeups) in Windows 11

Windows 11 includes a background daemon called “Automatic Maintenance.” Its job is to run software updates, perform security scans, and defragment your hard drive while you are not using the computer. By default, Microsoft schedules this maintenance to occur at 2:00 AM every single day. If your PC is asleep at this time, Windows has the authority to wake the hardware up, spin up the fans, run its tasks, and then (hopefully) put it back to sleep.

For users who keep their computers in their bedrooms, this is a nightmare. A glowing screen or spinning fans at 2:00 AM can ruin your sleep. Furthermore, if the maintenance script hangs, the PC might remain awake all night, completely draining laptop batteries. If you prefer to manually update and scan your system on your own time, you can completely revoke the operating system’s permission to wake your hardware.

Disabling the Wake Timer in the Control Panel

Microsoft has not ported this specific setting to the modern Windows 11 Settings app. You must use the legacy Security and Maintenance control panel to turn it off.

1. Click the Start button, type “Control Panel” into the search bar, and press Enter.
2. In the top right corner of the Control Panel window, change the “View by” dropdown from Category to Large icons.
3. Click on Security and Maintenance.
4. In the main panel, click the downward-facing arrow next to the word Maintenance to expand that section.
5. Under the “Automatic Maintenance” sub-heading, click the text link that says Change maintenance settings.
6. A new window will open. Look for the checkbox labelled Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer at the scheduled time.
7. Click the checkbox to uncheck it.
8. Click the OK button at the bottom of the window to save your changes.

Disabling Global Wake Timers (Advanced)

If you want to absolutely guarantee that nothing—not even a third-party app or a rogue Windows update—can wake your sleeping PC, you should also disable wake timers in your power plan.

1. Go back to the main Control Panel and click on Power Options.
2. Next to your currently selected power plan, click Change plan settings.
3. Click Change advanced power settings.
4. In the tiny window that appears, scroll down and expand the Sleep category.
5. Expand Allow wake timers.
6. Change the setting from “Enable” (or “Important Wake Timers Only”) to Disable.
7. Click Apply, then OK.

From this point forward, when you put your Windows 11 PC to sleep, it will remain completely silent and dormant until you physically press the power button or move your mouse.