Problems with WiFi and Sleep Mode on Windows 11

glasskuter · Feb 19, 2022

itsbrads6140 said:
Again there's no option for this annoyingly.

This modern standby thing is so crazy that I almost wish I had one to test with. @itsbrads6140 Of course it's possible there could be a problem with your wireless adapter but I really don't think so because you stated:
"After freaking out and downgrading back to Windows 10, it fixed itself. But now every time the laptop slept, even in Windows 10, it would randomly turn off (this would close all my programs as well, so it didn't just hibernate) and I had the same problem. Shutting down and turning the laptop on again (not restarting) fixed the problem again, but I didn't want to keep doing this. In Control Panel (Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Choose or customise a power plan), I found out that it was hibernating by itself, so I turned this off, and things were good... until I updated to Windows 11 a few weeks after as it seemed much more stable."

So with some manipulation you are able to get this laptop stable on Windows 10.

Therefore, IMO if you want to get this laptop working again it makes sense to either TRY a clean install of 11 where it may or may not get the laptop operable OR put it back on 10 (and I would use a clean install here as well) where you are able to get it operable.

You are not alone.
Modern standby and the multitude of problems it's causing is not going away. At this point, anyone who is being forced to use modern standby has to do what they have to do in their own situation to make their systems usable, whether that be not putting their device in a case, not closing the lid, or turning it off to keep it from overheating, using their laptops with AC power rather than battery, or downgrading back to Windows 10 to keep their wireless working.

itsbrads6140 · Feb 19, 2022

glasskuter said:
Therefore, IMO if you want to get this laptop working again it makes sense to either TRY a clean install of 11 where it may or may not get the laptop operable OR put it back on 10 (and I would use a clean install here as well) where you are able to get it operable.

I would put it back on 10 but I'll have to go back to 11 eventually before it runs out of support, and I've really been enjoying 11's new look, performance and features, so I really don't want to go back. And I'm not sure how much of a difference a clean install would make as when I reset the laptop, I did it using the "Cloud download" feature to download and reinstall Windows, yet I still have the same problem.

glasskuter said:
So with some manipulation you are able to get this laptop stable on Windows 10.

This manipulation was just disabling hibernation, which shows that the network adapter is having problems with hibernation in both 10 and 11. It's just 11 removed the option to disable it, which I'm guessing is something to do with this modern standby thing, therefore I think it might be a hardware issue from when the first crash happened.

glasskuter · Feb 19, 2022

itsbrads6140 said:
I'll have to go back to 11 eventually

Not until 10/2025 but hopefully, hopefully enough people will put sufficient pressure on both MS and the OEM's that they will do something about modern sleep. However there have been issues as far back as 2020 and no one has done anything yet. If your laptop is still under warranty open a case with the manufacturer.

There's no telling how many million poor souls are being affected in one way or another by this. Many don't realize they are affected until they use their system under certain variables...They never use battery power, never keep it in a case in sleep mode, always turn it off after they finish using it. It's a crying shame is what it is.

I'm sorry we haven't been able to help you with this problem. If you've read any of the other posts in this forum and across the web, you know no one anywhere has come up with a solution that works for everyone to workaround their problems.

Try3 · Feb 20, 2022

Is your WiFi adapter driver the same as it used successfully in Windows 10 or a different version?
Have you checked your computer maker's support site for updated drivers & Bios?

I am not sure, despite having re-read the thread, what your current state is apart from the WiFi adapter issue.
- Are you now able to use Hibernation as an unsatisfactory substitute for S3 Sleep?
- Do you want your computer to keep up its network connections whilst it's in S0 Modern standby?
- You can prevent S0 Modern standby starting by setting your monitor to always stay on. In parallel with that measure, you can also set up a dark-looking screensaver if you don't like the glare from the always-on screen.

The curse of S0 Modern standby has existed for at least four years. I only have one computer afflicted with this condition [it's still on Windows 10].
Do be careful in S0 Modern standby discussions about using the word sleep. Most people, unaware of our sad condition, read S3 Sleep when we write sleep. This can lead to misunderstandings and confusion.
S0 Modern standby computers do not sleep [S3 Sleep] and S0 Modern standby is not at all similar to it. S0 Modern standby is a glorified idle condition.

Some people have successfully disabled S0 Modern standby
- Disable Modern Standby in Windows 10 and 11 - ElevenForumTutorials
- The relevant MS article is Disabling modern standby - MSDocs
This procedure did not work for me. I had severe side-effects. That procedure suppressed S0 without, in my case, enabling S3 and it stopped my network adapters working correctly.
Do not bother with any S0 articles that refer to a Registry entry CsEnabled because that ceased to be relevant a couple of years ago.

All the best,
Denis

dark071 · Jul 31, 2022

itsbrads6140 said:
I first updated to Windows 11 on my Dell Inspiron 14" 5405 laptop the day after launch day (I know, I know, I probably should have waited but it was working properly on my friends' laptops and PCs so I couldn't resist). It was working fine, until the day after. When I came back, it had turned off (I'm not sure why, maybe it hibernated because I left it too long) so I tried to turn it on, but it blue screened. This is where the problems began. My WiFi adapter (Qualcomm QCA61x4A 802.11ac Wireless Adapter) stopped working (no WiFi networks showed up and the adapter just deleted itself from Device Manager) and my laptop doesn't have Ethernet so I had no internet access. Thankfully, after freaking out and downgrading back to Windows 10, it fixed itself. But now every time the laptop slept, even in Windows 10, it would randomly turn off (this would close all my programs as well, so it didn't just hibernate) and I had the same problem. Shutting down and turning the laptop on again (not restarting) fixed the problem again, but I didn't want to keep doing this. In Control Panel (Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Choose or customise a power plan), I found out that it was hibernating by itself, so I turned this off, and things were good... until I updated to Windows 11 a few weeks after as it seemed much more stable. I still had the same problem, but now the option to turn off auto-hibernation was gone, as you can see in this image:

View attachment 22216

Therefore, I had to turn off auto-sleeping. It fixed the problem but now whenever my laptop was closed or left alone, the battery drained so much to the point where, unless I'm leaving my laptop for maybe a few minutes, I had to charge it so it wouldn't run out or just shut it down. I just did this for a few months until earlier this week, I just reset the laptop after having problems with my mic. The first few times I put the laptop to sleep, it stayed in sleep mode and did not shut down or hibernate, until last night, where after I left it for about an hour, it turned off and the WiFi stopped working once again. Since then, it sometimes sleeps normally without turning off, and sometimes turns off and the wifi stops working.

This is really getting on my nerves and I am really stuck on how to fix it, as not even a reset has fixed it. Does anyone know how to fix it - or could it be a hardware issue? Thanks :)

I have the exact same problem on the exact same device. Did you ever find a fix for it?