Guides · November 6, 2026

Keep a laptop playing on the TV with the lid closed: no sleep, no black screen

With a laptop connected to the TV by HDMI, leaving its own screen on wastes power and is distracting, but as soon as you close the lid the laptop goes to sleep and the TV goes black. Windows can be set to do nothing when the lid closes, so the laptop runs closed and uses the TV as its only screen. Here's how on Windows 10 and 11.

1. Set "When I close the lid" to "Do nothing"

1. Press Win + R, type control powercfg.cpl and press Enter to open Power Options.
2. Click "Choose what closing the lid does" on the left.
3. On the "When I close the lid" row, set the Plugged in column to Do nothing, then click "Save changes".

Keep the On battery column on Sleep, so the laptop still sleeps normally when you unplug it and put it in a bag. Recent Windows 11 versions also have this under Settings → System → Power & battery → Lid & power button controls; either place works.

Once it's set, close the lid and Windows moves the desktop and taskbar to the TV as the only display.

2. Turn off automatic sleep and screen-off

The lid no longer puts it to sleep, but the idle timer still does, often halfway through a long video:

• Open Settings → System → Power (& battery) → Screen and sleep, and set both "Turn off my screen" and "Put my device to sleep" when plugged in to Never, or at least longer than a typical show.
• Most media players keep the PC awake while playing, but not while paused or sitting on a menu, so the step above still matters.
• The TV may also turn itself off after a few minutes with no signal; switch off its auto power-off or energy saving if the PC ever dozes.

3. Keep it plugged in

• The settings above only change the Plugged in column, so closing the lid on battery still sleeps. That's intended.
• Used as a media player, the laptop sits at 100% charge all day. Many manufacturers' utilities have a battery care or 80% charge limit option; turning it on is kinder to the battery.

4. Mind the heat

• Some laptops vent through the keyboard or near the hinge and run warmer closed. Put it on a hard, flat surface, not a sofa or bed, and keep the vents away from walls.
• Playing video is a light load, so this is rarely a problem. If the fan keeps spinning loudly, leave the lid open a crack, or keep it open and press Win + P → Second screen only, which also turns the laptop screen off.

5. Waking it and controlling it while closed

• If it did fall asleep and the power button does nothing with the lid closed, a key press on a USB keyboard or a mouse click usually wakes it; otherwise open the lid.
• With the lid closed you can't use the touchpad or keyboard, so you'll need a wireless keyboard and mouse, or a phone or tablet as the remote. The options are compared in PC connected to the TV: how to use your phone or tablet as the remote.

6. Common problems after closing the lid

• The TV goes black too: usually only the On battery column was changed, or "Save changes" wasn't clicked. Check again and make sure it's plugged in.
• Sound went back to the laptop speakers (muffled with the lid closed): click the speaker icon in the taskbar and choose the TV as the output.
• Resolution or scaling changed: adjust it once in Settings → System → Display on the TV. Windows remembers the settings for the "TV only" setup and uses them next time.
• No signal, edges cut off, blurry text: see PC connected to TV by HDMI: no signal, no sound, or the picture is cut off.

Summary

Plug it in, set the lid to Do nothing when plugged in, set no sleep and no screen-off when plugged in, and keep it on a hard surface. The laptop can then sit quietly next to the TV, closed, as a dedicated player.