How to Keep Windows Update after Closing the Laptop Lid

Windows Update is a feature that allows your Windows 10 or 11 PC to download and install the latest updates, such as security patches, bug fixes, and new features. However, if you close the lid of your laptop while the update is in progress, your PC may go to sleep or shut down directly, which may interrupt or delay the update process, or can even cause some problems, such as:

• The update may fail or get stuck, and you may need to restart or troubleshoot your PC to resume or complete the update.

• The update may take longer than expected, and you may miss some important or urgent tasks or notifications on your PC.

• The update may cause some issues or errors on your PC, such as performance degradation, compatibility problems, or data loss.

If you used to wait minutes until the update was over to shut down your laptop, and then close the lid, this WiseCleaner post will suit you well as we discuss one simple method here to help you out.

Update and shut down with the lid closed

By default, your PC may go to sleep or shut down directly when you close the lid of your laptop. To change this, you need to adjust the power settings in Control Panel.

By following these steps, you can ensure your laptop will keep updating seamlessly in the background and shut down successfully, without needing to keep the lid open.

Step 2. Select Hardware and Sound

Click on the Hardware and Sound tab (View by Category).

Step 3. Open Power Options

Click on Power Options to open the power settings.

Step 4. Select Choose what closing the lid does

Click on the option Choose what closing the lid does from the left-side pane.

Step 5. Change the options

From the drop-down menus of When I close the lid, select Do nothing for both On battery and Plugged in options. Click on Save changes and exit the power settings.

Step 6. Update and shut down

Once you have configured the power settings, you can click Update and shut down on the Power menu. After clicking it, you can close the lid of your laptop right away, and the PC should automatically shut down after the update finishes even though the lid is closed.

Auto shutdown the PC after the update

Additionally, you may sometimes want to use a scheduled task to shut the PC down automatically, or to restart it to let some updates take effect after the update is completed.

Wise Auto Shutdown is a free tool that allows you to schedule your computer to shut down, restart, sleep, hibernate, or log off at any time you want.

• To use Wise Auto Shutdown, download and install it from the official website.

• Then, launch the program and select the task you want to perform from the left-side task list.

• Next, set the time for the scheduled task on the right-side list. You can set it to happen at a specific time, after a set amount of time has passed, or daily, etc.

• You can also check the reminder box if you wish to be notified 5 minutes before the task is executed.

• Click on the green Start Task button to start the scheduled task.

In conclusion

By following these steps and tips in this WiseCleaner Think Tank post, you can close your laptop’s lid while keeping Windows Update running in the background, instead of waiting for the update to complete and then close the lid.

You can also navigate to Windows Update history in the Settings app to uninstall the update if there are any errors or issues.