When you close the lid of your Chromebook it enters sleep mode — but what if you don’t want it to?
Chromebooks automatically enter sleep mode when the lid is clammed shut or the device is left doing nothing for around 6 minutes or so (known as the ‘sleep timeout’).
Sleep mode is useful. It save battery life by turning off the screen and Wifi and suspends apps and power-supping background processes when they’re not needed.
If left in sleep mode for an extended period your Chromebook will shut down fully to conserve even more battery.
When you’re ready you can pick up your Chromebook, open the lid, and instantly carry on from where you left off (and with Easy Unlock enabled you don’t even have to enter your password, either).
That said, there may be times when you want to disable sleep mode on your Chromebook.
Why Disable Sleep Mode on a Chromebook?
Chrome OS doesn’t offer a way to control power settings. You can’t override the timeout by plugging in a power cord, either.
But there are instances where you may want to keep your Chromebook from sleeping:
You may want to let a large download complete (while you feed the cat), leave a bunch of of files uploading Google Drive (while you play with the cat) or need to maintain connection to a web server or chat protocol (after the cat commandeers your lap).
Or the tl;dr version:
- Downloading a large file(s) while your device is unattended
- Uploading a large file(s) to Google Drive, STFP, Dropbox, etc
- Keeping a connection to server active
- Playing music while your Chromebook idles
Keep Awake for Chrome OS
‘Keep Awake is a caffeine shot for your Chromebook’
Keep Awake is a tiny Chrome extension made by Google that can disable Chromebook sleep mode from kicking in, both if the lid is closed or when the idle sleep timeout is reached.
Think of it as a caffeine shot for your Chromebook.
The extension adds a small button to the Chrome toolbar menu. This button can be clicked to toggle between modes that override the default power settings of Chrome OS:
- Sun Icon — Screen kept on and all power management suspended
- Sunset Icon —Screen will dim/blank but system won’t sleep
- Moon Icon —Power management untouched
Keep Awake is obviously not something you should leave enabled all the time (or it’ll be bye-bye battery time) but for those occasions where you don’t want to lose your internet connection when you step away to see to something else it could come in very handy.
Keep Awake is a free download, is made by Google, requires no permissions and is designed for Chrome OS.