- Switching between different power modes empowers you to optimize performance, extend battery life, or strike a balance in between.
- You can adjust the power mode on Windows through the Settings app, Control Panel, or Command Prompt.
- Control Panel gives you the option to create a custom power plan on your PC.
Method 1: Change the Power Plan Using the Settings App
By default, your PC is set to Balanced power mode, but you can change it to “Best performance” or “Best power efficiency” to prioritize performance or battery life, respectively. Here’s how:
Step 1: Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app and head to System > Power & battery .
Step 2: Use the drop-down menu next to Power mode to switch between three modes: Balanced , Best power efficiency , and Best performance .
Method 2: Change the Power Plan via the Control Panel
Using the Control Panel is an old-school way of making changes to your PC. Here’s how to use it to change the power plan in Windows 11.
Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar. Type control panel and press Enter .
Step 2: Use the drop-down menu at the top right corner to change the view type to Large icons and go to Power options .
Step 3: Select the radio button on the left of the power mode to activate it.
Method 3: Change the Power Plan With Command Prompt
You can also use the command prompt on Windows 11 to communicate with your PC and change its power plan settings. Read on to learn how.
Step 1: Press the Windows key + S to open the search menu, type cmd , and press Enter .
Step 2: In the console, type the below command and press Enter to view a list of available power plans.
powercfg /list
Note : The GUID number next to the plan is its unique identifier code that you can use to switch between various modes. Note the GUID number of the plan you wish to use.
Step 3: To change power mode, run the following command.
powercfg /setactive GUID
Replace GUID in the above command with the actual unique identifier code noted earlier.
It’s important to note that once you’ve changed the power mode via the Control Panel or Command Prompt, you can’t change modes via the Settings app. To fix this, use the Control Panel or Command Prompt and switch to the Balanced mode first.
Bonus: Create a Custom Power Plan on Windows 11
While Windows 11 already offers you three different power plans, you can also create a custom power plan that best suits your needs. Here’s how.
Step 1: Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog, type control , and press Enter .
Step 2: Click Power options . From the left column, click on Create a power plan .
Step 3: Select one of the three basic plans to start with. Then, enter a suitable plan name and hit Next .
Step 4: Choose the preferred sleep and display settings for the plan and hit Create .
