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[Awake] Detect locked screen and allow screen off - #49388

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Yu Leng (moooyo) merged 4 commits into
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Meister1977:detect-screen-lock-in-awake
Sep 7, 2026
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[Awake] Detect locked screen and allow screen off#49388
Yu Leng (moooyo) merged 4 commits into
microsoft:mainfrom
Meister1977:detect-screen-lock-in-awake

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@Meister1977

@Meister1977 AmbrÃģzy Lőrinc (Meister1977) commented Jul 17, 2026 •
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Summary of the Pull Request

PR Checklist

  • Communication: I've discussed this with core contributors already. If the work hasn't been agreed, this work might be rejected
  • [N/A] Tests: Added/updated and all pass
  • [N/A] Localization: All end-user-facing strings can be localized
  • [N/A] Dev docs: Added/updated
  • [N/A] New binaries: Added on the required places
  • [N/A] Documentation updated: If checked, please file a pull request on our docs repo and link it here: #xxx

Detailed Description of the Pull Request / Additional comments

This change updates Awake’s handling of the workstation lock state so that it behaves more closely to the documented behavior. Previously, Awake would continue to request the display to remain on even when the session was locked, which prevented Windows from turning the display off and entering normal power-saving behavior. The change introduces logic to detect whether the workstation is currently locked and to reapply the awake state accordingly when the session state changes.
In practice, the implementation:
1. Detect the current lock state on startup
Awake now checks whether the workstation is already locked when it starts. This ensures that the initial state is correct even if the session was already locked before Awake was launched.
2. React to lock and unlock transitions
The implementation listens for session switch events and updates the internal lock state whenever the user locks or unlocks the workstation. This allows Awake to respond to changes in session state in real time.
3. Re-apply the awake state when the lock state changes
When the lock state changes, Awake re-applies the active awake mode so that the display is not forced on while the screen is locked. The update is coordinated through the existing shared state logic to avoid race conditions between mode changes and session events.
4. Preserve existing behavior when unlocked
When the session is unlocked, Awake continues to behave as before, so the normal keep-awake experience remains unchanged.

Design rationale:
The Win32 WTSQuerySessionInformationW was chosen because it directly query the specified session state without polling or external dependencies. Alternatives like WMI or registry monitoring were considered but rejected due to latency and reliability concerns in lock state detection.

Thread safety:
The StateLock serializes all state mutations and queue writes to prevent interleaving. For example:

  • SessionSwitch event fires on SystemEvents thread
  • Set*KeepAwake methods execute on caller's thread
    Without the lock, a lock transition could occur between reading IsDisplayOn and enqueueing the state, leaving the system in an inconsistent state.

Validation Steps Performed

â€Ē Tested on multiple machines.
â€Ē Confirmed that when the screen is locked, Windows can now switch off the display and use power-saving mode.
â€Ē Verified that without this change, Awake prevented Windows from entering power-saving mode.
â€Ē Confirmed that the unlocked behavior remains unchanged.
â€Ē The native API call is tested in a small console app with a cycle, and it works

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@github-actions github-actions Bot added the Product-Awake Issues regarding the PowerToys Awake utility label Jul 17, 2026
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@Meister1977

AmbrÃģzy Lőrinc (Meister1977) commented Jul 17, 2026

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@microsoft-github-policy-service agree

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@Meister1977
AmbrÃģzy Lőrinc (Meister1977) marked this pull request as draft July 17, 2026 18:31
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AmbrÃģzy Lőrinc (Meister1977) marked this pull request as ready for review July 22, 2026 08:08
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moooyo
Yu Leng (moooyo) requested changes Aug 6, 2026
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Thanks for working on this. Letting the display power down while the session is locked makes sense. I found two correctness issues that can leave Awake's execution state out of sync, so I'm requesting changes. Details are inline.

Comment thread src/modules/awake/Awake/Core/Manager.cs Resolved
Comment thread src/modules/awake/Awake/Core/Manager.cs Resolved
@Meister1977
AmbrÃģzy Lőrinc (Meister1977) force-pushed the detect-screen-lock-in-awake branch 4 times, most recently from 477eaff to b952718 Compare August 6, 2026 19:34
moooyo
Yu Leng (moooyo) reviewed Aug 10, 2026
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Comment thread src/modules/awake/Awake/Core/Manager.cs Resolved
moooyo
Yu Leng (moooyo) reviewed Aug 10, 2026
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Comment thread src/modules/awake/Awake/Core/Manager.cs Resolved
@daverayment
Dave Rayment (daverayment) marked this pull request as draft August 10, 2026 21:49
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Dave Rayment (daverayment) commented Aug 10, 2026

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Switching to Draft as this is incomplete, lacking testing information and a description of the code.

Please fill in the Validation Steps Performed section and provide further details of what the code is doing in the Detailed Description section. Thanks.

@Meister1977

AmbrÃģzy Lőrinc (Meister1977) commented Aug 11, 2026

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Switching to Draft as this is incomplete, lacking testing information and a description of the code.

Please fill in the Validation Steps Performed section and provide further details of what the code is doing in the Detailed Description section. Thanks.

Added more detailed description and how I validated that it works.

@Meister1977
AmbrÃģzy Lőrinc (Meister1977) marked this pull request as ready for review August 11, 2026 15:47
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@Meister1977

AmbrÃģzy Lőrinc (Meister1977) commented Aug 11, 2026

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Guys, should I add unittests? I can write, but it needs some refactor in the class. Like moving the SessionStateDetector.IsWorkstationLocked(); to a separate class, etc...
Currently I cannot see any tests for this project.

@Meister1977

AmbrÃģzy Lőrinc (Meister1977) commented Aug 18, 2026

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Any news? How will it be approved? Or never? Should I fork the Awake, and use my own vewrsion?

@moooyo

Yu Leng (moooyo) commented Aug 19, 2026 •
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ambrÃģzy Lőrinc (Meister1977) sorry for my late reply. We are working for next version release recently. Will review it again later.

@moooyo

Yu Leng (moooyo) commented Aug 20, 2026

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AmbrÃģzy Lőrinc (@Meister1977) see comments. Thanks~

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🧭 PR intake

Visual evidence: Not needed — The changed files do not indicate a visible UI change. No visual evidence is expected.

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Link the issue this PR fixes using a closing keyword such as Closes #123.

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moooyo
Yu Leng (moooyo) approved these changes Sep 7, 2026
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LGTM now, Thanks AmbrÃģzy Lőrinc (@Meister1977)

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Yu Leng (moooyo) commented Sep 7, 2026

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/azp run

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@moooyo
Yu Leng (moooyo) enabled auto-merge (squash) September 7, 2026 03:58
@moooyo
Yu Leng (moooyo) merged commit 0825b72 into microsoft:main Sep 7, 2026
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@Meister1977
AmbrÃģzy Lőrinc (Meister1977) deleted the detect-screen-lock-in-awake branch September 9, 2026 12:07
@jiezhengj jiezhengj mentioned this pull request Sep 23, 2026
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Yu Leng (moooyo) pushed a commit that referenced this pull request Nov 11, 2026
@Meister1977 @lorinc-ambrozy-work
[Awake] Let users keep “Keep screen on” enabled while Windows is lockâ€Ķ
b19d41d 
â€Ķed (#51880)

#51529

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<!-- Enter a brief description/summary of your PR here. What does it
fix/what does it change/how was it tested (even manually, if necessary)?
-->
## Summary of the Pull Request

<!-- Please review the items on the PR checklist before submitting-->
## PR Checklist

- [x] Closes: #51529 
<!-- - [ ] Closes: #yyy (add separate lines for additional resolved
issues) -->
- [ ] **Communication:** I've discussed this with core contributors
already. If the work hasn't been agreed, this work might be rejected
- [x] **Tests:** Added/updated and all pass
- [x] **Localization:** All end-user-facing strings can be localized
- [ ] **Dev docs:** Added/updated
- [ ] **New binaries:** Added on the required places
- [ ] [JSON for
signing](https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/blob/main/.pipelines/ESRPSigning_core.json)
for new binaries
- [ ] [WXS for
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for new binaries and localization folder
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- [x] **Documentation updated:** If checked, please file a pull request
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and link it here:
[6192](MicrosoftDocs/windows-dev-docs#6192)

<!-- Provide a more detailed description of the PR, other things fixed,
or any additional comments/features here -->
## Detailed Description of the Pull Request / Additional comments

**What it does:** Adds an "Allow screen to turn off while locked" toggle
for Awake (`allowDisplayOffWhileLocked`, default `true`). The default
keeps the behavior from #49388. Turning it off keeps
`ES_DISPLAY_REQUIRED` set while Windows is locked.

**Known behavior, intentionally not changed:** Changing the toggle while
a timed or expirable session is running restarts that session. The
settings save triggers `Program.ProcessSettings()`, which calls
`SetTimedKeepAwake()` or `SetExpirableKeepAwake()` again, and these
cancel the existing timer and restart it with the full configured
duration. This is the same path every other Awake setting already takes,
including "Keep screen on". Avoiding it would need extra change-tracking
code in `ProcessSettings()` for a rarely used edge case, so it is out of
scope here.

**Example without a reset:** In Indefinite mode there is no timer, so
changing the toggle only re-queues the execution state
(`SetIndefiniteKeepAwake()` in `Manager.cs`). Passive mode is also
unaffected.

</details>

<!-- Describe how you validated the behavior. Add automated tests
wherever possible, but list manual validation steps taken as well -->
## Validation Steps Performed

<img width="797" height="562" alt="image"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f7c4c5bf-9e7e-4a86-962b-7e7ac578af1c"
/>
<img width="295" height="157" alt="image"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/fb8abdea-4f8e-4e9c-8863-483963d953c1"
/>

And checked both cases. In case of enabled, then the locked screen can
be switched off, in case of disabled, the locked screen stays on.

Co-authored-by: Lorinc Ambrozy <lorinc.ambrozy@goto.com>
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