How To Fix Screensaver Not Working In Windows 10

No downloads or third-party apps required

A screensaver is supposed to appear after a predefined time has passed. If you still don’t see the Windows 10 screensaver even after waiting for that period of time, there may bean issue with your screensaver settingsand you’ll need to fix it for it to work.

Unless you already know why the screensaver is not working in Windows 10, you’ll want to try a few methods before your issue is resolved. You don’t really need to download anything or use any third-party apps to fix the issue, as most likely changing an option here and there in your system configuration will fix the problem for you.

Update Your System To Fix The Windows 10 Screensaver Not Working Issue

One of the possible reasons why the screensaver isn’t working on your Windows 10 PC is because you have an old version of Windows running on your computer. Older versions are known to have issues and bugs in them, andupdating your machine to a newer versionof the operating system will likely fix the issue for you.

Verify The Windows 10 Screensaver Settings

While it goes without saying that you should have a screensaver selected in the Windows 10 screensaver settings menu, some users forget to do it and that’s why they don’t see anything come up even after their computer sitting idle for a while.

The issue can be resolved by going into the settings menu and selecting one of the available screensavers for your machine. Once that’s configured, your screensaver will appear as it should.

Unplug The Devices You Don’t Use From Your PC

One of the great things about Windows computers is that you can plug-in pretty much anything into them. These pluggable items usually include USB flash drives, wireless keyboards and mouse, and even game controllers.

For as long as these devices are connected to your computer, they use certain utilities, either inbuilt or third-party, to function. Sometimes, these utilities come in the way of screensaver settings and prevent it from working. Your computer thinks since you’ve plugged-in these devices, you’re using them or planning to use them and so it keeps your computer awake.

This behavior prevents the screensaver from launching on your computer. However, there’s an extremely easy way to fix it: unplug all the unwanted devices from your machine. Once that’s done, your screensavers will continue to work in Windows 10 as they did before.

Keep Your Mouse Clean & Away From Any Movements

You probably already know why and when your computer activates the screensaver mode. For those of you who don’t, the screensaver is activated after a predefined time in the settings has passed and that there should have been no activity on your computer.

Keeping your keyboard away from any activities is easy but that is not the case with a mouse. Especially if your mouse has collected any dust or is placed in an area where it detects any movements, it’s going to keep your machine awake. It’ll prevent the screensaver from being launched and the issue will continue until and unless you can keep your mouse idle.

A good way to fix this is toclean your mouse of any dustand try and place it on a flat surface without any disturbances. This should fix your issue if it was caused by your peripherals.

Reset Power Settings On Your Windows 10 PC

A screensaver is actually the result of a power plan that your computer uses. If these settings aren’t properly configured, it’ll lead to the screensaver not working in Windows 10.

Resetting the power settings should fix it for you.

Resolve Windows 10 Screensaver Issues With Power Troubleshooter

If none of the above methods worked for you, you might want to let your system detect the issue for itself and offer you suggestions on how to fix it. Your PC actually has a troubleshooter to help you deal with power issues on your computer.

We hope the guide helped you fix the screensaver issue on your Windows 10 machine. And if it did, please let us know what method worked for you in the comments below.

Mahesh has been obsessed with technology since he got his first gadget a decade or so ago. Over the last few years, he’s written a number of tech articles on various online publications including but not limited to MakeTechEasier and Android AppStorm.Read Mahesh’s Full Bio

Welcome to Help Desk Geek- a blog full of tech tips from trusted tech experts. We have thousands of articles and guides to help you troubleshoot any issue. Our articles have been read over 150 million times since we launched in 2008.

HomeAbout UsEditorial StandardsContact UsTerms of Use

How To Fix Screensaver Not Working In Windows 10#

Update Your System To Fix The Windows 10 Screensaver Not Working Issue#

Verify The Windows 10 Screensaver Settings#

Unplug The Devices You Don’t Use From Your PC#

Keep Your Mouse Clean & Away From Any Movements#

Reset Power Settings On Your Windows 10 PC#

Resolve Windows 10 Screensaver Issues With Power Troubleshooter#