Is it possible to keep a VPN connection open with sleep mode enabled (Windows 11)

VincentHanna · 21 Nov 2022 at 10:24

I recently enabled sleep mode on my PC, just to save a bit of power when not in use.

However, for work I have to connect to a VPN to access a server, and every time the PC goes to sleep the VPN disconnects, presumably because the Wifi turns off in sleep mode?

How can I get around this?

I tried going in to Device Manager and under Network Adapters -> Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6E AX210 160Mhz -> Properties -> Power Management

I unchecked the box that says: "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"

But it didn't fix the issue

VersionMonkey · 21 Nov 2022 at 11:18

The VPN is probably dropping because your PC will stop sending/responding to "keep alives" when the software running the VPN gets suspended (along with everything else) when the PC enters sleep.

In order to keep the connection up, the VPN software would likely need to wake the PC so often it would make entering sleep almost pointless.

VincentHanna · 21 Nov 2022 at 11:21

It's windows own VPN, not additional software.

VersionMonkey · 21 Nov 2022 at 12:50

Same principle either way.

Edit: let me put it this way: Something needs to be running to keep the VPN connection alive. If something is running, the PC isn't in sleep mode.