How to Configure Power Management

Overview

Why a power plan isn't useful until it's deployed

Defining a power plan only describes what you want an endpoint's power behavior to look like - how long it sits idle before the display dims, when it sleeps, whether it hibernates. On its own, that definition changes nothing on a real device. It has to be pushed out to specific endpoints, departments, locations, or the whole fleet before any setting actually takes effect, and only the deployment record tells you whether it landed.

Power Management is built for that two-part workflow: define a power plan (its scheme name, action type, and the idle-time, button, and lid-close behavior for both plugged-in and battery states), then create a deployment that targets the endpoints you want and pushes the plan out under a chosen deployment policy. Each deployment reports its own stage and progress, and a per-task output log confirms exactly what happened on the endpoint.

This guide walks the full workflow end to end: opening the Power Management module, creating a power plan with its idle-time and additional settings, saving it, deploying it to specific endpoints, and confirming the deployment actually completed on a live endpoint.

• Define by action type, not just a name: choose whether the plan should Create, Modify, or Delete a power scheme on the endpoint, then give that scheme its own name.
• Separate settings for plugged in vs. running on battery: every idle-time action - dimming the display, turning it off, sleeping, hibernating - has an independent timeout for AC power and battery power.
• Hibernate support is opt-in: Enable Hibernate Support has to be switched on before System Hibernate timeouts take effect.
• Overwrite and activate are separate choices: Overwrite If Exists controls whether a same-named scheme is replaced, and Set As Active controls whether the plan becomes the endpoint's active power plan - neither is implied by the other.
• Deployment scope is flexible: target All Endpoints, Specific Endpoints, Specific Departments, Specific Locations, or Windows devices from a single deployment.
• See deployment status per task: Stage (Initiated/Completed) and Progress are tracked per deployment, and a task-level output log shows the exact actions the endpoint agent performed.

Prerequisites

Confirm these before creating a power plan. Leaving Set As Active off, or forgetting to enable hibernate support before setting a hibernate timeout, are the most common reasons a "saved" plan never changes endpoint behavior.

1. Administrator access: your account holds a role permitted to manage the Device Control -> Power Management module.
2. Agent installed and reporting: the endpoint agent is installed, registered, and reporting healthy on every target device you plan to deploy to.
3. Action type and scheme name decided: know whether you're creating a new scheme, modifying an existing one, or deleting one, and have a clear scheme name ready (e.g. Power Saving mode).
4. Idle-time policy decided: know the intended dim, display-off, sleep, and hibernate timeouts for both plugged-in and battery states before opening the form, so you're not guessing values as you go.
5. Deployment scope confirmed: know whether this plan should go to specific endpoints, a department, a location, or the whole fleet, so the deployment step doesn't overreach.

Architecture: how a power plan definition becomes an applied setting

A power plan entry defines what the power scheme should look like and how it should behave when idle. A deployment decides which endpoints receive it and under what policy. Settings scope which endpoints are exempt.

Step 1: Open Power Management

Get oriented before creating anything, so you know where power plans and deployments each live.

Instructions

1. From the main console, go to Endpoints -> Device Control.
2. Select the Power Management module.
3. Note the two sections in the left sidebar: Power Plans (definitions) and Power Plan Deployments (rollouts and status).

Path: Console / Endpoints / Device Control / Power Management

Result: You're in the Power Management module with visibility into any existing power plans before authoring a new one.

Step 2: Create a power plan and choose an action type

Define what the plan does at the scheme level: its name, configuration level, action type, and the scheme it targets.

Instructions

1. Go to Power Plans -> Create.
2. Enter a Name describing the plan's intent, e.g. Saving power.
3. Set Configuration Level, e.g. User.
4. Optionally enter a Description and toggle Apply On User Login if the plan should apply as soon as a user signs in.
5. Under Action 1, set Action Type to Create, Modify, or Delete.
6. Enter the Scheme Name the action applies to, e.g. Power Saving mode.

Path: Console / Device Control / Power Management / Power Plans / Create

Console: power plan definition

Result: The plan's identity and target scheme are set. Nothing is applied to an endpoint yet - that happens once the plan is deployed in Step 5.

Step 3: Configure idle-time display, sleep and hibernate timers

Set how the endpoint behaves after a defined period of inactivity, separately for plugged-in and battery power.

Instructions

1. Under Actions to be performed on an idle computer, set a Plugged in and Running on battery value for each mode of power.
2. Dim the Display: choose a shorter timeout for battery than for plugged-in power, e.g. After 3 minutes plugged in, After 2 minutes on battery.
3. Turn Off the Display: e.g. After 15 minutes plugged in, After 5 minutes on battery.
4. Turn Off to Sleep: e.g. After 120 minutes plugged in, After 20 minutes on battery.
5. If the plan should hibernate, toggle Enable Hibernate Support on first, then set System Hibernate timeouts, e.g. After 120 minutes plugged in, After 45 minutes on battery.

Path: Console / Device Control / Power Management / Power Plans / Create

Console: idle-time actions

Result: The endpoint's idle behavior is fully defined for both power states, ready to be saved along with the button and lid-close actions in Step 4.

Step 4: Set button and lid-close actions, then save the plan

Decide what a physical power button press or a laptop lid close should do, then save the entry.

Instructions

1. Under Additional Settings, set Power Button Action for Plugged in and Running on battery, choosing from Do Nothing, Sleep, Hibernate, or Shutdown.
2. Set Lid Close Action the same way.
3. Use + Add Power Scheme Action if this plan needs more than one action (for example, pairing a Create action with a separate Delete action for an older scheme).
4. Select Create.

Path: Console / Device Control / Power Management / Power Plans / Create

Console: additional settings

Result: The power plan appears in the Power Plans list with its Configuration Level and Actions Count, alongside any existing plans. It still has no effect on any endpoint until it's deployed.

Step 5: Deploy the power plan to endpoints

Push the saved plan out to the endpoints that should receive it.

Instructions

1. Go to Power Plan Deployments -> Create.
2. Enter a Deployment Name, e.g. Saving Power, and an optional Description.
3. Set Scope to All Endpoints, Specific Endpoints, Specific Departments, Specific Locations, or Windows.
4. If you chose Specific Endpoints, search and select each target endpoint under Endpoints.
5. Under Select Power Management Configuration, choose the power plan you created, e.g. Saving power.
6. Set Deployment Policy, e.g. OOB Instant deployment policy.
7. Optionally set Notify To if stakeholders should be alerted about the deployment.
8. Select Publish, then confirm in the dialog asking "Are you sure you want to Publish Deployment: <deployment name>?"

Path: Console / Device Control / Power Management / Power Plan Deployments / Create

Console: deployment definition

Result: A new deployment is created and immediately begins rolling out. It starts in the INITIATED stage with 0/1 progress before it's picked up by the targeted endpoint agent.

Step 6: Monitor the deployment and confirm it reached an endpoint

Verify the whole chain - plan, deployment, and endpoint agent - actually results in an applied setting, rather than assuming the deployment succeeded.

Instructions

1. Return to Power Plan Deployments and locate the deployment by name.
2. Read the Stage column: INITIATED means the deployment has started but not finished; COMPLETED confirms the endpoint agent finished applying it.
3. Read Progress (e.g. 1/1) to confirm every targeted endpoint was processed.
4. Select the deployment's view icon to open its task detail and see the per-endpoint Output log.

Path: Console / Device Control / Power Management / Power Plan Deployments

Console: deployment status

Result: Confirmed, evidence-backed rollout - the task output shows each individual action the agent performed, and the deployment's stage and progress reflect a completed rollout, not just a plan that was saved.

Best practices for power management

Troubleshooting: common issues and resolutions

Frequently asked questions