Allow This Device to Wake the Computer Greyed Out: What It Means and What to Check

The short answer

In Windows Device Manager, the "Allow this device to wake the computer" checkbox on a device's Power Management tab is greyed out for one of two reasons. Either a dependent setting above it is switched off, or Windows does not consider the device capable of waking the system. The second reason can come from the device, its driver, the USB port or hub it connects through, or the firmware (BIOS/UEFI) settings. If the option is greyed out on a mouse or keyboard you want to use for waking, work through those causes in order. If it is greyed out on a webcam, that is usually expected and does not affect how the webcam or its microphone captures speech.

No device-specific evidence was supplied for this guide, such as particular models, driver versions or test results. The steps below rely on documented Windows behavior and general principles. Exact menu names and options vary by Windows version, PC manufacturer and firmware.

Why the checkbox becomes unavailable

• The power-saving option is off: On many devices, the wake option only becomes available when "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" is checked. Windows treats the wake setting as dependent on that first option.
• The device or driver does not report wake support: If the hardware or its driver does not tell Windows it can act as a wake source, the checkbox stays disabled. A generic or outdated driver can cause this as easily as the hardware itself.
• The USB path does not support wake: A device plugged into an unpowered hub, a front-panel port or certain add-in controllers may lose wake capability that it would have on a rear motherboard port.
• Firmware has USB wake disabled: Many BIOS/UEFI setups include options for waking from USB devices or keyboards. They are sometimes called USB wake support or wake on USB, and some systems disable them by default or when certain power-saving modes are on.
• The sleep model differs: PCs using Modern Standby handle sleep differently from traditional S3 sleep. On these systems the Power Management tab may look different, show fewer options, or be missing entirely.

When your computer won't wake with the mouse

This is the most common reason people look for the wake setting. Work through these checks in order:

• 1. Open Device Manager and expand "Mice and other pointing devices". Open the mouse entry, usually labeled HID-compliant mouse, and go to Power Management. If there is more than one entry, check each one.
• 2. If the wake option is greyed out, first check "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power". Then reopen the tab and see whether the wake option has become available.
• 3. Expand "Universal Serial Bus controllers" and check the Power Management tab on the USB Root Hub or Generic USB Hub entries. A setting at the hub level can affect devices connected through it.
• 4. Move a wired mouse, or the receiver of a wireless mouse, to a rear USB port directly on the motherboard rather than a hub or front-panel port.
• 5. Restart, enter the BIOS/UEFI setup, and look for a USB wake or keyboard/mouse wake option. Also look for deep power-saving modes that cut power to USB ports during sleep.
• 6. Install the chipset and USB drivers from your PC or motherboard manufacturer, not only the generic drivers Windows provides.
• 7. Test with the keyboard or the power button. If those wake the PC but the mouse does not, the problem is specific to the mouse or its path. If nothing wakes it, the problem lies in sleep or firmware configuration.

Wireless and Bluetooth mice add another layer. Some receivers or Bluetooth radios lose power during sleep, or the mouse's own power-saving mode does not send input until it is moved or clicked. Whether a particular wireless mouse can wake a particular PC depends on both pieces of hardware. No evidence covering specific models was supplied.

Checking wake devices from the command line

Windows includes the powercfg tool, which shows which devices can wake the PC and which are currently allowed to. Run these commands in an elevated Command Prompt, opened with "Run as administrator":

powercfg -devicequery wake_programmable
powercfg -devicequery wake_armed
powercfg -deviceenablewake "HID-compliant mouse"
powercfg -lastwake

The first command lists devices that Windows considers able to be set as wake sources. If your mouse does not appear there, the greyed-out checkbox reflects missing capability rather than a setting you overlooked. The second lists devices currently armed to wake the PC. The third arms a device by its exact name as shown in the first list. The fourth reports what woke the computer most recently, which helps when the PC wakes unexpectedly.

What this means for a webcam and its microphone

Webcams are not normally used as wake sources, so finding the wake option greyed out on a webcam entry is not a fault. A webcam with a built-in microphone typically appears in Device Manager as several entries: a camera under Cameras or Imaging devices, and an audio input under "Sound, video and game controllers" or "Audio inputs and outputs". Neither entry needs wake capability to capture speech.

The setting that more plausibly affects webcam audio is "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power", together with USB power-saving features such as USB selective suspend in the power plan's advanced settings. Some users report that after sleep the webcam microphone disappears from the input list, falls silent, or is replaced by another default microphone in a conferencing app. Cutting power to the device or its USB hub is one possible cause, but supplied evidence does not confirm it for any specific webcam.

If the webcam microphone becomes unreliable after waking, try these steps:

• In Device Manager, clear "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" on the webcam's audio entry and on the USB hub it connects through. Do not do this on hubs that serve the mouse or keyboard you rely on for waking. Clearing the option there can grey out their wake setting again.
• In the advanced power plan settings, consider disabling USB selective suspend, which lets Windows power down idle USB devices. This can increase power use, especially on laptops.
• After waking, check the system's sound input settings and the conferencing app's microphone selection. Confirm the webcam microphone is still the chosen input, not a laptop's internal array or a headset.
• If the microphone only returns after you unplug and reconnect the webcam, connect it to a different USB port and install the manufacturer's driver, if one exists.

Evidence gaps

This guide does not draw on testing of any specific webcam, mouse, PC or Windows build, and it makes no claims about which models support USB wake or keep their microphone after sleep. If the steps above do not resolve the issue, check your PC or motherboard manufacturer's documentation for its sleep and USB wake behavior. That documentation is the authoritative source for how your particular firmware handles USB power.