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Key concepts overview

Modern standby achieves low power and constant connectivity by spending the majority of time in a low-power state in which the SoC is powered down (DRIPS).

After the display is powered off, Windows transitions through a set of phases to prepare apps and system software for achieving low power. The purpose of these phases is to stop or reduce as much software activity on the system as possible. After software components and apps have been prepared for low-power operation, hardware components, including their software device drivers, must be similarly prepared for low-power operation.

Windows only powers up the SoC when activators block the transition back to the idle power mode to perform scheduled background activity or to respond to incoming network activity or device interrupts. Windows achieves low power consumption by aggressively entering the idle power mode and controlling the amount of activity.

If devices block software DRIPS (SW DRIPS) for a certain length of time in the absence of any activator-brokered software activity, the OS can direct devices to enter their appropriate low-power idle states through Directed Deepest Runtime Idle Platform State (DDRIPS) mechanisms.

Modern standby systems can enter connected standby or disconnected standby on a per-Modern Standby session basis based on user opt-in to connected scenarios, described in more detail in Network connectivity.

If the system is in disconnected standby, very little activity occurs during sleep. The system should spend most of its time in the idle power mode (DRIPS).

If the system is in connected standby, the amount of activity is typically higher. This activity is mostly the result of app background tasks that require a network connection to be usable. For example, email will not sync without an Internet connection. When the system is in connected standby and an active Internet connection is present, the system will transition between the idle and active modes on demand if incoming network packets match Wake on LAN (WoL) patterns.