When your Wi-Fi keeps dropping, your adapter isn't necessarily broken. The router, interference and drivers can all be the cause. Windows power-saving settings are just one possibility, but they're the easiest one for you to check yourself, and they cost nothing. Microsoft's own Wi-Fi troubleshooting guide lists turning off adapter power saving as one of its steps.
Windows has three settings that control power saving for your network adapter. Change them one at a time, in this order: Device Manager, Wireless Adapter Settings, then PCI Express, and watch for a while after each change, so you know which one made the difference. Before you change anything, write down what it was set to, and change it back if nothing improves. If you use PowerDoze, its Power Saver mode sets setting 3 (Link State Power Management under PCI Express) to its deepest power-saving level; the section "If you use PowerDoze, change the PCI Express setting in PowerDoze" shows you how to change that in PowerDoze.
First: is this the only device losing Wi-Fi?
The next time the connection drops, check your phone or any other device on the same Wi-Fi. If they drop at the same time, the problem is most likely the router or your internet provider, and changing settings on this PC won't help. Restart your modem and router first. If only your PC drops, go on to the three settings below.
Setting 1: "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" in Device Manager
The name says what it does: when it's checked, Windows can turn the adapter off to save power. Microsoft's guide recommends unchecking it:
- Type "Device Manager" in the search box on the taskbar and open it.
- Expand Network adapters, right-click your Wi-Fi adapter and choose Properties. The Wi-Fi adapter's name usually contains "Wi-Fi", "Wireless" or "802.11".
- Open the Power Management tab, uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power, and click OK.
Some Wi-Fi adapters don't have a Power Management tab. If you don't see it, skip this one. If your adapter is made by Intel, Intel says something different: on its adapters, this checkbox only affects how the adapter powers down when the PC sleeps or hibernates, it has no effect on Wi-Fi power management, and Intel recommends leaving it checked. So if unchecking it doesn't help on an Intel adapter, check it again.
Setting 2: Wireless Adapter Settings in your power plan
This is the power plan's own power-saving setting for Wi-Fi adapters. It has four options: Maximum Performance, Low Power Saving, Medium Power Saving and Maximum Power Saving. Microsoft's guide says that if your Wi-Fi drops frequently, you should set it to Maximum Performance.
- Open Control Panel → Hardware and Sound → Power Options, click Change plan settings next to the plan you're using, then click Change advanced power settings.
- In the window that opens, expand Wireless Adapter Settings, then expand Power Saving Mode.
- A desktop PC shows a single Setting value; set it to Maximum Performance. A laptop shows On battery and Plugged in. Change Plugged in first, and change On battery too if the Wi-Fi also drops when you're on battery. Click OK.
There are two things to know about this one. First, Microsoft's documentation says this setting is only a hint to the adapter's driver, so not every adapter follows it. Second, Intel recommends not changing the default wireless power settings, because doing so might cause connectivity issues. So if you see no improvement after a while, change it back. Also, some PCs don't show Wireless Adapter Settings in this window at all, and Intel notes that newer versions of Windows may not show these advanced options. If you don't see it, skip it.
Setting 3: Link State Power Management under PCI Express
On many PCs, the Wi-Fi adapter connects to the motherboard through PCIe, the channel the motherboard uses for parts like the graphics card, SSDs and network cards. Link State Power Management decides whether that channel drops into a power-saving state when it isn't carrying data. It has three options: Off, Moderate power savings and Maximum power savings. Maximum power savings uses the deeper of the two power-saving states.
This one is different from the Device Manager setting and Wireless Adapter Settings: neither Microsoft's nor Intel's Wi-Fi troubleshooting guides mention it, and we found no official documentation saying it causes Wi-Fi drops. That's why it comes last. Try it only if you've changed the Device Manager setting and Wireless Adapter Settings and your Wi-Fi still drops. This setting applies to the PCIe channel, so if your adapter is a small one plugged into a USB port, it has no direct connection to this setting and you can leave it alone for now.
- In the same Change advanced power settings window, expand PCI Express, then expand Link State Power Management.
- If it's set to Maximum power savings, change it to Moderate power savings first and watch for a while. If the Wi-Fi still drops, change it to Off. Click OK.
Some PCs don't show this setting. If you don't see it, skip it. If you use PowerDoze, change this one in PowerDoze instead; the section "If you use PowerDoze, change the PCI Express setting in PowerDoze" explains why.
The three settings at a glance
| Setting | Where to find it | Try changing it to | What the official guides say | Does PowerDoze change it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power | Device Manager → adapter Properties → Power Management tab | Unchecked | Microsoft recommends unchecking it; Intel says it has no effect on its adapters | No |
| Wireless Adapter Settings → Power Saving Mode | Power Options → Change advanced power settings | Maximum Performance | Microsoft recommends it when Wi-Fi drops frequently; Intel recommends keeping the default | No |
| PCI Express → Link State Power Management | Power Options → Change advanced power settings | Moderate power savings, then Off if it still drops | Not mentioned in the official Wi-Fi troubleshooting guides | Yes, through PCIe Power Saving in each power mode |
If you use PowerDoze, change the PCI Express setting in PowerDoze
Every PowerDoze power mode has a PCIe Power Saving option with three choices, Off, Moderate and Max, and it controls setting 3, Link State Power Management under PCI Express: Moderate is Moderate power savings, and Max is Maximum power savings. PowerDoze doesn't touch the Device Manager setting or Wireless Adapter Settings.
The built-in Power Saver mode has PCIe Power Saving set to Max. The Wizard · Saver mode that the setup wizard creates for you is set to Max too. If you picked Battery & savings in the wizard, the other modes it creates are usually set to Max as well. Also, if you don't have any rules yet, PowerDoze creates a Night power saver rule for you when the tour ends on your first launch, whether you click Get started or Skip. That rule applies Power Saver mode every day from 11 PM to 7 AM.
So if your Wi-Fi mostly drops after 11 PM, or while PowerDoze has switched to a power-saving mode, this setting is worth trying first. To see which level each mode uses, open its edit screen and look at PCIe Power Saving:
- Open PowerDoze and click Power Modes on the left.
- On the card of the mode you want to change, click the pencil icon (it shows Edit Mode when you hover over it).
- Scroll down to PCIe Power Saving and choose Moderate. If the Wi-Fi still drops, change it to Off. Click Save.
Starting with version 2.4.0 (Microsoft Store), if the mode you edited is the one in use right now, clicking Save applies it right away, and you'll see "Saved. The new settings are in effect now." If you edited a different mode, the new value takes effect the next time PowerDoze applies that mode. If the message says it couldn't take effect right now, switch to another mode and back, as it suggests.
If you're on version 2.3.1 from our website, the new value only takes effect the next time PowerDoze applies that mode. To make it take effect right away: if the mode's card is marked Active, click Apply on a different mode, then click Apply on this mode again. In both 2.4.0 and 2.3.1, you don't need Pro to edit modes.
Changing this setting only in Windows' advanced power settings won't last. Every time PowerDoze applies a mode, it writes the mode's PCIe Power Saving value into the power plan that mode uses, and whatever you changed in Windows gets overwritten at that point.
We have no evidence that Max always causes Wi-Fi drops. We're telling you about it because it is a setting PowerDoze changes, and you should know where it is and how to change it back. To see what else a PowerDoze power mode controls, read about custom power modes.
FAQ
Does switching to Maximum Performance or Off use more power?
It uses somewhat more power, which you'll notice most on a laptop running on battery. These settings trade adapter performance for power savings, and we haven't measured how big the difference is.
How long should I wait to know whether a change helped?
It depends on how often it dropped before. If it dropped several times a day, a day or two will tell you; if it only dropped once or twice a week, give it a week or two.
My Wi-Fi adapter plugs into a USB port. Do I need to change these?
The Device Manager setting and Wireless Adapter Settings in your power plan still apply. The PCI Express setting has no direct connection to a USB adapter, so you can leave it alone.
What this post can't fix
This post only covers power-saving settings. If your Wi-Fi still drops after you've tried all three, the cause is probably somewhere else, such as the router's position or channel, interference, or the adapter's driver. Microsoft's Wi-Fi troubleshooting guide also covers updating drivers, switching bands and resetting your network, so you can carry on with those. PowerDoze can't help with any of them.
You can do every check in this post with settings built into Windows, without installing anything. If fixing your Wi-Fi drops is all you need, you don't need us. We also don't have a lab, so we can't test which adapters drop under which settings. What's written in this post comes from Microsoft's and Intel's official documentation, and from what the PowerDoze code actually does.
Want your PC to save power automatically at night, while you decide how far your network adapter should power down? Every PowerDoze power mode lets you set PCIe Power Saving on its own.
