Lenovo Ideapad Offline When Not In Use

[Mike McCall]

A new client has a new Lenovo Ideapad laptop that is only online when in use. When they stop using it it drops offline soon after. It is running Win11 Home. I have been through all the power settings, the Lenovo app Power settings, and every other place I can think of. In Event Viewer>System there are pages of Kernel-Power entries.



The laptop is plugged in consistently, so what power transition is it referring to?



The system thinks that either the power button has been pressed or the lid has been closed. Neither is the case and all settings related to the power button/lid are set to do nothing. Searching online has found similar issues regarding Event ID 42 but no resolutions that I have found so far. Several people have suggested a hardware issue but nothing conclusive.



I am also seeing a few of these scattered in with the Kernel-Power events. I don't know if they are related.

This machine is brand new and under warranty should there actually be a hardware issue. I'm not yet convinced that it is. Has anyone run into this issue before?

 

[GTP]

It sounds to me more like the WiFi/Network card is being turned off to save power. Might be worth prowling around in that area?

There is a setting in Network & Internet > WiFi > Hardware Properties > More Adapter Options > Edit > Configure > Power Management > "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"

 

[Mike McCall]

Thanks for that. We'll see if that's it.

 

[Markverhyden]

There is a setting in Network & Internet > WiFi > Hardware Properties > More Adapter Options > Edit > Configure > Power Management > "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"

Beat me to it. Got several business customers who uncheck that for USB devices in addition to the networking stack.

 

[Mike McCall]

That wasn't it.

 

[GTP]

That wasn't it.

N & P?

 

[ThatPlace928]

That wasn't it.

Did you check sleep settings and click on Do Nothing when you close the lid?

 

[Mike McCall]

N & P?

Not my first choice for a brand new machine with a brand new client when I'm not convinced of whether it's software or hardware. I don't know what the cause is yet so that would be a guess at best.

 

[Mike McCall]

Did you check sleep settings and click on Do Nothing when you close the lid?

Yes, I have.

 

[ThatPlace928]

Yes, I have.

Troubleshoot network settings? Update the drivers?

 

[Mike McCall]

Troubleshoot network settings? Update the drivers?

Yessir, done. Since it's offline (apparently sleeping), I have to contact the client and have them wake the laptop to work on it.

I may be misreading Events above but something seems to be overriding the settings and putting it to sleep. Lenovo has its own power management but that too is set to never sleep and the power button and lid are set to do nothing.

 

[ThatPlace928]

Yessir, done. Since it's offline (apparently sleeping), I have to contact the client and have them wake the laptop to work on it.

I may be misreading Events above but something seems to be overriding the settings and putting it to sleep. Lenovo has its own power management but that too is set to never sleep and the power button and lid are set to do nothing.

I'm out of ideas. Maybe someone else has the solution and just hasn't seen your post yet.

 

[GTP]

Try uninstalling Lenovo's garbage software and let Windblows manage the power settings like it was meant to do?

I mean you can always reinstall their rubbish if it makes you feel better?

 

[Mike McCall]

Try uninstalling Lenovo's garbage software and let Windblows manage the power settings like it was meant to do?

I mean you can always reinstall their rubbish if it makes you feel better?

I normally do but I left it in this time. I did go in and make sure all available settings were properly set to stay awake. My puzzlement is due to there being nothing that makes any difference. That, and what I'm seeing in the Event Viewer (which may or may not be related) has me scratching my head. Still, that's a good thought. I'll remove it and see if that has any effect.

 

[ThatPlace928]

I normally do but I left it in this time. I did go in and make sure all available settings were properly set to stay awake. My puzzlement is due to there being nothing that makes any difference. That, and what I'm seeing in the Event Viewer (which may or may not be related) has me scratching my head. Still, that's a good thought. I'll remove it and see if that has any effect.

One other thought. Is the client's WiFi set to connect automatically? If not, it may not reconnect unless told to.

 

[Metanis]

Windows 11 will happily lie to you about the current settings. Especially in Power Management. They've got a new layer interfering with the old layer we were accustomed to using in Control Panel.

Make sure you completely disable Hibernation by doing a 'powercfg -h off' command from an elevated command prompt.

 

[Larry Sabo]

What happens running a WinPE? If the same, it's a H/W issue.

 

[Mike McCall]

I have removed the remaining Lenovo apps and disabled Hibernation as suggested above. I'll watch to see what happens.

What happens running a WinPE? If the same, it's a H/W issue.

If I am unable to resolve the issue by any other means I'll bring it into the shop and check that.

 

[britechguy]

Not my first choice for a brand new machine with a brand new client

If this is a brand new machine I would have advised the client to return it for exchange or refund almost immediately. These sorts of issues should never occur with a brand new machine. You, yourself, have noted how odd this is.

I can't imagine that the amount of time you've put into trying to chase this down isn't up to at least half the cost of a brand new machine by now, at least if my "guesstimates" for certain efforts are kinda-sorta correct.

When brand new equipment does not operate, precisely as expected, out of the box in a manner like this is misbehaving, back it goes!