Wanted: Method to Quickly Turn OFF Screen (Without Inducing Sleep)

[mohcho]

I guess I don't understand why you would disable CS given what you want from your device. It is designed to do exactly what you want. The computer may technically be 'asleep' but it wakes instantaneously so who cares? This is like saying you want the 'power' button on your phone to only turn the screen off. What's the point other than wasting battery?

Actually, the power button on my phone does exactly that. It shuts off the screen, but the device is fully on and not in a sleep or standby mode.

When I did have connected standby enabled on my SP3, it would go into sleep mode and take like 10-20 seconds to "boot" back up. I hardly call that fast and instant. I do not need the actual features of connected standby since I don't need my weather apps or whatever updated, but I just don't want the SP3 to be off.

 

[zhenya]

Actually, the power button on my phone does exactly that. It shuts off the screen, but the device is fully on and not in a sleep or standby mode.

When I did have connected standby enabled on my SP3, it would go into sleep mode and take like 10-20 seconds to "boot" back up. I hardly call that fast and instant. I do not need the actual features of connected standby since I don't need my weather apps or whatever updated, but I just don't want the SP3 to be off.

That is not true if you are running any modern phone running one of the major operating systems. 'Screen off' is connected standby. The phone can still ring, messages can still come in, etc. The fact that it appears to you as if it's 'completely on' is a good thing - it's working exactly as intended.

If CS was taking 10-20 seconds to boot up, it was not working as intended and likely it was putting it into another mode. CS wakes as instantly as your phone.

 

[bluegrass]

Thanks. Honestly, I don't care if the Pope sees whats on my screen; I want the screen OFF to conserve precious battery life. Nothing more, and nothing less.

Plug your Surface in.

 

[jnjroach]

Actually, the power button on my phone does exactly that. It shuts off the screen, but the device is fully on and not in a sleep or standby mode.

When I did have connected standby enabled on my SP3, it would go into sleep mode and take like 10-20 seconds to "boot" back up. I hardly call that fast and instant. I do not need the actual features of connected standby since I don't need my weather apps or whatever updated, but I just don't want the SP3 to be off.

No, all ARM based phones and tablets and Intel ATOM based Tablets and the 2 phones go into Connected Standby on all OS Platforms (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows 8.x/RT, Blackberry, Firefox and Ubuntu Mobile)

 

[dstrauss]

You have to consider all possibilities. Perhaps he already knows there's not a solution to this specific scenario (It's not like this wasn't beaten to death on many forums) and he's just a drama hound trying to stir the pot for his own satisfaction. gotcha

Whether he is stirring the pot or not, why is it wrong to want such a feature? The number one drain on ANY mobile device is the screen - so why not give users an option that powers off the screen when wanted?

 

[mohcho]

That is not true if you are running any modern phone running one of the major operating systems. 'Screen off' is connected standby. The phone can still ring, messages can still come in, etc. The fact that it appears to you as if it's 'completely on' is a good thing - it's working exactly as intended.

If CS was taking 10-20 seconds to boot up, it was not working as intended and likely it was putting it into another mode. CS wakes as instantly as your phone.

I will try to time it, but I do see that it goes to the Surface boot up screen and then it comes up, it's not instant like my phone.

Does everyone else's SP3 wake instantly like your phone?

 

[olimjj]

Whether he is stirring the pot or not, why is it wrong to want such a feature? The number one drain on ANY mobile device is the screen - so why not give users an option that powers off the screen when wanted?

@GreyFox7 is not denying that this is a desirable feature and that it would serve a very useful purpose. He is emphasizing that at the present time there is no solution and constantly regurgitating it, is as he describes.

 

[ptrkhh]

Im doing my best to completely exclude Metro from my day to day comings and goings. Just dont like it, not my cup o tea, cats meow, etc etc...

I would recommend to just disable CS as a temporary solution. I couldnt think of any benefit of CS without metro, since desktop apps couldn't fetch data in CS anyway. The only feature youd miss, I think, is the OneNote button.

Actually, the power button on my phone does exactly that. It shuts off the screen, but the device is fully on and not in a sleep or standby mode.

No, try to run heavy games like Asphalt on your phone, and put the phone to sleep. Your phone wont get warm after a while, and there should be no battery drain. Its a bit hit-or-miss on Android though, but clearly all devices are meant to go to CS instead of screen-off, even though the implementation in Android leaves a lot to be desired

Does everyone else's SP3 wake instantly like your phone?

Mine does, it wakes faster than my Acer A100 Android tablet, as a comparison. Still slower than my Lumia 820 Windows Phone though.

 

[GreyFox7]

Whether he is stirring the pot or not, why is it wrong to want such a feature? The number one drain on ANY mobile device is the screen - so why not give users an option that powers off the screen when wanted?

It's not wrong to want it but asking if we're getting it every 5 minutes is going to make mom pull the car over... metaphorically

 

[jnjroach]

I will try to time it, but I do see that it goes to the Surface boot up screen and then it comes up, it's not instant like my phone.

Does everyone else's SP3 wake instantly like your phone?

Didn't you disable Connected Standby? If so your SP3 is coming back from hibernation not Connected Standby.

 

[ChrisPanzer]

<stirs pot>...

 

[nipponham]

I HAVE disabled CS and it still doesn't work the way I want it to. I want to be able to hit a button or menu option to turn off the screen WITHOUT putting the SP3 to sleep instead of having it time out after a while if idle.

If you've disabled CS, you will be able to turn off the screen while keeping the device awake and run desktop programs. SP3 doesn't have a native function for this so you will have to download one of the various utilities out there that can do this. The one I've used in the past is Turn Off LCD, a very light-weight, no-installation-needed tool. You can click the utility or even pin it to start to instantly turn the monitor only off. (You might need to run it from an elevated prompt depending on your PC account's admin rights.)