How to Close a Laptop and Use the Monitor? Follow These Steps

Closing the lid may force the laptop to sleep mode. This function is essential as it lowers the power usage of your laptop. It also eliminates the necessity for a cold boot, which could cause wear and tear to your laptop hardware.
This feature isn’t always desirable when using an external monitor. Closing the lid may cause the external monitor to turn off the display. Therefore, to continue using the external monitor, you need to configure the laptop not to turn off the monitor when you close the lid. 

Keep the Monitor on When the Laptop Is Closed Windows 10

Windows 10 occasionally puts the laptop in power-saving mode whenever you close the lid. Doing so will involuntarily power down your computer, even with an external monitor connected. Sometimes, this process can be inconvenient. To avoid such, you need to configure your laptop not to power down when you close the lid. 
Follow the guide below to keep the monitor on when you close your Windows 10 laptop. 

1. At the bottom left corner of your laptop screen, press on the Windows logo.
2. Choose the gear icon.
3. Go to System.
4. Choose Power & sleep. 
5. Below Related settings, select Additional power settings
6. Press on the Choose what closing the lid does tab.
7. Under When I close the lid tab, select Do Nothing.
8. Configure this setting under Plugged in and On battery options.
9. Press on the Save changes tab to finish your settings. 

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Keep the Monitor on When the Laptop Is Closed Windows 11

On Windows 11, there are several ways you can keep the monitor on when you close your laptop lid. Below are two reliable options. 

• Power Option
• Command Line

1. Power Option

Follow the guide below to keep your monitor on with the laptop lid closed using the power option.

1. Launch the Control Panel.
2. Select Hardware and Sound and open Power Options.
3. From the left side, click on the Choose what closing the lid does tab.
4. Under When I close the lid drop-down menu, select Do nothing.
5. Select the Save changes button to finish the process. 

Now, you can close the lid of your Windows 11 laptop and continue using your external monitor. 

 2.  Command Line

The Command prompt lets you configure your Windows 11 laptop to continue running an external monitor when you close the lid. To do so, follow the guide below. 

1. Plug your laptop into a power source and power it on.
2. Launch cmd and run the command below.

• powercfg /setacvalueindex scheme_current sub_buttons lidaction 0

If your laptop isn’t plugged in, use the command below instead. 

• powercfg /setdcvalueindex scheme_current sub_buttons lidaction 0

3. From the list of integers the laptop displays, select 0, which represents “Do nothing.” The other integers with their respective actions are as follows. 

• 1 – Sleep
• 2 – Hibernate
• 3 – Shut down

How to Close the Laptop and Use the Monitor on Mac

You can close your Mac and still use an external monitor. To do so, follow the guide below. 

1. From the top left corner of your laptop interface, tap the Apple icon.
2. Choose System Preferences and click on the Battery tab.
3. Choose Power Adapter from the rear left side of the screen.
4. Shift the slider to Never. 
5. Adjacent to the Prevent your Mac from automatically sleeping when the display is off, check the box. 
6. Connect your Mac to your external monitor and associated peripherals. Remember to plug into a power source.
7. You can now close your Mac and use the external monitor. 

Related: Best Curved Monitor For MacBook Pro

How to Close the Laptop and Use the Monitor HP

You can close your laptop and use the monitor HP by following the procedure below.

1. On your laptop, find and open the Control Panel.
2. Open the Hardware and Sound option.
3. From the list of options, choose Power Options.
4. Proceed to Choose what closing the lid does option.
5. Find When I close the lid tab, click on the drop-down menu, and select Do nothing.
6. Select Save changes to finish configuring your laptop. 

How to Close the Laptop and Use Monitor Dell

Follow the guide below to close the laptop and use a Dell monitor.

1. Click on the Start menu to launch programs.
2. On the search bar, enter Control Panel and press Enter.
3. Proceed to Hardware and Sound.
4. From there, choose Power Options.
5. Click on the Choose what closing the lid does. (you can substitute step (1) to step (5) by searching “Lid” on the search bar. 
6. Click on the drop-down menu of the When I close the lid option. 
7. From the four options the laptop displays, choose Do nothing. Ensure you configure this setting to both the On Battery and Plugged-in options.  

How to Close Laptop Screen When Using HDMI

You can close your laptop screen when using HDMI and still use your external monitor. To do so, follow the steps below. 

1. Plug in one end of an HDMI cable to the HDMI out port of your laptop. Connect the other end of the cable to the HDMI port in your monitor. 
2. Click Start and search Control Panel.
3. Select Hardware & Sound setting.
4. Choose Power Options. Alternatively, you can access power options by right-clicking on the battery icon.
5. Select the Choose what happens to the lid when it closes option and click on the Do nothing option.
6. Press the Save changes tab to save your settings.

How to Close the Laptop and Use the Monitor With a Docking Station

You can close the laptop and use the monitor with a docking station. To do so, use the procedure below. 

1. Click on the Start menu and search Control panel on the search bar.
2. Select Hardware and Sound.
3. Click on the Power options tab.
4. Proceed and click on the Choose what closing the lid does option.
5. Choose the When I close the lid option from the list the laptop displays.
6. On its right, you’ll see two more options; On battery and Plugged in. 
7. The default configuration is sleep. Change it to Do nothing on both instances to keep the monitor active when docked. 
8. Click on Save changes to save your settings. If you close the lid, the laptop will remain active, letting you use its Central Processing Unit in your docking station. 

How to Setup 2 Monitors and Close the Laptop

Follow the procedure below to set up two monitors and close the laptop.

1. Using appropriate HDMI cables, connect your monitors to your laptop. Ensure the connections are correct.
2. On your laptop, go to Start and open Settings.
3. Go to Systems and navigate to Display. The laptop should detect your two monitors. If not, click on the Detect tab.
4. Open the Multiple displays tab and select the option that works best for you.
5. Click on the keep changes tab to save your settings. 
6. Now, go to your laptop screen and press the Start menu.
7. On the search bar, enter Power.
8. Select the Additional power settings and choose Change plan settings.
9. Select the Change advanced power settings tab. From the Lid close action options, select Do nothing. 
10. Press the Apply tab and enter OK. 

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