How to disable the power button in Windows 10 and 11

A cat on your desktop or a stray finger on a laptop edge can trigger an accidental shutdown.

To make the power button do nothing in Windows 10 or 11, change one setting under Power Options. The change takes effect immediately.

The steps below cover Windows 11. Windows 10 uses the same Control Panel path.

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Good to know

  • Turning it on: This setting only affects the button while your PC is running. It will still work normally to turn your computer on.
  • Emergency stop: If your PC freezes, you can still force it to shut down by holding the power button for 10 seconds. This is a hardware safety feature that cannot be disabled.

Disable the power button in Windows 11 Settings

On Windows 11 23H2 or earlier, this path doesn't exist. Skip to Method 2.

  1. Right-click the Start button (Windows logo) on the taskbar.
  2. Click Power Options.
  3. Click Lid, power & sleep button controls.
  4. Set the Pressing the power button will make my PC option to Do Nothing. On a laptop, set both the Plugged in and On battery columns.
    Disable the power button of your PC on Windows 11
  5. Close settings.
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Disable the power button in Windows 10 & 11 (Control Panel)

Use this if you're on Windows 10.

  1. Click the Start button (Windows logo) on the taskbar, or press the Windows key on your keyboard.
  2. Type control panel.
  3. Press Enter or click Control Panel when it appears in the search results.
  4. Click Hardware and Sound.
  5. Click Power Options.
  6. Click Choose what the power buttons do in the left menu.
    Open power buttons settings
  7. Set the When I press the power button option to Do nothing. On a laptop, set both the Plugged in and On battery columns.
    Disable the power button of your PC via Control Panel
  8. Click Save changes at the bottom of the window.

Note on Windows 10: While Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 in October 2025, the steps to change your power settings remain identical to the Windows 11 'Control Panel' method. If you haven't upgraded to Windows 11 yet for security reasons, the steps above still work.

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Related:

How to stop Windows 11 from turning off your screen

How to keep laptop running with lid closed in Windows 10 & 11

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