PowerManager.EnergySaverStatus not working properly in Windows 11 Pro

Question

PowerManager.EnergySaverStatus not working properly in Windows 11 Pro

JohannesK71083 0

UWP PowerManager.EnergySaverStatus always returns 'Off' in Windows 11 when battery is above 20%

I am encountering an issue where the PowerManager.EnergySaverStatus UWP API incorrectly reports the energy saver state on Windows 11 devices when the battery charge is above approximately 20%.

This behavior contradicts the official documentation, which states:

A user can also set battery saver to turn on automatically when the battery reaches a specified charge threshold, such as 20% remaining.

Environment and API Reference

Operating System: Windows 11 (24H2, 2610000.6725).

Device Tested: Surface Pro 10.

API: Windows.System.Power.PowerManager.EnergySaverStatus

Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/uwp/api/windows.system.power.powermanager.energysaverstatus?view=winrt-26100

Observed Behavior

When the device battery is above ≈20%, the EnergySaverStatus property consistently returns EnergySaverStatus.Off, even if Battery Saver mode is visibly active in the Windows UI.

Manual Activation: With the battery at 50% (well above the auto-threshold), if I manually enable Battery Saver via the Quick Settings or System Settings, the API returns EnergySaverStatus.Off.

Automatic Activation: If I set the automatic threshold to 30% and the battery level drops to 25%, the Windows UI shows Battery Saver is active, but the API returns EnergySaverStatus.Off.

Correct Indication: The API starts reporting the correct status (EnergySaverStatus.On) only when the battery charge drops to ≈20% or lower.

Expected Behavior

The EnergySaverStatus API should return EnergySaverStatus.On whenever Battery Saver is active, regardless of whether it was activated manually by the user or automatically by the system, and regardless of the current battery percentage (as long as the mode is engaged).

Comparative Test (Working Behavior)

This API works as expected on Windows 10 (tested on a Surface Pro 8). In Windows 10, manually enabling Battery Saver at any charge level correctly causes the API to immediately return EnergySaverStatus.On.

Code (Python)

Required pip package: winrt-Windows.System.Power

import winrt.windows.system.power as wsp
print(wsp.PowerManager.energy_saver_status)

return value documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/uwp/api/windows.system.power.energysaverstatus?view=winrt-26100

Anonymous

2025-11-18T09:49:29.91+00:00

Hi @JohannesK71083 , sorry for bothering, have you solved the issue yet? If you have any question, please let me know! Thanks
JohannesK71083 0 Reputation points

2026-02-15T04:06:33.76+00:00

@Anonymous

Yes, this issue still exists (on version 25H2 26200.7840).

I'm sorry, I only now saw your comment because I didn't receive any email notifications.

2 answers

Your answer

Anonymous

2025-11-18T09:49:29.91+00:00

Hi @JohannesK71083 , sorry for bothering, have you solved the issue yet? If you have any question, please let me know! Thanks
JohannesK71083 0 Reputation points

2026-02-15T04:06:33.76+00:00

@Anonymous

Yes, this issue still exists (on version 25H2 26200.7840).

I'm sorry, I only now saw your comment because I didn't receive any email notifications.

Answer 1

Ruth Waiganjo 0 Microsoft Employee

Hi @JohannesK71083 ,

Thanks for reporting this issue. For Windows 11 24H2 and later, you may want to use the newer EnergySaverStatus2 API, which was introduced for the updated Energy Saver experience:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/uwp/api/windows.system.power.energysaverstatus2?view=winrt-28000

0 comments

Answer 2

Anonymous

Hello @JohannesK71083 ,

Sorry for the late response.

The behavior seems related to significant changes Microsoft made in Windows 11 24H2. According to the official Microsoft documentation on Energy Saver, Windows 11 24H2 introduced "Energy Saver" as a replacement for the traditional "Battery Saver" feature.

In Windows 11 24H2 and later, Energy Saver operates differently from Battery Saver in Windows 10 and earlier Windows 11 versions (24H1 and before). The new Energy Saver feature has expanded functionality where users can enable it at any battery level, even when plugged in. However, some of the more aggressive power-saving behaviors (like blocking background apps and sync) only activate when the device is "unplugged and on low battery."

The discrepancy between what the Windows UI shows and what the API reports suggests the PowerManager.EnergySaverStatus API might not have been fully updated to reflect this new Energy Saver model. The API documentation at PowerManager.EnergySaverStatus still references the older Battery Saver behavior and doesn't mention the Windows 11 24H2 changes.

If your Python application needs reliable battery saver detection on Windows 11 24H2, I would suggest trying the Win32 SYSTEM_POWER_STATUS structure as an alternative. This is a lower-level API that might provide more accurate results. According to Microsoft's documentation, the SystemStatusFlag field specifically indicates battery saver status:

0 = Battery saver is off
1 = Battery saver on

Since both the Energy Saver and Battery Saver documentation pages reference SYSTEM_POWER_STATUS for detecting the status, this might be more reliable across different Windows 11 versions.

Reporting the issue:

Given that the UWP API behavior differs from the documented expectations and Windows 10 behavior, I would recommend reporting this through the Windows Feedback Hub under the "Developer Platform" category. When filing feedback, include:

Your specific Windows 11 build number (24H2, build 26100.6725)
Device model (Surface Pro 10)
The exact API being used (Windows.System.Power.PowerManager.EnergySaverStatus)
Steps to reproduce (manual activation at 50%, automatic activation at custom threshold)
Expected vs. actual behavior
Reference to the working behavior on Windows 10

Thank you for bringing this to attention, and I hope this helps clarify the situation. If my answer is helpful, please consider giving some feedback following this instruction.

JohannesK71083 0

Hello @Anonymous ,

thank you for your answer. Unfortunately using SYSTEM_POWER_STATUS doesn't appear to work either. It appears to show the same values as EnergySaverStatus. Furthermore the documentation is really confusing because the documentation of Energy Saver refers to SYSTEM_POWER_STATUS but the documentation of SYSTEM_POWER_STATUS::SystemStatusFlag refers and links to Battery Saver (the old system) and it also appears to reflect the (wrong) status of battery saver (just like EnergySaverStatus). Now I am even more confused.

The Code I used to test SYSTEM_POWER_STATUS:

import ctypes

# Define the SYSTEM_POWER_STATUS structure


class SYSTEM_POWER_STATUS(ctypes.Structure):
    _fields_ = [
        ("ACLineStatus", ctypes.c_byte),
        ("BatteryFlag", ctypes.c_byte),
        ("BatteryLifePercent", ctypes.c_byte),
        ("SystemStatusFlag", ctypes.c_byte),
        ("BatteryLifeTime", ctypes.c_ulong),
        ("BatteryFullLifeTime", ctypes.c_ulong)
    ]


# Reference the GetSystemPowerStatus function from kernel32.dll
GetSystemPowerStatus = ctypes.windll.kernel32.GetSystemPowerStatus
GetSystemPowerStatus.argtypes = [ctypes.POINTER(SYSTEM_POWER_STATUS)]
GetSystemPowerStatus.restype = ctypes.c_bool

# Create an instance of the structure
status = SYSTEM_POWER_STATUS()

# Invoke the function
if GetSystemPowerStatus(ctypes.byref(status)):
    print("ACLineStatus:", status.ACLineStatus)
    print("BatteryFlag:", status.BatteryFlag)
    print("BatteryLifePercent:", status.BatteryLifePercent)
    print("SystemStatusFlag:", status.SystemStatusFlag)
    print("BatteryLifeTime:", status.BatteryLifeTime)
    print("BatteryFullLifeTime:", status.BatteryFullLifeTime)
else:
    print("Failed to get power status")

I tried it on two different devices and on both I set the energy saver to manually on but SYSTEM_POWER_STATUS::SystemStatusFlag still showed 0.

Anonymous

2026-02-18T04:18:33.01+00:00

You could try to modify the EnergySaverState registry key (1 for enable, 2 for disable) in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power. Keep in mind that this is not guaranteed to update in real-time and requires admin rights on some machines. But it is worth testing since the APIs are not working as expected.

Also, about the confusion in the documentation, I have also sent feedback using the helpful button on the documentation page to notify the team about the issue. I would recommend you do the same if you have not already done so, as it is important for them to be aware of the confusion caused by the documentation.

Aside from that, it would be better to send feedback through the Feedback Hub to notify the developers about the issue with the APIs.

There is not much else we can do on the user end and forum at this point if the APIs are not functioning as expected.
JohannesK71083 0 Reputation points

2026-02-20T06:11:39.95+00:00

I reported it via Feedback Hub: https://aka.ms/AAzwgas
Anonymous

2026-02-20T06:15:52.6366667+00:00

Thank you for your response. I hope the issue will be fixed soon. If you find any of my answers in the thread helpful, I would appreciate it if you could provide feedback by following this guide. Thank you.