How to stop Oculus Service from preventing PC sleep

By Cale Hunt
last updated

Ever notice that your monitor is still on late into the night? Oculus Service might be keeping your PC awake.

The Oculus Rift is one of the leading PC-based VR systems on the market today, but that doesn't mean it's bug-free. One issue that many users have reported involves your PC being unable to enter a sleep state, or, if it does, it constantly wakes. This is not only a problem from an energy standpoint, it's also no doubt wearing down your hardware faster than necessary. Even if the Oculus app is closed, it seems like the Oculus VR Service is the problem. Let's take a look at what's required to fix this problem.

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How to stop OVRService from preventing PC sleep

OVRService seems to be the culprit when it comes to preventing your PC from sleeping, but it's also necessary if you want to use your Rift. You can manually start and stop the service by opening the Services windows each time, but you can also create a batch file that, when run, will start and stop the service. Let's take a look at both methods.

How to manually start and stop OVRService

Just follow these steps:

  1. Click the Windows Search field in your taskbar.
  2. Type services and hit Enter on your keyboard.

  1. Right-click Oculus VR Runtime Service. You might have to scroll down a bit to find it.
  2. Click Stop.

If you'd like to start the service again, repeat the four steps but click Start instead of Stop.

You can also set the service to only start manually, which will prevent it from running after a PC restart. Here's how:

  1. Right-click Oculus VR Runtime Service.
  2. Click Properties.

  1. Click the dropdown menu in the "Startup type" section.
  2. Click Manual.

  1. Click Apply.
  2. Click OK.

Don't forget to manually start the OVRService when you go to fire up your Oculus Rift.

How to create a batch file to stop OVRService

If you'd rather not go through those steps each time you want to start and stop the service, you can create a batch file right on your desktop. Once created, all it takes is a couple of clicks to start and stop the service. Just follow these steps:

  1. Launch Notepad from your Start menu, desktop, or taskbar.
  2. Type sc config OVRService start=demand and hit Enter on your keyboard.
  3. Type net start "OVRService" and hit Enter on your keyboard.

  1. Type if %errorlevel% == 2 net stop "OVRService".
  2. Click File.

  1. Click Save As.
  2. Click Desktop.

  1. Name the file and append it with .bat.
  2. Click Save.

  1. Right-click the batch file on your desktop.
  2. Click Run as administrator.

If OVRService isn't running, it will start when you run the file. If it is running, it will stop.

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Cale Hunt
Cale Hunt
Senior Editor, Laptop Reviews

Cale Hunt is a Senior Editor at Windows Central. He focuses mainly on laptop reviews, news, and accessory coverage. He's been reviewing laptops and accessories full time since 2016, with hundreds of reviews published for Windows Central. He is an avid PC gamer and multi-platform user, and spends most of his time either tinkering with or writing about tech.