How to stop the GL502VSK screen turning off when lid is closed?

[Nicolas_G]

Hey ROG community,
I am an owner of the GL502VSK and already tried my luck with the Asus support chat and email but no luck:

I don't like that the laptop deactivates the monitor when I close the lid (I already set everything to "Do Nothing" in Windows power options).
Since it's also doing that when I'm in the BIOS I believe I need to do something inside the laptop rather than in the OS (but tell me if I'm wrong), maybe disconnecting a cord or something.

I know this is originally meant to be a "feature" but it is not really helping in my case. I want that the screen is always activated and is not bound to the lid's state (open/closed).

Thank you very much!

[haihane]

but why?

[Nicolas_G]

haihane wrote:
but why?

The system is changing output settings when it is hooked up to a TV. I normally have the lid closed when it is connected to my TV but sometimes you need to make changes directly through the laptop, so you open the lid and the system goes into mirror mode instead of staying in its prior output setting (TV only). This can cause errors/freezes/shutdowns depending on what software/game you were running in this very moment. I don't want that. I want to have full control over my video settings.

[haihane]

yeah. fair enough.

i found this while googling your problem: https://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/stop-my-screen-turning-off-when-i-close-laptop-lid-whilst-30...

looks like a settings in windows power management. haven't verified it myself if it works, but do try and tell if it works.

[Nicolas_G]

haihane wrote:
yeah. fair enough.

i found this while googling your problem: https://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/stop-my-screen-turning-off-when-i-close-laptop-lid-whilst-30...

looks like a settings in windows power management. haven't verified it myself if it works, but do try and tell if it works.

As I wrote in my original post this didn't work for me. Everything is already set to "Do Nothing". Lid still deactivates/activates screen.

[haihane]

ah ok sorry. didn't read properly.

[davemon50]

Have you tried making the TV the primary monitor?
If that works, I believe it should default to the laptop as primary once the TV is disconnected.

[Nicolas_G]

davemon50 wrote:
Have you tried making the TV the primary monitor?
If that works, I believe it should default to the laptop as primary once the TV is disconnected.

I did, it still changes back to the laptop once I open the lid even though the TV is still connected.
The problem is once you close the lid the hardware DEACTIVATES the laptop's monitor so that only the TV is available and nothing else.
As soon as you open the lid, the laptop's monitor will be activated and it changes back to the laptop's monitor even though I want it to stay TV only.

Easy fix would be to know what piece of cable/hardware triggers the open/close detection to just get rid of it.....

[davemon50]

Nicolas.G wrote:
...Easy fix would be to know what piece of cable/hardware triggers the open/close detection to just get rid of it.....

If it sounds like a bad idea it probably is.
It sounds like a bad idea.

I would suggest trying to plug in an actual external computer MONITOR instead of a TV via HDMI, and see if the laptop recognizes the options better. TV's don't always play well with Windows. The other thought that comes to mind is to see if you have any power savings options in the BIOS that should be enabled or disabled. Have you checked for them yet? You mentioned this in your OP.

[Nicolas_G]

davemon50 wrote:
If it sounds like a bad idea it probably is.
It sounds like a bad idea.

I would suggest trying to plug in an actual external computer MONITOR instead of a TV via HDMI, and see if the laptop recognizes the options better. TV's don't always play well with Windows. The other thought that comes to mind is to see if you have any power savings options in the BIOS that should be enabled or disabled. Have you checked for them yet? You mentioned this in your OP.

I really do appreciate your input and ideas, but if this $2000 laptop doesn't get along with my 6 months old Samsung TV in 2017 something is terrible wrong.
I already checked the BIOS both the normal settings and advanced settings and the only thing that sounded like it could help was "Wake On Lid Open" which was enabled. I tried it on disabled and nothing changed. It probably is to wake up the pc when it is in sleep mode.

Here's an interesting story about the GL502VS in general:
Back in autumn I bought the GL502VS with its i7-6700HQ Skylake chip. It did the exact same lid open/close thing but the screen had a weird test image burnt in so I sent it to RMA and they replaced the screen. When it came back it strangely didn't have the lid open/close activating screen "feature" anymore which surprised me, but since I prefered this anyway I was happy with that. They probably wired something differently during the replacement I guess.
However, this laptop model had an issue with high demanding games such as VR games, the power adapter wasn't strong enough for these so it drained battery even though the power adapter was plugged in. They fixed this in early 2017 with the newer GL502VSK i7-7700HQ Kaby Lake model. The support was kind enough to help me out on this issue so I have the newer model now. No battery drain anymore during VR games, but now I am back here with their screen deactivation feature when the lid is closed.