In this state, the computer acts more like a smartphone. While the screen is off, the system remains partially connected to the network. It uses this time to sync emails, update the weather widget, and—crucially—download system updates. While this is theoretically capable of continuing user-initiated downloads, most operating systems still throttle or pause non-essential downloads to save battery, prioritizing only OS-level updates.
Interestingly, gaming consoles are often smarter about this than PCs. Both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S feature "Rest Mode" or "Instant On" modes. Unlike a PC, which hard-stops processes, consoles are designed specifically to finish downloads while in a low-power state. do things still download in sleep mode
Set screen to turn off, but set “Sleep” to Never while downloading large files. In this state, the computer acts more like a smartphone
Emily found out that, on most modern computers and mobile devices, downloads can still happen in sleep mode, but with some caveats. Here's what she learned: Unlike a PC, which hard-stops processes, consoles are