Improve the power usage and performance of Microsoft Edge by turning on efficiency mode

Microsoft Edge users using the browser on mobile or low-performance devices can enable efficiency mode to improve browser performance.

Formerly called Performance Mode, Efficiency Mode is available as an option under System and Performance in Edge settings. The main idea behind efficiency mode is not new: put tabs that have not been used for a certain period of time to sleep to free up memory and reduce CPU usage.

Performance options are located at edge://settings/system in Microsoft Edge for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. Users who prefer to use the menu can select Menu > Settings > System and performance to access it as well.

Efficiency mode can be turned on or off; the default seems to be off in most configurations. Microsoft states on a support page that efficiency mode can be automatically enabled if a mobile device enters battery saving mode in Windows. A blue pulse icon in the Microsoft Edge toolbar indicates this. On Mac OS X devices, Efficiency Mode automatically turns on if the battery power state reaches 20%. On Linux, efficiency mode is off by default.

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Once turned on, Edge will put tabs that have been inactive for 5 minutes to sleep to free up system resources. Microsoft notes that benefits vary as they depend on factors such as the device being used, the number of tabs open, and other factors. The feature can be beneficial for mobile devices, but also for desktop devices as it can also improve performance.

Efficiency mode is designed to help extend battery life. Minimizes power usage by reducing resource usage (CPU usage) by modifying certain tab activity on tabs you’re not interacting with and putting idle background tabs to sleep after 5 minutes or less.

Efficiency mode comes with a number of preferences that users can change to customize the feature. In fact, all settings can be changed even if efficiency mode is not enabled.

Save resources with sleeping pills — Feature unloads inactive tabs to free up memory and improve performance.
Sleeping pills that fade — All sleeping tabs are shown faded for better identification-
Put inactive tabs to sleep after specified amount of time — 5 minutes by default and fixed to that period if efficiency mode is enabled. With efficiency mode disabled, other periods can be selected.
Never put these sites to sleep — Add sites to the exclusion list so Edge never puts them to sleep.

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Efficiency mode can improve battery life and performance for devices running Microsoft Edge. Mobile devices on battery power and low performance devices can see the biggest improvements with the mode enabled.

Now you: Do you set your browsers to put inactive tabs to sleep?

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