This is really a Windows 10 issue but until Microsoft sees fit to fix it within Windows maybe the folks developing MSFS, if the hope is to garner wide-spread enthusiast support for the sim, could fix the issue within MSFS.
Once you have game controllers hooked up to your computer, your computer (at least your monitor) will never follow Windows Power Management settings. A controller will keep your monitor from going to sleep. That’s as it should be, BUT only when you’re gaming.
Unplugging my controllers restores normal monitor sleep behavior for me, too.
I’d like to have an option within MSFS to check off: a) Prevent game controllers from keeping computer awake when MSFS is not being used, or, b) Automatically disable HID-compliant game controllers in Windows Device Manager when MSFS is not being used.
Obviously, I can do b) manually every time I exit MSFS and am not going to use the game again for a while. Or I could just buy a (safe) switchable USB hub and hook up all my game controllers up to that (which is what I’m going to do for now).
An obviously place for Microsoft to put a fix in Windows is in turning GAME MODE on or off. When Game Mode is ON, controllers should RULE! When Game Mode is OFF, game controllers should be told to go sit in a corner and don’t bother anyone.
Apparently, the sleep issue has been a problem with Windows 10 for over 5 years.
And it didn’t use to work this way in Windows 7, according to the limited number of posts I’ve read in searching the Internet. But it’s a big complaint amongst gamers using Windows 10 (and the funny thing is the opposite problem has occurred for Xbox - gamers complained in the past about Xbox going to sleep at inopportune times!). So maybe Microsoft should wake up and fix sleep issues related to gaming and game controllers so gamers can have their cake and eat it, too.
Edit_Update: Haven’t thoroughly checked all threads but you can find the issue reported in Windows Feedback Hub for Windows version 2004. The Windows Insider Program (the link will open Windows Feedback Hub on your computer). So one can upvote the issue there, too, in a thread of one’s choice.
Apparently, although the issue was first reported for Windows 10 in 2015 and persisted for years, it was fixed for a while in Windows vers. 1809 but resurfaced again in Windows vers. 1909 and, apparently, has persisted into vers. 2004: The Windows Insider Program (another WFH link)