Microsoft Edge Stopped Fading Sleeping Tabs: How to Spot Them Now
Edge 157 removed faded tabs and the Fade inactive tabs setting. Can you get it back, how to spot sleeping tabs now, and the settings that still work.
If the sleeping tabs in Microsoft Edge suddenly look just like the others, nothing is broken. Edge 157, released to the Stable channel on 5 November, removed the fading tabs effect and the setting that controlled it. In Microsoft's words: "The fading tabs experience is removed from Microsoft Edge. The Fade inactive tabs setting is no longer available in edge://settings/system/managePerformance, and tabs no longer fade." Sleeping tabs themselves still work exactly as before.
Why don't sleeping tabs fade in Edge any more?
Because Microsoft took the feature out in Edge 157. Microsoft's release notes don't give a reason. The setting is gone too, so older guides that tell you to switch Fade sleeping tabs or Fade inactive tabs on or off no longer apply.
Can you get faded tabs back?
Not as far as Microsoft says. Neither the Edge 157 release notes nor Microsoft's support page mention a setting or group policy that brings the effect back, and none of the new policies in Edge 157 covers it. If you were using the fade to see which tabs were using memory, the options below are what's left.
How do you tell which tabs are asleep now?
Look for a dotted circle. Microsoft's support page on Edge performance now says: "We no longer fade sleeping and discarded tabs. Dotted circles appear around inactive tabs." It adds that tabs "can still be slept and discarded without an indicator", so a tab without a circle may still be asleep.
The other clue is the tab hover card. Edge 157 updated the card that appears when you hover over a tab to show clearer information about the tab's memory use and the memory saved when inactive tabs are discarded. Microsoft also split the card's settings, so tab preview images and memory information can now be switched on or off separately.
Are sleeping tabs still on?
Yes. By default Edge puts a background tab to sleep after two hours without use, and clicking the tab wakes it with your content intact. To change the timer:
- Open Settings and more (the three dots) > Settings > System and performance.
- Select Performance and check that Automatically put tabs to sleep is on.
- Under Put inactive tabs to sleep after a set time, pick a new interval.
Some tabs never sleep. Microsoft lists the active tab, tabs playing audio, sharing your screen or a window, using your webcam or microphone, or casting, plus your company's intranet sites and any site on your keep-active list.
How do you stop a site from going to sleep?
Add it to the Always keep these sites active list on the same Performance page: select Add site, type the full address and confirm. Useful for web apps you want to stay live, such as chat or email.
What's the difference between a sleeping and a discarded tab?
A sleeping tab is paused: Edge cuts its CPU use to a minimum and frees some memory, and switching back to it is instant. A discarded tab is removed from memory entirely, so it reloads when you go back to it. Microsoft says neither shows the old fade now.
How do you turn sleeping tabs off completely?
Go to Settings > System and performance > Performance and switch off Automatically put tabs to sleep. Keep in mind that energy saver, Edge's battery saving mode, puts inactive background tabs to sleep after 30 minutes or less when the sleeping tabs setting is on, so turning sleeping tabs off also stops energy saver from doing that on a laptop.
Firefox users got a different tab trick this month: Firefox 160's Mini Window keeps a tab always on top.
