Wake from sleep using USB mouse/keyboard broken

I bought a new Acer E5-571-5552 recently, it came with Windows 8.1 64bit. One of the ways I use my laptop often is in "docked mode", basically connect it to external monitor via HDMI, and external USB mouse & keyboard. I set the windows power options for "close lid" to do nothing, then it works fine like a desktop. This works fine with all other laptops I've used in the past (Lenovo, HP, Toshiba...etc). But this new Acer has trouble waking from sleep, the USB keyboard & mouse only light up, but doesn't wake up the fan/drive/monitor. I have to open the lid and press a key on the laptop (USB keyboard/mouse still doesn't).

I've opened case 3601882U and chatted with 2 agents, one had me update to latest BIOS 1.11 which didn't resolve it. The other tried to insist it was a limited feature, that the Acers had to have lid open to wake up the computer from sleep. I think this is a broken feature. Does anyone know if this is true for all Acers, or just this windows 8.1 model?

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philetus

Go to Power Options/Change Plan Settings/Change Advanced Power Settings/USB Settings/USB Selective Suspend Setting and change them to Disabled and see if that helps.

Newcus

Thanks for your response, I tried that already and just double checked, it's disabled. The USB keyboard's num-lock light turns on when I press a key, so that's the only change noticeable (but turning it off with numlock and capslock light does not toggle, looks to be frozen), and the optical mouse's light also comes on when I click it, but system doesn't wake up.

philetus

Do you have Hybrid sleep and Hibernate turned off?

Newcus

Yes, both are off.

philetus

The first question I should have asked is Does it wake on USB with the lid open? I think wake on usb with the lid closed is not going to happen and the problem is not uncommon to Acer.See this:

http://community.acer.com/t5/2013-Archives/Acer-V3-571-6850-Wont-wake-up-from-standby-via-external-mouse-kb/td-p/16297

Newcus

Thanks for that link, I read through it, and yes USB wake up does work as long as the lid hasn't been closed. Apparently that's what breaks the wake-from-sleep feature. Acer calls this a "normal behavior by design"?! In what world does that make any sense? Especially considering all other laptops I've used in the past (HP, Lenovo, Toshiba, Dell...) function regardless whether the lid is open or closed. I work in software engineering and know these terms thrown around as a way to weasel out of fixing something. Sad, but I guess I'll have to live with having my lid half-open when it's connected to external monitor & USB mouse/keyboard as a workaround, which Acer support should have offered in the first place if it's already a widely known issue.

BTW for future reference when others search this topic, here's the link to the other Acer model, 2 years ago and it's still broken in Acer E5-571-5552 as of BIOS 1.11 (dated 2014/08)