Dell may have fixed Modern Standby for the XPS 15 9570, of sorts

As promised, we have tested the Modern Standby Performance Improvement Package application for the XPS 15 9750, which Dell abbreviates to MSPIP. As we previously claimed, the MSPIP release history states that the package updates the XPS 15 9570 to BIOS 1.12.0 and Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver 17.5.0.1017, both of which pre-date the release of MSPIP.

Moreover, we can now confirm that MSPIP disables Wake on Wi-Fi (WoW), which frequent r/Dell poster u/mkdr previously claimed. Previously, all XPS 15 9570 owners have been able to do this by navigating to Power & Sleep within Settings, where Microsoft had placed an option to enable or disable Wi-Fi when asleep. However, the package goes further than merely disabling WoW, with it removing the option altogether from Settings. In short, it currently seems that reinstalling Windows 10 is the only way to re-enable these settings unless we have missed some elaborate Registry Editor tweaks.

While we previously opined the possibility of MSPIP being "smoke and mirrors from Dell", our short-term tests have shown real changes following the update. Having checked Registry Editor, MSPIP forces Modern Standby into Disconnected Standby mode as the screenshot below demonstrates, with HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\CSEnabled being set to 1 too. We cannot currently find a way to re-enable Connected Modern Standby either.

Historically, the several XPS 15 9570 laptops that we have tested have experienced heavy battery drain when asleep. We have even been occasionally been greeted with an empty battery having left the device on standby for a few days. Specifically, a Sleep Study states that our test device recently drained 26% of its battery when on standby for around a day. Leaving the device on standby for around four days resulted in the battery being completely drained. However, applying MSPIP has already drastically reduced battery drain at idle, with our XPS 15 9570 behaving more like any other modern Windows 10 laptop. We are still noticing some battery drain on standby, but it is much lower than it was previously.

While we cannot yet share our long-term experiences with MSPIP, in the short term it appears that Dell has fixed the Modern Standby issues that have plagued the XPS 15 9570 since its release. However, the device still does not support S3 sleep, a sleep mode that Dell removed through a BIOS update last year. Moreover, Dell has seemingly fixed Modern Standby by removing a feature that it had previously enabled in Windows 10 Settings. So yes, MSPIP has improved Modern Standby for the XPS 15 9570, but it may not be an ideal resolution to the device’s sleep issues that have afflicted many XPS 15 9570 laptops. Especially, as there currently seems to be no way to re-enable Connected Modern Standby should you wish to use it.

We are also currently testing BIOS 1.13.0 to see what changes it has brought to the XPS 15 9570. Let us know in the comments if there is anything that you would like us to test specifically. We shall be publishing our report on the matter in the coming days.