Ian Paul is a freelance writer with over a decade of experiencing writing about tech. In addition khổng lồ writing for How-To Geek, he regularly contributes to PCWorld as a critic, feature writer, reporter, giảm giá hunter, and columnist. His work has also appeared online at The Washington Post, ABC News, MSNBC, Reuters, Macworld, Yahoo Tech, Tech.co, TechHive, The Huffington Post, & Lifewire. His articles are regularly syndicated across numerous IDG sites including CIO, Computerworld, GameStar, Macworld UK, Tech Advisor, và TechConnect. Read more...
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Nov 18, 2021, 7:00 am EDT| 4 min read
Why Use WoL và How It Works
First, let’s discuss why you might want khổng lồ use this feature, & really there’s only one: convenience. Let’s say you’re making coffee in the kitchen, và you want the PC on by the time you get to lớn your home office. Just fire up an ứng dụng from your phone, tap a button, and your PC will be ready and waiting by the time you get there.
It doesn’t have to lớn be just a phone that wakes your PC either. You can use this trick from another PC, a Mac, or even a smart speaker if you don’t mind a slightly complicated setup.
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Wake-on-LAN’s basic premise is pretty simple. Computers send & receive information in small parts called packets. When WoL is enabled, your PC is waiting for a so-called “magic packet” that tells it khổng lồ wake up by including the PC’s MAC address.
Remember that without some tweaking that is beyond the scope of this article, WoL is not a remote feature. Your waking device (the phone) has khổng lồ be on the same network that the PC khổng lồ be waked is using.
WoL Prerequisites
Before anything else, your PC needs khổng lồ be on an Ethernet connection. For that reason, this trick works best with desktops or laptops that are always plugged into Ethernet. You may also have to turn Wi-Fi off on the target device for WoL to lớn work properly.
Next, you need khổng lồ have WoL enabled in your computer’s BIOS. We’ve got a tutorial on how to lớn get into your PC’s BIOS as it’s slightly different depending on the brand. Usually, however, it’s a matter of hitting a dedicated key or a regular keyboard key such as Del.
Looking inside the BIOS the Wake-on-LAN option may be organized differently và the feature can be packaged as part of a larger mix of features. On this example PC, the WoL feature was found under power as its own entry. If you can’t find the feature, search for it on Google using your motherboard’s brand name and model number.
Often WoL is enabled automatically in the BIOS, but it’s always a good idea to double-check.
Next, you have lớn enable WoL inside Windows 10 or 11.
First, you need to xuất hiện the Device Manager by right-clicking the start button and selecting “Device Manager.” Another alternative is to search for it by hitting the Start button and typing in “device manager.”
Once the utility opens click on Network adapters and select your Ethernet controller. You may have a ton of options, but you’re looking for something with a name that includes “controller,” “adapter,” or something similar. Anything that says TAP, VPN, or host-only is not what you’re looking for.
Once you’ve found your Ethernet controller right-click it and select Properties.
A properties window will open. Click the “Power Management” tab và make sure all three boxes there are checked including:
Allow The Computer lớn Turn Off This Device to lớn Save PowerAllow This Device to lớn Wake The ComputerOnly Allow A Magic Packet khổng lồ Wake The Computer
Before we close this window let’s go to the “Advanced” tab. In the list scroll down to lớn “Wake On Magic Packet,” select it, and ensure under “Value” that the drop-down box says “Enabled.”
If that’s the case, click “OK,” & you’re done with this part.
One last thing: xuất hiện the Settings app by hitting Windows+i on your keyboard. Then in Windows 11 go khổng lồ Network & Internet > Ethernet, và scroll down khổng lồ the bottom of the window.
In Windows 10 go khổng lồ Network và Internet > Ethernet, and then at the đứng đầu click on the name of your Ethernet connection. Next, scroll all the way down under “Properties.”
Here you’ll find something labeled “Physical address (MAC)” và then a combination of letters và numbers. It’s usually about 12 characters separated by dashes. Copy this down in case you need it.
Setting Up Your Wake Device
With the PC phối up, it’s time to get our device ready that’s going to bởi the waking.
For this example, we’re going to lớn make it nice và simple and use a phone. Download the Wake On Lan tiện ích from developer Mike Webb.
Once it’s installed, make sure you’re connected via Wi-Fi to lớn the same network your target PC is on. Now tap the plus (+) button on the main screen, and then when you get to lớn the next screen, pull down & wait. The pull-down will trigger a network search to find devices on your network.
Once you find your device, you can select it, and you’re done. If you don’t see it tap “Enter Manually,” give your device a nickname and enter its MAC Address. Then tap “Add Device.”
Now it’s time to thử nghiệm our setup. Go to your wakeable PC, click the Start menu, and then the power button. Instead of choosing, “Shut Down” choose “Sleep,” & wait for your PC to go into the low-power mode.
Now, mở cửa up the Wake-on-LAN phầm mềm on your phone, tap your device, & it should turn on within a few seconds.
RELATED: PSA: Don’t Shut Down Your Computer, Just Use Sleep (or Hibernation)
Troubleshooting
If the WoL feature doesn’t work bởi vì some basic troubleshooting such as making sure your PC is actually sleeping. Are all the RGB lights off (assuming you didn’t phối them lớn remain on)? Is the nguồn button glowing as if the PC is on? Try waking it the standard way to lớn see what happens.
If the PC was truly asleep then kiểm tra that your phone is connected lớn the right Wi-Fi network, put your PC back to lớn sleep và try again. It may also be worth checking your Ethernet cable for faults.
Wake-on-LAN is a fun, easy feature to enable that can be very helpful for those times you want your PC to lớn be ready to go the moment you are.
RELATED: How lớn Make Any Computer Boot Up or Shut Down on a Schedule
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