How to power on a computer remotely (Wake-on-LAN)
With Wake-on-LAN you can turn on a computer of your account that is off or asleep and then connect to it. RemoteBite asks another of your computers that is on, in the same network, to send it the signal to wake it up.
Step by step
- 1Open RemoteBite once on the computer you want to power onSigned in with your account. That way RemoteBite learns its network card and its network. Doing it once with the current version is enough.
- 2Enable Wake-on-LAN on that computerIn the BIOS or UEFI (often called «Wake on LAN» or «Power On by PCI-E») and, on Windows, on the network card. See how below.
- 3Keep another computer on in the same networkA PC, a server or a Raspberry Pi with RemoteBite open and your account signed in. It sends the signal, because it only travels inside the local network.
- 4Press «Power on»In «My computers», the computer that's off shows «Power on» (also on right click). Within a minute it shows up online and you can connect.
On Windows
In Device Manager, open your network card: under «Advanced», enable «Wake on Magic Packet»; under «Power Management», tick «Allow this device to wake the computer».
To power it on from fully shut down, turn off «Fast startup» (Control Panel › Power Options › Choose what the power buttons do). With fast startup on, many cards don't listen for the signal.
On Linux
Enable Wake-on-LAN on the card with «sudo ethtool -s eth0 wol g» (replace eth0 with your card's name) and in the BIOS. To keep it after a restart, enable it in NetworkManager: nmcli connection modify «your connection» 802-3-ethernet.wake-on-lan magic.
On Mac
Macs only wake from sleep, not when shut down. Turn on «Wake for network access» in System Settings › Battery (or Energy Saver).
If it doesn't power on
Wake-on-LAN almost only works over a network cable; very few computers support it over Wi-Fi. The computer must stay plugged in, and the one sending the signal must be on the same network (same router).
If «Power on» doesn't show up, RemoteBite sees no other computer of yours that is on in its network, or doesn't know the computer's network card yet: open it once with the latest version.
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