Simon Brown • Nov 4, 2024In today's fast-paced digital world, the ability to access and manage your devices has become increasingly valuable. One handy feature is being able to turn on the PC remotely, allowing you to access your system when connected to the same LAN network. This can be especially helpful for remote workers or anyone who wants on-demand desktops or wants to resolve technical errors.
This article will explore the Wake-on-LAN in detail, the utility used to turn on the computer remotely. It will take you through several easy methods for enabling this feature and related actions, catering to users of all skill levels. Additionally, we will discuss an advanced tool that can help you control your remote device after turning it on to perform all types of actions.
That is definitely possible due to a handy feature known as Wake-on-LAN on your computer. It's basically a computer networking standard that allows users to turn on the computer via an internet connection within a local area network. Using this approach to remotely start a PC is considered the finest since it does not require IT professionals to be physically available to run the tasks.
Furthermore, in terms of working, the WoL command is sent to client computers within the same LAN in the form of magic packets. These magic packets contain valuable details regarding the client's MAC and network broadcast address. Hence, once you have a MAC address and compatible software, turning on the computer within a LAN network will be seamless.
Since you know users can remotely start a PC, let’s move ahead and explore the seamless ways to make this process easier. In this section, 2 main approaches are discussed in detailed stepwise guidance, enabling you to start the PC in just a few taps.
First off, enabling Wake-on-LAN in BIOS allows one to start a computer remotely over a network, allowing PCs to "wake up" when they receive a specific network signal. Hence, here is how you can enable Wake-on-LAN in BIOS settings in just a few steps:
Step 1. Start the process by powering the system and pressing the "Delete" key to access BIOS advanced mode settings on your device. Once there, choose the "Advanced" option from the top of the screen and tap on the "APM Configuration" option from the list.
Step 2. This will direct you to a new screen where you have to expand the "Power On By PCI-E" option to enable it.
Step 3. Moving on, press the F10 and hit the “Ok” button displayed on the screen to activate the Wake-on-LAN in BIOS settings.
Now that you have enabled Wake-on-LAN from the BIOS settings, let's move ahead and send the network signals to initiate PC startup. Adhere to the below guide and learn how you can activate Wake-on-LAN for network settings:
Step 1. From the Window menu, search for “Device Manager” and expand the “Network Adapters” option once it is displayed on the screen. Upon tapping, pick the “Network Controller” from the list of options to process further.
Step 2. Now, right-click it to select "Properties" and confirm that “Wake on Magic Packet” is enabled in the “Advanced: tab. Following this, move to the "Power Management" tab and tick the "Allow this Device to Wake the Computer," "Allow This Device to Wake the Computer." Moreover, enable the "Only Allow a Magic Packet to Wake the Computer" feature before pressing "OK."
Step 3. Later, confirm whether Wake-on-LAN is enabled by opening the "Power & Sleep" settings from the Settings application. Scroll down and tap the "Additional Power Settings" option to continue the confirmation process.
Step 5. A new window will be displayed, allowing you to pick the "Choose what the power button does" option. Moving to the new screen, untick the "Turn on Fast Startup (Recommended)" option and hit the "Save Changes" option to enable Wake-on-LAN without any problem.
Now that you have activated all the settings, it’s time to turn on a computer remotely by sending magic packets to access the data or run applications. In this section, we have uncovered 2 main methods that enable you to send magic packets without causing any complexity.
First, we have Avica Remote Desktop, a cutting-edge remote desktop technology that allows users to access any device without raising compatibility issues. Talking about accessibility, users can easily use this software on devices like Windows, Mac, iOS, iPadOS, or Android. To send the magic packets, users can enjoy as low as 10ms lag-free performance and avoid connectivity issues for better user experience.
Additionally, as you turn on the PC remotely, secure your remote sessions as the Avica remote desktop leverages privacy mode and end-to-end AES-256 encryption. Using Privacy Mode, one can block others from seeing and hearing their remote activity. However, with end-to-end AES-256 encryption, this software prevents unauthorized access during remote sessions to offer a relaxed experience to users.
Before you know how to send the magic packets, ensure that both remote and local devices are running on the same network. Not just that, but ensure that the WoL feature is enabled using the BIOS and Windows network settings. Once you meet the requirements, follow the guidelines below and see how you can remotely boot a PC from other computers or mobile devices using Avica.
You can easily download Avica software by clicking the button provided below or download Avica mobile app from Google Play and App Store. For more detailed information regarding Avica App downloads, please visit the official Avica download page. It is important to note that Avica ensures the safety and virus-free nature of all products available on its official website or app store. Feel confident in downloading Avica from these trusted sources.
Start by launching the latest version of the Avica remote desktop toolkit on both PCs and head to the remote PC that you want to wake. There, tap on the "Remote Settings" tab and toggle the "Startup on Boot" option to ensure the device wakes up when it receives the signal.
Moving on to the local device, locate the “Device List” option and choose your device group. After that, navigate to the “+” icon at the top right corner of the screen and pick the “Add desktop device” option.
Then, a pop-up will appear on the screen, where you have to insert the name and Avica credentials of the remote device. Once the details are added, hit the “Add” button to proceed further with the reboot process.
After adding the required remote device, tap on the connected PC and pick the “Reboot” option from the right sidebar to remotely wake the PC. Note down that you can only use this feature to wake up your Windows device from any other device.
Other than Avica remote desktop, you can also consider PowerShell to send the magic packets for starting a PC remotely from your computer over a LAN network. PowerShell is basically a task automation framework that allows users to send commands and scripts for system management on a PC. The following is the script you can run from your machine while adding the actual values to wake up the targeted computer:
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Starts a list of physical machines by using Wake On LAN.
.DESCRIPTION
Wake sends a Wake On LAN magic packet to a given machine's MAC address.
.PARAMETER MacAddress
MAC address of the target machine to wake up.
.EXAMPLE
Wake "A0DEF169BE02"
.NOTES
Ensure MAC addresses do not contain "-" or ".".
#>
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory=$true, HelpMessage="MAC address of the target machine to wake up")]
[string] $MacAddress
)
Set-StrictMode -Version Latest
function Send-Packet([string]$MacAddress) {
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Sends a magic packet using a UDP broadcast.
.DESCRIPTION
Send-Packet sends a magic packet to a MAC address to wake up the machine.
.PARAMETER MacAddress
The MAC address of the machine to wake up.
#>
try {
# Assuming a sample IP address of 192.168.1.100 and prefix length of 24
$IPAddress = [pscustomobject]@{ IPAddress = "192.168.1.100"; PrefixLength = 24 }
# Calculate directed broadcast address for the subnet
$Broadcast = [Net.IPAddress]::new(
(
([Net.IPAddress]::Parse($IPAddress.IPAddress).Address -band [uint32]::MaxValue -shr (32 - $IPAddress.PrefixLength)) `
-bor ([uint32]::MaxValue -shl $IPAddress.PrefixLength)
)
).IPAddressToString
$BroadcastAddress = [Net.IPAddress]::Parse($Broadcast)
# Create UDP client instance
$UdpClient = New-Object Net.Sockets.UdpClient
# Create IP endpoint for broadcast address on port 9 (WoL)
$IPEndPoint = New-Object Net.IPEndPoint $BroadcastAddress, 9
# Convert MAC address to byte array
$MAC = [Net.NetworkInformation.PhysicalAddress]::Parse($MacAddress.ToUpper())
# Construct the magic packet
$Packet = [Byte[]](,0xFF*6) + ($MAC.GetAddressBytes() * 16)
# Send magic packet to the broadcast address
$UdpClient.Send($Packet, $Packet.Length, $IPEndPoint) | Out-Null
Write-Output "Magic packet sent to $MacAddress at broadcast IP $BroadcastAddress on port 9"
# Close the UDP client
$UdpClient.Close()
}
catch {
Write-Error "Failed to send the magic packet: $_"
if ($UdpClient) { $UdpClient.Dispose() }
}
}
# Example usage
$macAddress = "A0DEF169BE02" # Sample MAC address of the target machine
Send-Packet -MacAddress $macAddress
This PowerShell script sends a Wake-on-LAN (WoL) "magic packet" to wake a target machine on the network using its MAC address. The script begins by taking a MAC address as input, which represents the machine's physical address to be woken. Inside the Send-Packet function, it first retrieves the local IP address and subnet prefix to calculate the directed broadcast address for the network.
This ensures the WoL packet reaches all devices on the subnet, including the target machine. Next, it creates a "magic packet," a specially formatted data packet, by repeating the broadcast header (0xFF bytes) followed by 16 repetitions of the target MAC address in byte form.
Using UDP, the script sends this packet to the calculated broadcast IP address on port 9, which is commonly used for WoL. After sending, it closes the UDP connection. This script is helpful for remotely waking up machines within the same network, provided they support Wake-on-LAN and are configured to receive WoL packets.
To summarize, there comes a time when you need to turn on a PC remotely when trying to access files or troubleshoot issues. No matter the reason, this article has covered 2 workable methods in detail to let you start the PC over a LAN network.
However, Avica remote desktop software is the most recommended option to make this process seamless if you are facing issues sending magic packets using PowerShell for some reason.
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