How To Remotely Wake Up Your Windows 10 PC

Save power when you’re not at home

If you want toset up a serverat home, you may want to be able to access it remotely. Of course, you can onlyconnect remotelyif you leave your PC or server left turned on. You may not want to do this, however, especially if you’re looking to lower your energy bill.

A good way to get around this problem is to switch your PC or server off, and then wake it up remotely only when you’re ready to use it. If you want to remotely wake up your Windows 10 PC, you can do so using existing methods, such as Wake-on-LAN (WOL), or usingremote access software like Teamviewer.

Preparing Your Network Router Or Firewall

Before you start using a remote wakeup tool to remotely wake up your Windows 10 PC, you’ll need to make sure that your network router is properly configured to allow you to access your PC, including setting up appropriate firewall rules.

For instance, most residential network routers have built-in support for Wake-on-LAN. You may need to consult your user manual for additional information on how to set this up, including how to forward themagic packet(the special data packet sent to switch your PC on) to your PC’s MAC address.

You can access the residential settings menu for most home routers by typinghttp://192.168.0.1orhttp://192.168.1.1in your web browser. You’ll need the administration username and password to sign in, which (if you haven’t changed it) should be printed on your router itself, or within the supplied user manual.

Enabling Wake-on-LAN On A Windows 10 PC

If your router is correctly configured, the next step in enabling Wake-on-LAN on a PC running Windows 10 is to enable the feature inyour BIOS/UEFI settings.

This setting may be placed in different sections, depending on your motherboard firmware, but you should be able to find it in theAdvancedorPower Managementmenus. Make sure the setting for Wake-on-LAN is set toOnorEnabled. If it isn’t, the WOL magic packet (used to switch your PC back on) won’t turn on your PC.

If Wake-on-LAN is enabled in your BIOS, your next step is to enable it as a feature in Windows 10. You’ll have to set your network adapter to respond to the magic packet.

Note: This can only work withethernet-connected PCs, meaning you can’t typically use Wake-on-LAN over WiFi.

Once the settings are saved, your PC should be ready to be woken up with a Wake-on-LAN magic packet from another computer.

Sending a Wake-On-LAN Magic Packet

To remotely wake up your Windows 10 PC, you’ll need software on another PC capable of issuing a WOL magic packet, such asNirSoft WakeMeOnLAN. Despite a somewhat outdated interface, WakeMeOnLan still works as a free and easy solution for using WOL on Windows PCs.

The WOL magic packet will be sent automatically once you confirm this. If everything is set up correctly, your PC should begin to wake up, allowing you to access it remotely.

Using Remote Access Software

You can also useremote access softwarelike TeamViewer to remotely wake up a Windows 10 PC. TeamViewer uses the same WOL technology to remotely wake up a PC, which would allow you to wake up a PC that isn’t connected to your local network.

You might want to do this if you want to access your work PC from home or if you’re away from home and want to connect to your home PC, for instance.

Once WOL is enabled in Teamviewer, you can launch it by clicking theWake Upbutton for your PC, listed under theComputers & Contactsmenu. Your remote PC will need to have TeamViewer installed and signed in with the same TeamViewer account for this to work.

Managing Your PC Remotely

You may have a remote PC or server you want to access, but you’ll also need a safe way to manage it. Turning your PC on from afar is one way to do this, but you may need to make more significant changes to your PC configuration. You might need tochange the registry remotelyto help troubleshoot an issue, for instance.

If you’re having trouble with your IP address changing regularly, you may want to set up a free dynamic DNS address to make sure you can always connect. If you’re worried about your data, you could even think about setting up your ownpersonal cloud storagefor easy access to your important files from home.

Ben Stockton is a freelance technology writer based in the United Kingdom. In a past life, Ben was a college lecturer in the UK, training teens and adults. Since leaving the classroom, Ben has taken his teaching experience and applied it to writing tech how-to guides and tutorials, specialising in Linux, Windows, and Android. He has a degree in History and a postgraduate qualification in Computing.Read Ben’s Full Bio

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How To Remotely Wake Up Your Windows 10 PC#

Preparing Your Network Router Or Firewall#

Enabling Wake-on-LAN On A Windows 10 PC#

Sending a Wake-On-LAN Magic Packet#

Using Remote Access Software#

Managing Your PC Remotely#

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