Wake on LAN (WoL)

The Wake on LAN (WoL) functionality allows you to remotely power on a computer that is currently in a powered down state (shutdown, sleep or hibernate) through the use of a network request (Magic Packet).

This Magic Packet message is issued from the device running the Wake on LAN Automated Task and when received by the target computer’s network card, a command is issued to the motherboard and power supply to turn the machine on.

To add Automated Tasks to devices please see:

For details of the WoL Task, please see: Wake on LAN Automated Task

To utilize the Wake on LAN Automated Task, the target computer must be on the same local area network as the device running the script, both the target computer and network should be configured to support WoL communications and the computer connected to a power source.

The following section focuses on the steps to enable WoL on a Windows computer, although this may vary by manufacturer.

Enable WoL on a Windows computer

WoL is enabled on a Windows device in both the BIOS and Device Manager.

As the BIOS location of the WoL settings is vendor dependent, we would suggest consulting the manufacturer's documentation to determine whether WoL is supported on the target system along with details of their WoL implementation and the specifics of  enabling this feature.

In addition to the WoL settings, it may be necessary to amend other power management options (for example Dell's Deep Sleep Control) to successfully wake up the device using the Magic Packet request.

Once WoL is setup in the BIOS, the next step is to ensure the Network Adapter is configured to accept WoL in Windows.

  1. Open the Device Manager
    1. Windows key + R
    2. Enter devmgmt.msc
    3. OK
  2. Expand Network Adapters
  3. Right-click on your network adapter and select Properties
  4. Navigate to Power or Power Management
  5. Enable Allow this device to wake the computer and Only allow a magic packet to wake the computer (or equivalent).
  6. The next step is dependent on the version of Windows.
  7. Go to Advanced
  8. Find Wake on Magic Packet in Property and change the Value to Enabled
  9. Click OK to save out of the dialog, then close the Device Manager

Please note it may be necessary to restart the computer for these changes to take effect.