How to Turn On Windows PC Remotely using Wake on LAN

If you do a lot of remote work and need to access your office computer often, you might need to keep it turned on. But it keeps consuming power even when it is not in use. So, instead of keeping your Windows PC on all the time, you can turn it on remotely using Wake on LAN when required.

The Wake-on-LAN feature allows you to power on your Windows PC not only from LAN but also over internet. However, you may need to forward WOL port in your internet router for that. And after turning your PC on, you can easily take remote access using TeamViewer or any other RDP tool.

SEE ALSO: How to Make your Computer a Web Server?

So, in this tutorial, we are going to show you how to power on your Windows PC remotely via Wake-on-LAN. We will have to make several changes to Windows and BIOS/UEFI settings to enable Wake on LAN. Let’s start with setting up the BIOS first.

A) Enable Wake-on-LAN in BIOS/UEFI Settings to Turn On your PC Remotely

First of all, we need to enable Wake-on-LAN feature in BIOS settings. Please note that if your PC doesn’t have this feature, you won’t be able to turn on your PC remotely. However, most of the modern PCs already have this feature, you just need to enable it in BIOS/UEFI settings.

Step 1: Go to BIOS or UEFI Settings

First, you need to enter BIOS or UEFI settings of your computer. For every manufacturer, the method to enter BIOS settings is different. Here is the table showing methods to enter BIOS or UEFI settings for major manufacturers.

If you press correct key during booting up, you will see BIOS/UEFI screen on your PC.

Step 2: Enable Wake on LAN and Save Settings

When you are in BIOS/UEFI settings, look for Wake-on-LAN setting. For some manufacturers it may be found in Power or Network sub-menu. In this tutorial, we have taken example of Lenovo ThinkPad. Wake on LAN setting is under Network. So, go to Config tab and select Network.

Here, select Wake on LAN and press Enter. After that select Enabled (AC and Battery) and press Enter again.

After that save the settings and exit the BIOS/UEFI settings. Now, you are ready to turn on your Windows PC remotely using Wake on LAN.

SEE ALSO: How to Enable Virtualization (VT-x or AMD-v) in BIOS or UEFI Settings?

B) Change Network Adapter Properties to Remotely Turn on your Windows PC

After setting up the BIOS, we need to make some changes in Network adapter properties also. We will have to enable “wake on magic packet” to power on your Windows PC (Windows 11, 10, 8/8.1 or 7) using Wake-on-LAN.

Step 1: Open Device Manager

Open the Device Manager in your Windows PC. You can right-click on This PC icon and select Manage to open Computer Management. From there, select Device Manager.

Alternatively, you can right-click on Start button and select Device Manager. We have used Windows 11 in this tutorial, however, it will also work on Windows 10 and earlier version of Windows.

Step 2: Open Network Adapter’s Properties

Now, in Device Manager window, scroll down to Network adapters. Here, right-click on your network adapter and select Properties.

Step 3: Enable Wake on Magic Packet to Power on Your PC Remotely

In Network Adapter’s properties, go to Advanced tab. Here, scroll down and select Wake on Magic Packet. After that, select it’s value to Enabled.

After that, go to Power Management tab and check “Allow this device to wake up computer“. Finally click OK to save the settings.

C) Disable Fast Startup in Windows 11 and Windows 10 PC

Windows 10 and Windows 11 have “Fast Startup” feature enabled by default in order to speed up booting. But this feature causes problems with Wake-on-LAN. So, we need to disable Fast startup in Windows 10 and 11 first.

Step 1: Go to Power Options in Control Panel

Open Control Panel in Windows 10 or Windows 11 and go to Hardware and Sound > Power Options. Here, click on “Choose what the power buttons do“.

Step 2: Disable Fast Startup to Allow Wake-on-LAN

Here, you can change power button functions but these functions are not editable by default. So, click Change settings that are currently unavailable to enable these functions.

Now, uncheck “Turn on fast startup (recommended)” option to disable fast startup in your Windows 10 or 11 PC to allow turn it on remotely over LAN or internet using Wake-on-LAN.

D) Turn on your Windows PC Remotely using Wake-on-LAN Utility

Now, after you have successfully setup your PC for Wake-on-LAN, it’s time to test it. We will use a small portable utility named as WakeMeOnLan from NirSoft to power on our PC using the Magic Packet. But before that we need to find the IP address and MAC address of the PC that we want to turn on remotely.

Step 1: Find IP address and MAC address of your PC

You can find the IP address and MAC or Physical address of your computer in network connection properties. So, go to Settings > Network and Internet. Here, click on Properties under or next to your network connection.

After that scroll down and note down the IP address and MAC address of your computer.

Step 2: Download and Run WakeMeOnLan utility

Now, download and extract WakeMeOnLan utility from NirSoft. Run WakeMeOnLan.exe from the extracted files, it will launch WakeMeOnLan utility.

Step 3: Add your PC to WakeMeOnLan Utility

WakeMeOnLan utility allows you to scan the local network for connected computers. However, you can also add a computer manually using IP address and MAC address.

Now, click File menu and select Add New Computer to add the details of your computer manually.

Here, enter the IP and MAC address of the PC you want to turn on remotely using Wake-on-LAN and click OK.

Step 4: Power On your Computer Remotely using WakeMeOnLan

Now, your computer will show up in the list. Right-click on it and select Wake Up Selected Computers option.

You will see a confirmation message, click Yes to send a Magic Packet and turn on your Windows PC remotely using Wake-on-LAN.

If you have configured everything correctly, your Windows PC will turn on without any problems.

E) Power On your Computer Remotely Using TeamViewer

Besides WakeMeOnLan utility, you can also use TeamViewer remote support tool to turn on your Windows PC remotely. You need to install TeamViewer on your PC first. After that, you can enable Wake-on-LAN in TeamViewer.

Step 1: Enable Wake on LAN in TeamViewer

Launch TeamViewer in your Windows PC (the PC that you want to turn on remotely). After that, click Extras and select Options.

After that click Configure… next to Wake-on-LAN in General settings.

TeamViewer will ask you to assign your computer to a TeamViewer account. You can create one if you don’t have already. And if you already have a TeamViewer account, simply sign-in to it.

After that, you can enable Wake-on-LAN in TeamViewer to power on your PC remotely. Select Public address and provide public IP address or public DNS name of your computer and click OK.

Step 2: Turn on your Windows PC Remotely using TeamViewer

Now, go to the PC from where you wish to turn on your PC. Remember, you need to install TeamViewer and login to same TeamViewer account there.

Next, go to Computers & Contacts and select your Computer that you want to turn on remotely. After that, click Wake up button on the right side.

If everything was setup correctly, your PC will turn on successfully.

SEE ALSO: How to Automatically Turn on your PC on Schedule?

Remotely Power On your Windows PC using Wake-on-LAN

Now you can turn on your PC via LAN or WAN and access your computer from anywhere. However, to turn on your PC over internet, you have to forward a port in your router. The port for Wake on Magic Packet is UDP port 9. After forwarding a port in your router, you have to use your public IP address in WOL utility to wake up your PC remotely. You can check your router’s manual to get help about forwarding a port.

Hope you liked this tutorial. In case you are facing any issues, feel free to write them in comment section down below. We will try to response as soon as possible. You may also subscribe to our newsletter to get latest tutorials directly into your inbox.