Will WOL support be added to the companion app?

[ahwman]

Since my HTPC resides in my bedroom, I have it configured to sleep to minimize noise issues. That said, it would be very helpful if the companion app supported WOL. Is this planned for the future?

Thanks!

[mikinho]

It is planned for one of the next releases.

[N4cr2k]

Looking forward to this feature. I'm currently accomplishing WOL through a custom web interface I made. Having it built into the app will be nice.

[mikinho]

I know you both know but for others that may not....Wake On LAN (WoL) will only be supported when connected via the local area network (LAN). We may add support for Wake on WAN later but right now it isn't in the plans.

[grinchy]

You know the weird thing is that my PC actually wakes up whenever I try to query it via the Companion App... even over WAN. I don't have anything configured specifically for this... this is on iOS.

[mikinho]

That means you have Wake on Network activity enabled versus Magic Packet

[grinchy]

Yup that sounds about right - forgot about that. Which also explains when I attempt to RDC or access a network share, it also wakes up.

[barnabas1969]

I know you both know but for others that may not....Wake On LAN (WoL) will only be supported when connected via the local area network (LAN). We may add support for Wake on WAN later but right now it isn't in the plans.

I understand the reasoning for this. I'm sure it would be difficult for you to try and support this over the WAN, due to all the stuff that needs to be configured in the router to enable it... and the fact that most routers won't be able to broadcast the magic packet will be an issue for you.

But I have my Companion app setup so that the LAN and WAN IP addresses are the same. That works best for me. Hopefully, this won't break your WOL implementation.

[black88mx6]

Purchased the app today, even though I need WOL for it to be fully functional for me. Waiting out here in the field....

[Jonny561201]

Just curious, as I also find that WoL to be a necessary feature for those who put their computers to sleep when not in use. Does WoL get impacted by the level of sleep the computer is under?

I ask because I spent this weekend trying to get WoL working with modest success. WoL is enabled in the bios. WoL is enabled in the device manager for magic packet on the network device. Port forwarding was setup in the router to direct traffic to ports 7 and 9, which I recall being correct. However, sometimes it wakes the computer from sleep and other times it does not. I noticed when trying it in the mornings after the computer has been asleep all night it does not appear to work. For reference I have a WoL app that sometimes works and the Ceton App also seems to work sometimes as well.

Any comments on this or how to get working?

[mikinho]

It varies per motherboard and network card but many do not support WoL from S4 (Hibernate) or S5 (Off). In Windows 8 WoL from S4 was disabled completely. So if you want to be safe stick to S3 (Standby)

[grinchy]

Just from my experience, the Wake on Network Activity option on my NIC has worked great for me... I set my Pc to sleep after 1 hour of inactivity. It only wakes as necessary and the Companion wakes my machine over WAN with no fuss. If you all haven't tried this route, you might want to. For the record, I don't have any issues with my machine waking up all the time "randomly," in case you were wondering.

In any case... just a suggestion.

[black88mx6]

I have tried to use Wake on Network, and my system turns back on about 10 min after each attempt that it tries to sleep. I think this might be WHS 2011 trying to contact the system, but it is only a guess. I know that when I set Wake on Magic Packet, the system says down until it either wakes for Media Center Functions, or backup from WHS 2011.

End results, I need WOL for the companion app to work in my setup.

[milli260876]

If you have one "always on" pc could traffic be routed thru that to WOL ?

[grinchy]

I have tried to use Wake on Network, and my system turns back on about 10 min after each attempt that it tries to sleep. I think this might be WHS 2011 trying to contact the system, but it is only a guess. I know that when I set Wake on Magic Packet, the system says down until it either wakes for Media Center Functions, or backup from WHS 2011.

End results, I need WOL for the companion app to work in my setup.

I could see that being an issue. I also noticed I said "Wake on network" - I should have said "Wake on Pattern Match." In any case, I can see your predicament.

[bobbob]

there's a way you can use DDWRT enabled routers to do WOL remotely with no other equipment. its working well for me

[black88mx6]

there's a way you can use DDWRT enabled routers to do WOL remotely with no other equipment. its working well for me

I did read up on how to do this, but I believe that I would then have to run everything through proxy if using from inside the network. I also have multiple media centers, so that also becomes an issue changing ports around. Basic WOL support is all that is needed with the app.

[barnabas1969]

there's a way you can use DDWRT enabled routers to do WOL remotely with no other equipment. its working well for me

I did read up on how to do this, but I believe that I would then have to run everything through proxy if using from inside the network. I also have multiple media centers, so that also becomes an issue changing ports around. Basic WOL support is all that is needed with the app.

I setup my router to send a WOL when the app connects from the WAN. Then, I simply entered the WAN address and port number in both boxes in the Companion's settings. Nothing prevents you from entering your WAN address in both the LAN and WAN fields.

[foxwood]

I did read up on how to do this, but I believe that I would then have to run everything through proxy if using from inside the network. I also have multiple media centers, so that also becomes an issue changing ports around. Basic WOL support is all that is needed with the app.

Unless you have a VPN set up, and therefore don't need port forwarding, you're going to have an issue with changing ports around if you want to hit multiple media centers from outside your network. I'm not sure what you read about proxies - I've never seen any reference to needing proxies in this situation.

And WoL will only work on the LAN - if you're connecting from outside, you'll have to trigger something on your LAN to send the WoL packet anyway - that's where DD-WRT comes in.

[barnabas1969]

you're going to have an issue with changing ports around if you want to hit multiple media centers from outside your network.

If you use a different external port number for each Media Center PC, this isn't an issue. You simply define each one in your phone to use the same external IP address (or DNS), and a different port. Put the same address (the external one) in both the "internal" and "external" address fields in the Companion app.

And WoL will only work on the LAN - if you're connecting from outside, you'll have to trigger something on your LAN to send the WoL packet anyway - that's where DD-WRT comes in.

That's not correct. The reason WOL doesn't work with most routers (by default) is because routers block broadcast packets. In order for WOL to work, it needs to be broadcast on the LAN. This is because your switch(es) won't always know to which switch port your Media Center PC is connected... so the packet needs to be broadcast to all switch ports on all switches to guarantee that the packet is received by the target MAC.

If your router has a setting to allow broadcast packets, then you can use that (though it's not recommended). In DD-WRT, you can setup an internal IP address that doesn't really belong to any devices on the network. I used 192.168.1.254. Then, you simply define that pseudo machine with a MAC address of FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF. Finally, you open a port, and direct it to the fake IP address. This will cause any traffic that is directed to that particular WAN port to be broadcast on your LAN.

I use it all the time. I can wake any PC on my LAN from anywhere in the world. All I need to know is the MAC address.

However, in the case of the Companion app, you're correct. The companion will attempt to send the WOL packet to the address/port that you have configured for your Media Center PC... and the router will not forward it. So, you need to have a script running on your router to cause the router to send a WOL packet to your Media Center PC whenever a connection is detected from the Companion app. This could also be tailored to work with multiple Media Center PC's.