How to Make Any Computer Boot Up on a Schedule

All types of computers can accept “Wake-On-LAN,” or WoL, magic packets. Support for Wake-on-LAN is baked into a computer at the BIOS or UEFI firmware level, below the operating system itself.

When using Wake-on-LAN, a computer that’s shut down or asleep continues providing power to its network interface. This is usually a wired Ethernet connection, but you can also set a computer to accept Wake-on-LAN packets sent over Wi-Fi. When it receives an appropriately crafted packet, it will wake the computer back up again.

This option is generally enabled by default on desktop computers, but it may not be enabled on laptop computers to save battery power — especially not on the Wi-Fi interface. You’ll have to ensure Wake-on-LAN is enabled on your computer first and try it out.

Once you have Wake-on-LAN working, you could set up a device to send Wake-on-LAN packets to other devices on a schedule. For example, we’ve covered using a router running DD-WRT to send Wake-on-LAN packets on a schedule, allowing you to wake any device from your router and configure all the wake times in one place.