Getting Started

Welcome to the Biogrammers Alexa Wake-on-LAN and Remote Shutdown project. This guide will help you set up your environment to wake up your computer using Alexa and perform remote shutdowns via our secure agent.

The Story Behind the Project

This project started with a simple problem: expensive, paid subscription models for a feature that should essentially be accessible to everyone. As an independent developer, I decided to build a free, reliable alternative to help the community wake their computers from anywhere in the world without a paywall.

While providing this service for free, growing the project brings its own challenges.

My goal is to keep this service alive and free for as long as possible. If this project has saved you time or money, consider supporting its growth. You can make a one-time donation via Gumroad or become a monthly patron on Patreon to help cover server costs and fuel future development.

Your support keeps the servers running! 🖤

Umut Öveçoğlu

1. Hardware & BIOS Configuration

Before using the software, your hardware must be ready to receive a "Magic Packet" while in sleep or powered off state.

Network Connection: A wired Ethernet connection is highly recommended. WiFi (Wake-on-WLAN) is supported by our software but rarely supported by PC motherboards.
ErP Ready: Restart your PC, enter BIOS, and set ErP Ready to Disabled. This ensures the network card stays powered when the PC is off.
Wake Up Events: Enable settings like "Resume by PCI-E Device" and/or "Wake on LAN from S5".

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2. Windows Device Manager Setup

Windows might put your network card to sleep. Let's prevent that:

Right-click Start -> Device Manager.
Find your Network Adapter, right-click -> Properties.
Under Power Management, check "Allow this device to wake the computer" and "Only allow a magic packet to wake the computer".
Under Advanced tab, ensure "Wake on Magic Packet" is Enabled.

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3. Web Portal & Package Download

Go to wol.biogrammers.com and sign in with your Amazon account.

Define your PC (Friendly Name and MAC Address).
Maximum 3 devices allowed per account.
Click "Download Package". Your browser may warn about "Suspicious File"; please select "Keep" as the file is a custom executable.

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⚠️ Critical Requirement: The Download Package button on the portal will remain inactive until your first Alexa Discovery is successful.

The system needs to identify your AWS Region through Alexa first. Follow this order:
1. Add your device on our web portal.
2. Enable the Skill in the Alexa App.
3. Run "Discover Devices".
4. Logout & Login to the web portal to download your ZIP.

4. Alexa Integration

Now, let's link the cloud services:

Open Alexa App, search for our Skill and click Enable.
Complete the Account Linking process in the popup.
Once linked, Alexa will automatically start Discovery.
Your defined PCs will appear as new devices. You are ready!

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5. Installing the Agent

Note: If you only intend to use the Turn-On (WOL) feature, you don't need to install or run the Agent. The Agent is required for Real-time Status and Remote Shutdown.

Final step is the Agent Service Installation:

The WolClient.exe can be run manually, but for a permanent solution, you should install it as a Windows Service. To use Remote Shutdown and see real-time Power State, install the Agent as a Windows Service.

Administrator Rights: You must run the .bat files as Administrator.

installer.bat: Automatically stops the existing service (if any), updates the files, and starts the service.
uninstaller.bat: Safely stops and completely removes the service from your system.

You can tweak your config.ini before installation:

[DEFAULT]
enable_log = true      # Set to false to disable text logging
shutdown_timeout = 10  # Delay in seconds (not applicable for hybrid options)
shutdown_option = 1    # 1: Normal, 2: Force, 3: Hybrid, 4: Hybrid+Force

Inside the ZIP:

WolClient.exe: The main agent.
installer.bat / uninstaller.bat: Service management tools.
nssm.exe: Helper tool for Windows Service conversion; you don't need to run it manually.
config.ini: Your unique configuration.

6. Troubleshooting & Diagnosis

If WOL is not waking your PC, try these steps in order:

Windows Fast Startup: Disable "Turn on fast startup" in Power Options.
BIOS Fast Boot: Disable "Fast Boot" in BIOS settings.
Power Supply: Ensure your PSU is switched on and the motherboard LAN LEDs are blinking while the PC is off

Our agent reports its state via MQTT. If the "Power State" in Alexa is not reflecting the truth, check if WolClient.exe is running and enable_log is showing a successful connection.