IPhone – How to wake up a MacBook with lid closed

iphonemacbook proremote controlwake-on-lan

How can I wake up my MacBook pro with an iPhone, when the lid closed (no external display)?
MacBook is not connected to power and there's a local wifi that it can connect to.

Best Answer

macOS Sierra, has an option in Energy Saver > Power Adapter to "Wake for Wi-Fi network access." In earlier versions that option was in Network preferences.

Apple Remote Access will wake a Mac this way but I am unaware of any iOS app that does this.

Generally speaking Wake On LAN (WOL) requires the sending device to send a so called "Magic Packet" and the receiving computer to be able to receive it and act upon it. I believe that Apple supports this method of WOL but I have not tested it in quite a while.

So your job will be to find an iOS app that provides WOL capability as it should do what you are looking for.

Related Solutions

IOS – Can any iOS app remotely wake a sleeping MacBook Air when the lid is closed

I have an Air that I leave in clamshell mode when it is at home.

I also have an AirPort router that connects it to the internet and have it set to have the Mac wake for Wi-Fi access in the Energy Saver system preference pane.

On iOS, I use the paid app Screens VNC app and configure it to use SSH.
On the Mac, I use the free Screens Connect app in conjunction with the also free Edovia remote location brokering service in case my router gets a new IP address. I don't really need that since I have a fixed IP address, but it simplifies setup and allows me to reach my Mac when it's not at home as well.

This setup works to wake my sleeping Air when I need to access my computer from any of my iOS devices through the internet.

MacBook – Waking closed lid macbooks using wireless

Apple now says yes: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204032

If your Mac supports Power Nap, these activities can occur while your Mac is asleep:
[...]
Mobile Device Management can remotely lock and wipe your Mac.

And these activities can occur while your Mac is asleep and plugged in to an AC power outlet:
Software updates download.
Mac App Store items (including software updates), download in the background.
Time Machine performs backups.
Spotlight performs indexing.
Help Center content updates.
Wireless base stations can wake your Mac using Wake on Wireless.

Assuming Power Nap is on AND the laptop cart is a powered one AND is actually plugged into the wall (yes, that one's from experience), you should be able to reach them remotely. Apple Remote Desktop does with 10.11 and 10.12.

Best Answer

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IOS – Can any iOS app remotely wake a sleeping MacBook Air when the lid is closed

MacBook – Waking closed lid macbooks using wireless

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