Looking for assistance with Wake on LAN on your Synology NAS?
Looking for assistance with Wake on LAN on your Synology NAS?
Hi all, after many long nights and various attempts, I realized I might need assistance with Wake on LAN. My configuration is straightforward: I have a DOCSIS router set up by my ISP, connected to the internet, and a TP-Link Archer AC1200 router that hosts my PC and Synology DS214se in a separate subnet (192.168.1.xxx). I’m familiar with using Wake on LAN before, and Pulseway worked previously. After switching to my new router, I noticed the ARP tables on my old DOCSIS device weren’t reachable, making it hard to send packets properly. Before I ask further, here’s what I’ve tried:
- Updated the Gigabyte B450 S2H NIC driver and turned on all Wake on LAN features.
- Enabled WOL in BIOS and disabled power-saving settings on Windows.
- Configured port forwarding on my PC (UDP port 9) for NIC access.
- Tried waking up from suspended or fully powered-off states, but it didn’t help.
- Disabled Fastboot and hibernation options in Windows.
- Checked if NetBios was disabled on the NIC, which affected drive recognition.
- Enabled Simple TCP/IP services on Windows.
- Used WireShark to verify if my PC received the Magic Packet; it worked when sent through a Synology NAS but not from another PC.
- Tested with a PC that used WOL and the Magic Packet appeared in the local subnet (255.255.255.255).
- Noticed LEDs on the NIC turning off just before shutdowns, even when I tried different methods.
My main concerns are: how to keep the NIC active, whether I can force the “Allow this device to wake the computer” setting, and if there’s a way to enable it despite BIOS limitations. Also, I’m curious about the driver updates—my Realtek NIC has the latest version (10.59.425.2022), but I’m unsure if an older BIOS version needs fixing.
Any advice or solutions would be greatly appreciated!
My aim is to keep it running whenever you need it. Since I’m moving out soon, I want it to start automatically by the BIOS alarm. While it worked briefly, the cost of electricity in Europe is too high right now. Running it continuously for 6–8 hours a day isn’t practical, especially if I’ll only need it a few times a week for certain reasons.
It might be due to a clash between the motherboard configuration and Windows settings. Consider turning off Windows features temporarily to see if the issue resolves.
You're referring to restarting the computer when it's off. The operating system isn't involved if you set it up properly in the BIOS. You can turn it back on even without any storage devices connected. Waking from standby is another matter, but if you need that, you can go further and adjust settings. In the BIOS there might be options for components that should power up automatically. On my setup I have to:
- Turn on LAN booting, otherwise Wake on LAN isn't usable
- Activate Wake on LAN
- Adjust ACPI settings so the network card stays active
These steps keep the NIC powered and its lights on while the system is off. Be aware some consumer devices have limitations—like not waking after a full power cut until they reconfigure. For reliability, I use a smart plug that lets me control it remotely and also support AC power restoration, avoiding typical wake-up issues.
I've been looking through the motherboard's manual and found several PXE configurations, but turning them on didn't affect the adapter. There are no ACPI power settings, the ones I noticed like ErP and CEC 2019 Ready were already turned off. The BIOS does have Wake on LAN enabled, yet even when I tried to shut down the PC from there, my NIC still powers off. This looks like an issue with the motherboard itself, since the OS doesn't seem to interact with it at that level. I've seen others online facing similar problems with Gigabyte's mobos concerning WOL, but they resolved it by adjusting the adapter settings or modifying registry values. The setting I'm dealing with isn't available for me—while the first option (power saving) is checked, the second one (wake device) can't be selected. Regardless, it seems odd that the OS has no way to disable WOL from S5, especially since the NIC shuts down right before Windows powers off completely. I'll keep trying different combinations.