Getting Started with Power Remote

This guide walks you through the first setup and the everyday workflow for controlling power actions on your own PC or Mac from a phone, tablet, or another computer.

1. Install Power Remote on Your Devices

  1. Install Power Remote on the computer you want to control. Power control targets are Windows PCs and Macs.
  2. Install Power Remote on the device you want to use as the remote. This can be an Android phone or tablet, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows PC, or Linux computer.
  3. Connect both devices to the same local network. In most homes and offices, this means the same Wi-Fi or wired router.
  4. Keep Power Remote running on the computer you want to control. On desktop systems, you can enable autostart and background tray behavior in Settings for easier everyday use.

2. Allow Local Network Access

Power Remote needs local network access so your devices can find and contact each other. If your phone, tablet, or computer asks for permission to access devices on the local network, allow it.

If devices do not appear, check that they are on the same network, that guest Wi-Fi or client isolation is not blocking them, and that VPN or firewall software is not preventing local connections.

3. Pair Your Devices

  1. Open the Power tab on the device you want to use as the remote.
  2. Look for the computer you want to control. Unpaired nearby computers can appear in the device list if discovery is available.
  3. Tap the computer and send a pairing request.
  4. On the computer being controlled, approve the request.
  5. After pairing, the device becomes trusted and you can send allowed power commands to it.

Pair only devices you own and trust. You can rename, reorder, hide, edit, or delete paired devices from the Devices tab.

4. Choose Which Actions Are Allowed

Each paired device can have its own permissions. For example, you may allow your phone to Sleep, Wake, and Lock a computer, but block Shut Down or Restart from another device.

To review permissions, open the Devices tab, select a paired device, and edit its allowed actions. This is a good habit for shared computers or family devices.

5. Send a Power Command

  1. Open the Power tab.
  2. Tap the Windows PC or Mac you want to control.
  3. Choose an available action: Sleep, Wake, Lock, Restart, Shut down, Log out, Display off, Display on, or Keep awake.
  4. Confirm the action if Power Remote asks. Confirmation is especially useful for restart, shut down, and log out.
  5. Check the result in the History tab if you want to confirm what happened.

Some actions depend on the operating system, permissions, and current device state. If an action is not available or fails, Power Remote shows the result in History.

6. Use Keep Awake

Keep awake is for moments when the computer should stay on temporarily: a download, backup, file transfer, video call, presentation, render, or remote session.

  1. Tap the target computer on the Power tab.
  2. Choose Keep awake.
  3. Select the duration in minutes or hours.
  4. When the timer ends, Power Remote stops keeping the computer awake automatically.

You can stop Keep awake manually before the timer ends by choosing the Keep awake off action.

7. Use Wake-on-LAN

The Wake action uses Wake-on-LAN. It can wake a sleeping computer when the computer, network adapter, router, and settings support it.

  1. Pair the computer while it is awake. Power Remote needs to learn its MAC address.
  2. Enable Wake-on-LAN on the computer. On macOS, turn on Wake for network access. On Windows, allow the network adapter to wake the computer and enable magic packet wake.
  3. For best reliability, connect the sleeping computer to the router with Ethernet.
  4. Put the computer to Sleep, not Shut Down.
  5. From your phone or another paired device, tap the computer and choose Wake.

Wake-on-LAN is local network technology. It may not work over guest Wi-Fi, isolated networks, VPNs, or the internet. For more detail, see the dedicated Wake-on-LAN guide.

8. Review History

The History tab shows recent power commands, including the action, direction, target device, time, and result. Use it to check whether a command was performed, ignored, or failed.

If a command fails, History can show a reason such as no permission, unsupported action, invalid state, or network error. You can repeat previous commands from History when it is useful, or clear old entries.

9. Keep Your Device List Organized

The Devices tab is where you manage trusted devices. You can rename devices to make them easier to recognize, reorder the list, edit permissions, hide devices from the Power tab, add a device by IP address, or remove a device you no longer use.

If a computer does not appear automatically, use the Add option and enter its local IP address. Make sure Power Remote is running on that computer and both devices use the same port in Settings.

10. Privacy and Security

For the safest experience, use Power Remote only on networks you trust, pair only devices you own, remove old pairings when a device is sold or shared, and keep confirmation enabled for actions that can interrupt work.

Quick Troubleshooting

Once your devices are paired and permissions are set, everyday use is simple: open Power Remote, tap the computer, and choose the power action you need.

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