macOS WakeOnLan "magic packet" does nothing when MacBook is sleeping

Question

Created Aug ’20

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I have a MacBook Pro 2018 running Catalina with a USB-to-Ethernet Dongle.
The MacBook is connected to power source and with an Ethernet cable to a router. Just in case, In "System preferences > Energy Saver" I have set "Wake for Wi-Fi network access" checkbox.

There is a Linux machine with an ethernet connection to the same router -- they are in same LAN segment.

My goal is to wake a sleeping MacBook with a Magic WakeOnLan packet, sent from a Linux machine. However none of the Linux apps I tried worked: neither wakeonlan perl script (that sends broadcast UDP messages), nor etherwake (that sends raw MAC frames).

On various internet sources I've found controversial information: some complaints that when Mac is sleeping it goes to hybernation, meaning you can't WakeOnLan a sleeping Mac.

I am using a regular router, not Apple AirPort (and don't have Apple TVs on my network).

Is my understanding correct, that
1) There is no way to wake up a sleeping Mac by sending a magic WoL packet anymore (even though it used to be possible in older macOS versions)
2) If I get AirPort Extreme, and connect it to my router, I will be able to wake up Mac just by trying to access any of the network services I have enabled in Sharing on my MacBook?

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Answer 1

josephlim75 OP

Sep ’20

I have the same issue. I'm trying to wake up my Macbook Pro (Catalina) over wifi from my Windows machine. Nothing work. I have checked the "Wake for Wi-Fi network access", but still fails. I've tried all sort of utility from Windows to writing my own python script, still fails. I ended up using my bluetooth mouse to wake up my Macbook. If you manage to find a solution, do let me know, thanks.

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Answer 2

TyngJJ OP

Sep ’20

WoL certainly still works because Apple Remote Desktop uses it in the "Wake" function.
There's also DNSServiceSleepKeepalive in dns_sd.h which operates on the principle that you've woken a machine (likely a dark wake) to access a network service (possibly using the sleep proxy) and you need to keep the machine awake long enough for a long-running task to complete.
Have you run pmset -g to make sure you don't have any odd settings? I can't speak to the efficacy of third-party tools, but you should try macOS ones first and confirm the issue. Also make sure you have the right MAC address.

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Answer 3

RBradCurtis OP

Dec ’20

Bump.

Similar issue, however Ethernet connection supplied via thunderbolt 3 dock rather than basic dongle. Unable to trigger wake event from remote.

Where would the best logging for these events be located?

pmset output below, but it looks pretty straightforward. . .

Code Block USER@HOSTNAME ~ % pmset -g 
System-wide power settings:
 DestroyFVKeyOnStandby		0
Currently in use:
 standbydelaylow   10800
 standby       1
 womp         1
 halfdim       1
 hibernatefile    /var/vm/sleepimage
 proximitywake    1
 powernap       1
 gpuswitch      2
 networkoversleep   0
 disksleep      10
 standbydelayhigh   86400
 sleep        60 (sleep prevented by useractivityd, sharingd)
 hibernatemode    3
 ttyskeepawake    1
 displaysleep     60
 tcpkeepalive     1
 highstandbythreshold 50
 acwake        0
 lidwake       1

Code Block uname -a
Darwin HOSTNAME 19.6.0 Darwin Kernel Version 19.6.0: Thu Oct 29 22:56:45 PDT 2020; root:xnu-6153.141.2.2~1/RELEASE_X86_64 x86_64

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Answer 4

mz94118 OP

Nov ’22

I managed to solve my WoL issues by adding a WiFi/smart power outlet to my setup, and connecting one of my peripherals to it.

After noticing that power cycling the peripheral (in my case, an audio interface) would wake my MacBook Pro when it was in sleep mode, it occurred to me that it would be much simpler and more reliable to wake my system this way than by using Wake on LAN, which had proven to be intermittently reliable - even with everything configured properly to use the feature.

Since discovering a hardware disconnect/reconnect always seems to wake my MBP, I've stuck with this method. One might be able to do the same with something other than audio device peripherals, but I've had no need to test anything else to see what works vs what doesn't.

relevant system specs: MacBook Pro 15-inch, 2017 (MacBookPro14,3) macOS Sierra 10.12.6 Apogee Ensemble Thunderbolt (my audio interface)

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Answer 5

OP

Apple

Nov ’22

Hi there,

You might have better luck asking this question over in Apple Support Communities run by Apple Support.

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