You can now wake up your Surface remotely on Windows 10. Wake-On-Lan (WOL) is nothing new, it’s a feature included on many network adapters that allows you to send a “magic packet” to turn on a computer remotely in the same local network.
Wake-On-Lan has been a great feature for IT administrators, as it allows them to quickly connect to remote machines without needing to be physically present at the location to switch on the power button and perform management or maintenance tasks.
Surface never included this functionality, even though these devices have been designed from business environment. However, Microsoft is now bringing Wake-On-Lan support to Surface Book, Surface Pro 4, Surface Pro 3, Surface 3, as long they’re connected to a wired network connection using Surface Ethernet adapter, Surface Dock, or Surface Docking Station for Surface Pro 3.
In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to enable Wake-On-LAN support on Surface devices running the Windows 10 Anniversary Update and higher.
How to enable Wake-On-Lan on Surface
In order to be able to remotely turn on a Surface device, you must install a new driver update for the Surface Ethernet adapter that is part of the Surface Tools for IT.
-
Head over to the Microsoft Download Center.
-
Click the Download button for the Surface Tools for IT.
-
Select the SurfaceWOL.msi and click Next to download.
Download SurfaceWOL -
Double-click the SurfaceWOL.msi file to install “Surface Wake On Lan” on your device to complete the task.
Surface Wake On Lan Setup
Once you completed the steps, you must have your Surface device connected to AC power and connected to the network using the Surface Ethernet adapter.
Then you can use a PowerShell script, Windows Store app, or other third-party tool, such as the old SolarWinds to Wake-On-Lan on using your Surface MAC address (You can find the MAC address of your Surface opening Command Prompt and using the ipconfig /all command).
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].