Yes, good summary. I have now tried three third party WOL apps but can get none to work. I assume this must be a configuration error somewhere. But where ? All the apps ask me for is the IMac IP address and MAC code. These I have input and tried ( both ethernet and wifi varieties). Does the IP address have to be configured as static ? Mine is not, albeit it is always the same. I cannot create a static address as my ISP does not release the admin code for the router.
The IMac settings were to wake for WOL. I am now trying the prevent sleep when display is off option, even though this results in higher power consumption - which is not good in these times of energy costs and shortages. We should not be encouraging or accepting this sort of attitude.
But the question is why won’t Roon implement a WOL feature ? If the ‘expertise’ is not there ( which I doubt) it can’t take much to hire someone for the few hours it might take.
I am far from the only one to have requested such a feature, which other media players seem able to do, but Roon say they are not ‘interested’. Hardly warms one to their customer service 
The ‘experience’ for me at the moment is just hassle, nipping up and down stairs to wake Roon every time I want to play some music. How is my ‘experience’’ supposed to benefit by not having a WOL feature exactly ?
But let me see how the ‘no sleep when screen is off’ angle gets on . . .
I really like Roon for all the other stuff it does, and am prepared to wait for an integrated solution, but it seems so petty to say ‘no’ !
You should post a help request in tinkering. If WoL isn’t working with the software you’ve tried it certainly won’t work with Roon. Some troubleshooting, by the tinkering community, will help in identifying why it’s not working. Before requesting development effort to continue using Roon let’s make sure your infrastructure supports that development.
As of today, WoL is Tinkering because:
- It’s not supported on the client side by Roon (they don’t generate / send the magic packet)
- The server side is hardware dependent which Roon doesn’t supply / support (*see 3)
- Where Roon does supply the hardware, Nucleus, they have already stated that WoL is already enabled on this hardware.
WoL isn’t complicated but the structure of the ethernet frame must match what the PHY is looking for to pass across the wire. That means 1. it must be created correctly 2. the device you’re trying to wake must see the frame.
If you open a tinkering thread we can work on this.
WOL is layer 2, and thus not routable. I’d suggest your network topography is the culprit. Ask google for tips, or walk away. Ranting is just frustrating. I use “wake me up” on iPhone.
I never managed to get wol to work with my Mac mini. If I completely turn off the mini, the only way is to press the power button. WoL only seems to work from a sleep state.
I have always relied on amphetamine app.
For instance:
no.
The alternative to WoL that we suggest is to leave your Core on all the time, which was said in my previous statement. Then you don’t need to WoL or run up the stairs, or even wait to play music.
I’ve made our position clear on this. Just because you don’t like the answer does not mean it will change if you keep asking the same question.
My bad, it has been a long time since I used a WoL Package. Thanks for pointing out.
Could not edit the post to correct it.
If you would have invested the time you spent here on investigating YOUR specific setup related issues which are by no means part of the core ROON functionality, you might have found a satisfying solution already.
Sorry, don’t understand. ‘Not routable’ ?
How else would a wifi tablet, or phone, communicate with the Mac?
My Mac is ethernet cabled to the router.
I have also tried enabling the WiFi option on the Mac.
I have tried third party apps with both the mac address for ethernet and wi fi - neither work.
If anyone out there is using an IMac as a Roon core, what settings are you using in conjunction with a third party app ?
This is correct. Powering off the machine pulls power from the Ethernet PHY. WOL works in a “low power” mode. Modern processors have specific sleep states which can reduce power consumption to ~1 watt. Depending on how the manufacturer implemented WOL on the PHY you may see power consumption from anywhere at 1 watt to over 3 watts. This state has to be maintained as the ethernet nic is still looking for packets. When it sees a magic packet it tells the CPU to come out of this sleep mode and go back to normal. This all still takes some amount of power.
WOL sends a ‘magic packet’ to all the computers in a network. The one with the correct MAC address is the one that responds. In other words, the magic packet isn’t routed (i.e. directed) to a specific computer, rather it is sent to all of them that are on the same network. This is necessary because a computer that is turned off doesn’t have an IP address assigned. For further info take a look at this wikipedia page.
WOL has nothing to do with Roon. The Mac sleeps and you wake it up with WOL. This is no different than walking up to it and moving the mouse or touching the keyboard. When the machine wakes up and if Roon is running you’re good. If the machine wakes up and Roon isn’t running then WOL has just woken the computer. You still won’t have Roon.
Tons of people use WOL with Macs. It’s well documented how to set this up.
From what i read on this Apple support page (see link above), the mac’s don’t support wake-on-lan when the computer is powered off. Only when it is “asleep”.
He won’t be able to shutdown, only sleep.
Also, i moved this topic to tinkering.
This is correct.
My iMac
Off: .4 watts (energy vampire mode)
Sleep Mode: 1.4 watts (I believe this is the lowest mode it can go and still have WOL)
Long Idle: 10.3 watts (when the screen is off and you’ve walked away)
Yep. So if the OP is trying to “wake” from power off, he won’t be able to, no matter what software
I haven’t tested it but, according to this web page, you can turn on a Mac using WOL if you’re prepared to tinker around with one of the configuration files.
Ah, the lovely darkwake flag. Discussed a lot in hackintosh forums.
This is what darkwake is if you’re wondering…
https://patents.google.com/patent/US7996694
I’m not sure what the default is for Macs… I believe darkwake=0 disables the power management feature.
There are more than just darkwake=0 or 1.
Here’s some more info about darkwake.
.
Been there, done that. No go, at least for me.
Basically Apples version of ErP…
Quoted random online ErP info…
ErP In BIOS
In the computer BIOS (Basic Input/ Output System), ErP stands for a specific function. It is built-in software that helps to save our computer from energy draining. By the laws of it, a whole computer system must not consume power more than 1W while it’s off.
Various devices may draw the power from 1-10W when the computer is off. ErP function operates when the computer is in:
- Sleep Mode
- Shut Down Mode
- Standby/ Hibernate Mode
ErP can turn off:
- Power Management Event Wake Up
- LAN Wake Up
- Mouse Power On
- Keyboard Power On
So enabling ErP shuts down all the power-consuming components of a computer.
Ok, thanks for all the inputs, both positive and negative. I started this thread as I just cannot understand why Roon in ‘not interested’ in providing a wake up function as other similar services do. I used Logitech Media Server before Roon, in exactly the same setup with no issues in this regard. Sure, Roon provides other benefits that LMS did not, but hey, LMS is free !
Anyway, I’ve settled on a workaround. What I have done;
- Removed the IMac login password so it goes straight to the desktop on startup.
- Added Roon to the applications that run automatically on startup.
- Set the IMac preferences to not sleeping when the display turns off after 15 mins.
- Scheduled the IMac to shut down completely overnight and restart in the morning.
This seems to be working OK. Hope the complete overnight shutdown offsets the increased energy use in keeping the IMac in a wake state, albeit with a black screen.
Looks like I will be staying with Roon then . . .