Skip to content
Non Stop Pass
ENES
Download free
[ Setup & privacy ]

How do I turn on my PC remotely to play from another room?

SHORT ANSWER

On your home network, one press. If the PC is off and ChimpDeck knows its network address, the PC card in the app offers to wake it over the network (Wake-on-LAN); a few seconds later it answers and you connect. Works from phone, tablet or TV box, not from 4G.

Updated 2026-09-14

[ THE PROBLEM ]

The problem

You sit down on the sofa, open the app, and the PC card says it is not answering because the PC is asleep or off in the other room. The only fix is to get up, walk over, press the power button and walk back.

Leaving the PC on all day to avoid that is noise, heat and electricity for nothing. And the same walk repeats every evening.

What you want is the PC to wake up because you asked for it from the sofa, and to be streaming a minute later.

[ WHY IT HAPPENS ]

Why it happens

A network card that stays powered while the PC sleeps can listen for a special packet addressed to its hardware address and switch the machine on. That is Wake-on-LAN, a standard PC feature that needs two things: the BIOS and the card configured to allow it, and something on the network that knows the address and sends the packet.

The app is that something: it learns the PC’s hardware address while they are linked, and when the PC stops answering it offers to send the packet. It only works on the home network, because the packet has to reach the card directly.

[ THE FIX ]

How to solve it with ChimpDeck

  1. 01

    Enable Wake-on-LAN on the PC

    In the PC’s BIOS/UEFI and in the network card’s properties in Windows, allow waking from the network. This is a PC setting, not a ChimpDeck one; a wired connection is the reliable choice.

  2. 02

    Let ChimpDeck learn the PC

    Pair once at home; the app learns the PC’s addresses while they are linked. Pairing takes a matching number, no PIN, and the PC is remembered from then on.

  3. 03

    Wake it from the PC card

    When the PC does not answer and its hardware address is known, the PC card shows «wake the PC over the network». One press; the PC boots.

  4. 04

    Connect when it answers

    Give it the seconds it needs to start; the card changes to ready and you open the PC page. With ChimpDeck for Windows starting with Windows and hidden in the tray, the host is up as soon as the desktop is.

  5. 05

    Then play from any screen at home

    The TV in the living room, a tablet in bed, any Android TV box: the same press works from each.

[ WHAT YOU GET ]

What you get

  • No walk to the office

    The PC wakes because you asked from the sofa.

  • No PC left on all day

    Sleep or power off between sessions; wake it when you actually play.

  • A host that is ready when the PC is

    ChimpDeck for Windows starts with Windows, starts hidden and closes to the tray with the bridge running.

  • Nothing extra to install

    Wake-on-LAN is a PC feature; the app just knows the address and sends the packet.

[ COMPARED WITH THE ALTERNATIVES ]

Compared with Moonlight, Steam Link and Parsec

Moonlight and Steam Link can wake a PC over the network too — this is parity, not an advantage, and the honest note is that Parsec does not offer it. Where ChimpDeck differs is around the wake: pairing that sticks, a host that starts hidden with Windows, and a session that survives a network drop once you are in. The limit is the same for everyone: Wake-on-LAN works on the home network, not from outside — away from home the PC has to be on already.

See the full comparison table
[ GET STARTED ]

Get ChimpDeck —free on Android and Windows.

3,000

Install both, pair once, play. Every feature is in the free tier.

Get it on AndroidChimpDeck for WindowsSee how it works

ANDROID 8+ · WINDOWS 10/11 · NVIDIA GPU · FREE TO PLAY

[ RELATED QUESTIONS ]

Related questions

[ FAQ ]

More questions about this

01Does it work from outside my home?

No. Waking over the network needs the packet to reach the PC’s network card directly, so it works on the home network. Away from home, leave the PC on.

02Why does the PC card not offer to wake the PC?

The app needs to have learned the PC’s hardware address while they were linked at home. Pair and connect once on the home network, then the option appears when the PC stops answering.

03Does it work over Wi-Fi on the PC?

Wake-on-LAN over Wi-Fi depends on the PC’s adapter and drivers and is often unreliable; a wired PC is the dependable setup.

04Will ChimpDeck for Windows be running after the PC wakes?

Yes, if it is set to start with Windows: it starts hidden, closes to the tray and keeps the bridge running at full speed.