With Android phones you can control music players and YouTube on your computer, as well as send audio transmission from your PC to an Android device to create wireless speakers. I would like to show you how you can control your computer's shutdown using a smartphone or a tablet.
Remotely controlling when to turn on and shut down the computer proves useful when you want to spend a lazy Sunday every now and then by watching movies or listening to the music from your bed. All you have to do then is to reach out your hand for your smartphone or tablet and shut down the computer or turn it on with just one button.
To use such a solution you will need an Android application called Shutdown Start Remote, along with a small Java program that you will launch on the computer. You also have to make sure that your network card has remote turn on enabled - this is required to remotely launch your system. All these steps will take less than 2 minutes to take.
Install Shutdown Remote on your computer
The first step you have to take is to download the file from the website of Shutdown Start Remote authors. Go to Shutdown Remote's website and click on the "Download PC Application" button. A .JAR format file will be downloaded onto your hard drive; you have to launch it - you will need Java installed on your computer to do it.
Once you have launched the .JAR file you will see a small window that you can simply close - the application will be working in the background, with its icon placed in the system tray. You also have to make sure that your network card has the "Allow this device to wake the computer" feature enabled. To check it, go to the Control Panel and then go to the "Device Manager" section (you can find it using the search engine in the upper right corner).
Go to the "Network adapters" section in the manager, right-click on your network card and go to its properties. In the properties click on the "Power management" tab; the "Allow this device to wake the computer" function should be ticked.
Since the .JAR application is needed to shut down the system every time you want to do it using yoru smartphone, you might want to add it to Autostart so it turns on automatically with your computer every time. To do it, go to the Start menu, click on "All programs" and look for the "Autostart" folder. Right-click on it and choose "Open" from the context menu, and then drag the downloaded .JAR file to the opened Autostart directory.
Using Shutdown Remote on a smartphone
Once you have configured you PC the time has come to move to the most interesting part, namely managing your smartphone. Download and install Shutdown Start Remote from the Play Store. Launch the application. You will see a list of options in a form of icons - we are interested in the first three, namely Shutdown, Start PC and Connect.
To shut down the system and turn off the computer you have to connect the smartphone to the PC in the first place. To do it click on the Connect button and then choose the "Refresh" button on the bottom bar. The application will search the network for your PC and display it on its list. Of course you have to have the previously downloaded Java application running on your computer.
Once you have chosen you PC from the list and connected it to your smartphone, Shutdown Start Remote will move you again to the Start screen. Now all you have to do is to click on the "Shutdown" button, define the period of time after which the PC is to be turned off and then click in the centre of the button to confirm you choice. The application will send the information to your computer, and it will be turned off (a message about it will also be displayed on the PC's screen).
To turn on the computer you have to choose the Start PC option from the list and then choose the computer you want to turn on. The application will send a signal to the network adapter and if the turn on feature has been enabled in the Device Manager, then the computer should turn on immediately.
To turn on the computer you don't have to use the Connect option first. Your PC only needs to be in the same home network that your smartphone is connected to. As long as you are connected to the same router (so the same network) then the Start PC feature will work without having to connect before.
