Wake on Demand via Wi-Fi does not work reliably

Originator:robotspacer
Number:rdar://9783696 Date Originated:15-Jul-2011
Status:Open Resolved:
Product:Mac OS X Product Version:10.6+
Classification:Serious Bug Reproducible:Sometimes
 
Summary: I have never been able to get Wake on Demand to work reliably over Wi-Fi. 

Steps to Reproduce: 1. Set up a small home network with an AirPort Extreme 802.11n (3rd Generation), Mac mini, and MacBook Air. (The specific models of the Macs doesn't seem to be important as I've had this problem with multiple machines.) The AirPort Extreme has the latest firmware available for it, 7.5.2.
2. Set up the Mac mini as a "headless" home server. This is the "server" hardware configuration, but it's running standard Mac OS X (currently 10.7 GM Seed). This machine has no keyboard, mouse, or display attached.
3. Enable "Wake for network access" on the Mac mini. ("Wake for Wi-Fi network access" is also enabled on the Air, though I rarely make use of it there.)
4. Boot up both computers and let them sleep for an extended period of time, preferably overnight. (The feature works more reliably if the Mac mini has only been asleep for a short time.)
5. Wake up the MacBook Air manually, and then attempt to connect to the Mac mini via screen sharing or file sharing.

Expected Results: The Mac mini should wake, allowing my MacBook Air to connect.

Actual Results: The Mac mini rarely wakes for me in this scenario. I have to tap the power button to manually wake it. Often I still can't make a connection after doing this. Putting the MacBook Air to sleep and then waking it up seems to fix that problem.

Regression: This was a problem in 10.6 as well, I've always struggled with Wake on Wireless since it was introduced.

Notes: I've reviewed this document multiple times: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3774 I've double checked all the settings, restarted and eventually reset the AirPort Extreme, and reinstalled OS X on both machines.

Comments

I am having the exact same problem with the Wake on Demand over wi-fi on my Mac Mini 2010. It is not waking up reliably from sleep - sometime it work sometime it doesn't, especially after deep sleep.

I can't find any more information after searching the internet. I hope Apple will respond with a solution to the problem.

By davidsee001 at Oct. 23, 2011, 4:42 a.m. (reply...)

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