The Windows Store is really full of surprises! A new app called VoiceWake actually allows you to make better use of Cortana, allowing you to turn on (wake up), sleep, and even shut down your PC using voice.
This sounds like something straight out of a 80’s sci-fi movie, but believe us when we say that this is indeed plausible.
The video is living proof of concept to show that this isn’t a trick of smokes and mirrors. Albeit, setting up would definitely be a daunting task at first, but once you’re past it, you will be happy to have your PC booting up (or wake up, whatever you prefer) from Cortana just like the movies.
This is easily going to be a tough guide to walk you through, so bare with us as we dwell into the technical details. It is highly recommended you seek the help of someone who is proficient or an advanced user of the Windows OS since this guide will involve navigating the BIOS and the network settings of your system.
STEP 1:
Download and install VoiceWake [Windows Store] on your Windows 10 installation. Run the app once the app is installed by locating it in the start menu.
STEP 2:
Upon running the app, you will see the following screen. The following links are hyperlinked, so you will be able to click on them and be taken to sites that will guide you on how to ready your laptop.
First and foremost, you have to access your BIOS. This is the tricky part of the guide, since the button to enter your BIOS is mostly through the Function (F1 through F12) and it varies from one OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to the next. For this part, it is recommended you seek the help of a friend or anyone who can get you into the BIOS of your system.
Once you are in the BIOS, locate and enable anything that remotely sounds or resembles the command of Wake up on LAN or otherwise worded.
The appearance of this varies from system to system, so there is no direct route to take in enabling it.
How To Enable Wake On LAN In Windows 10
In the event that you don’t have Wake up on LAN in your BIOS, follow the below guide to enable it in Windows 10 before you start using VoiceWake.
Press Windows Key + S and search for “device manager” you will see a complex menu with many subsets, look for Network adapters and locate the Ethernet adapter for your device. It is recommended you let an experienced computer user find this for you.
Once you locate your Ethernet network adapter, right-click on it and click on Properties.
A new box will open up, click on the Power Management Tab and check the two boxes: Allow this device to wake the computer and the branch, Only allow a magic packet to wake the computer.
Once you check both boxes, just click on OK.
STEP 3:
The next step involves giving your computer a static / fixed IP Address. This is relatively easy to do.
To start, right click on the Wi-Fi Icon on your desktop in the task bar and click on “Open Network and Sharing Center“, a new window will open and you will click on “Change adapter settings“.
Find the same network adapter that you activated in device manager, and once again, right-click on Properties.
A new box will open, you have to click “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)” and press the properties button while said option is highlighted.
You should now see the following box, This might be a bit intimidating at first, but it is actually easy to fill out.
To remedy this, Press Windows Key + R and type in cmd. Type in “ipconfig” and press Enter Once again, look for your aforementioned network adapter as a heading here and enter the following details, once again, for this part it is highly encouraged you seek the help of someone seasoned in networking.
Once you enter the details from cmd into the TCP/IPv4 settings page, Press OK.
STEP 4:
Now, run VoiceWake and click on the Next button at the first screen. You will be prompted to give your system a name by which you call it in Cortana and it will follow a box that will prompt you to enter the MAC address. Once again, I would recommend this part being done by an experienced user.
If you want to know your MAC Address, right click on the WiFi icon in the taskbar to “Open Network and Sharing Center” and click on the following line of blue text that is highlighted: (I have demonstrated this for Wi-Fi, but the process is the same for Ethernet connections too)
Now click on Details…
Physical Address is your MAC Address:
The next 2 steps are very technical and should be handled by a person who understands networking in Windows. I acquired my ports through my ISP, so you might have to do the same.
And lastly, you will be prompted to install a server application needed to complete the process, click on the hyperlink to download and install it. Once downloaded and installed, proceed to the next step. 
When you start up VoiceWake, click on the + icon highlighted below:
You will see the following dialog box to enter your information.
Once you enter it, click on Save and you will see your device has been added under “saved devices”
Now with that, you will now head to the Cortana app which is built-in on Windows 8.1 devices and above, or you can also download Cortana for Windows 10 for Android [Play Store link] and iOS [App Store link]
The next step involves you logging into Cortana wit
h the same email address that you are using with Windows 10 and further going into companion app (in the start menu) and setting up a link between your phone and Cortana.
You simply need to say “Hey Cortana” followed by “Wake up Raiden” “Make Raiden Sleep” or “Shut down Raiden“.
This will of course take time and patience, but once you get the hang of it, the rest of it is just a matter of repetition and habit, but with that, you are now ready to boot up or wake up, sleep, and shutdown PC with Cortana.
And with that, we are now at the end of this mammoth sized guide!
If there are any recommendations or other suggestions that you wish for us to address in this guide or the others, feel free to leave us a comment below and we will be sure to take your request into consideration.
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