Sleep and power

Use Wake for network access on a Mac

Wake for network access lets a sleeping Mac wake when another computer uses its shared resources. Turn it on for file sharing, or off to stop network wakes.

Applies to: macOS 13 Ventura and later for the System Settings paths. pmset is in all current macOS versions.Checked: 29 October 2026

Symptoms

  • Other computers cannot reach a shared folder or printer while the Mac sleeps.
  • The Mac wakes at night for no clear reason.
  • A Wake-on-LAN packet does not wake the Mac.

Likely causes

  • The setting is off. Without Wake for network access, the Mac does not wake for other computers.
  • Regular wakes are normal. Apple says that the Mac also wakes at intervals to tell the network that its resources are available.
  • The network equipment. Apple says that this feature needs an Apple wireless device that supports 802.11n with the latest firmware.
  • Other causes of wakes. Shared printers, files, input devices and connected devices can also wake the Mac or keep it awake.

How to check

  1. On a Mac laptop, choose Apple menu > System Settings > Battery. Click Options.

  2. Look at the “Wake for network access” pop-up menu.

  3. On a Mac desktop, choose Apple menu > System Settings > Energy. Look at “Wake for network access”.

  4. See the setting from Terminal. In the womp line, 1 means on.

    pmset -g

  5. See a history of sleeps and wakes, with the reasons.

    pmset -g log | grep -e " Sleep " -e " Wake "

How to fix it

  1. To let other computers wake the Mac, turn on “Wake for network access”.

  2. On a laptop, choose an option in the pop-up menu, then click Done.

  3. To stop network wakes on a laptop, set “Wake for network access” to Never.

  4. On a desktop, turn off “Wake for network access” in Energy.

  5. Turn off sharing services that you do not use. Choose General > Sharing in System Settings.

  6. Set the same setting from Terminal for all power sources. 1 is on and 0 is off.

    sudo pmset -a womp 1

    Needs an administrator password.

With Kilobat

  1. Send a Wake-on-LAN packet to another computer on your network.

    kilobat wake AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF

  2. To keep this Mac awake for a task instead, see Keep your Mac awake until a download finishes.

Questions

Is Wake for network access the same as Wake-on-LAN?

The pmset man page says that womp is the same as “Wake for network access” in System Settings. womp means wake on Ethernet magic packet.

Why does my Mac wake at night?

With this setting on, the Mac wakes at intervals to tell the network about its shared resources. Other devices and apps can also wake it.

Sources

Sources checked on 29 October 2026. Man pages are the ones installed with macOS; open one with man <name> in Terminal.