> Why don't you send WOL directly over the internet? (You'll need to set up a permanent ARP record on the router.)

Hm, so never tried something like that before actually, I think for OpenWrt I need to install arp packages. I do not have public IP any more though, was getting hammered by bot network and found Tailscale to do what I need.

> Or login into the router and send WoL from there?

Restricted outside access to the router management panel, only port forwarded to the desktop.

> Or have Raspberry always on with ssh? I do not have one, which is why used a mobile, thought to be next best thing. As, power outages happen regularly, I need something that would be able to keep on running.

> Or set a power-on timer in BIOS/UEFI once a day and a shutdown/sleep in cron? (This is also a good failsafe if WoL doesn't work.)

That's easily workable for my setup, actually!

Thank you for giving me the ideas!

>> Why don't you send WOL directly over the internet? (You'll need to set up a permanent ARP record on the router.)

> Hm, so never tried something like that before actually, I think for OpenWrt I need to install arp packages.

No, you don't. Put this in /etc/firewall.user or /etc/rc.local (you can do it from UI) and forward a UDP port to 192.168.0.254 or whaterver subnet you're using:

  ip neigh add 192.168.0.254 lladdr ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff nud permanent dev br-lan extern_learn

The incoming packet will be broadcasted (ff:ff...) on the br-lan interface. 192.168.0.254 doesn't need to exist - the sleeping computer doesn't care.

PS:

Correction! /etc/rc.local isn't OK. The ARP record needs to be reloaded if br-lan interface is restarted, such as when changing other network settings in WebUI. So only /etc/firewall.user will do.

Thank you for the explanation!

The version in the OpenWrt didn't support the full command. Had to update to `ip-full`.

After the command was successful, I can see the entry in the `ip neigh` table.

Now digging around

I don't think BIOS/UEFI can do power-on timer unless it's server-class hardware? Have not looked into PC BIOS/UEFI for a while.

For failsafe, KVM might be the ultimate solution in case boot got stuck.

I don't know about UEFI - I don't have any UEFI system - but my Gigabyte 880GA motherboard can certainly do RTC power-on from BIOS settings and it's far from being a server motherboard.