Before you're ready to use Off you need to install the Off Helper application on any PCs or Macs you want to control. It's available for PC and Mac. The Helper application requires no additional configuration. Once it's installed it should appear in the taskbar and launch automatically every time you start your computer. You then just need to have the Off app open and connected to the same local network as your computer. Once it's discovered your computer this once your computer can be controlled by you from anywhere on the internet.
If you would prefer to not have to install the helper, some limited functionality is available without it. See the section 'Do I have to install the Off Helper app?'
First setup the app as per the instructions in 'How do I setup Off to control my computer?'. Then, whenever you start the app you will be presented with a list of all your computers. Simply, swipe left or right to find the computer you want to interact with and select the button corresponding to the action you
would like to perform. The app refreshes automatically every time there's a change to your computer(s).
Off is still able to wake PCs if you wish to use it without installing the Helper app. However, only the wake functionality will be available and waking computers remotely will be problematic unless your ISP can give you a
static IP address. It's highly recommended that you install the Helper app to make setup easier and have access to all the app's functionality. However, if you wish to set up a computer manually go into Settings and select 'Manually Add
Computer' where you'll need to provide the MAC address of your computer.
No. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to control iPhones or iPads. Any app that could do this wouldn't be allowed in the Apple App Store.
Off can control your computers over the internet. To enable this all you need to do is have the phone connect to your computer once over your local network. If you've password protected Off on your computer make sure
you've entered this password on your phone at least once.
Note that Wake commands work completely differently to all other commands. All the other commands generally work out-of-the-box but waking will usually require some additional configuration. Read the corresponding FAQ questions for more info.
Off wakes up PCs using a networking standard known as Wake-on-LAN (WoL), which is supported by all modern wired ethernet adapters. Your computer may need some
settings to be adjusted on it before it's ready to accept a request to wake.
Step by step instructions for configuring your computer can be found here
Off can wake up your PC over the internet but some configuration of your router is likely to be necessary first. Step by step instructions can be found here
If you enable port forwarding on your router it's recommended that you set a password in the Off Helper.
Off is able to wake your Mac only if it is connected to the power adapter and it is currently sleeping. It's not possible to wake it if it is turned off. The default power settings on a Mac should allow Off to wake your
computer but if you find that the Off app isn't seeing your computer when it's sleeping go into your Mac's Preferences then the Battery section. Under 'Battery', there's a section called 'Power Adapter'. Make sure 'Wake for network access' is
ticked there.
Note that if you're using any kind of dongle peripheral to access the internet this can cause issues with waking your Mac, as it's likely to be powered down when the Mac sleeps. Although the other commands will work as expected you will need to have your Mac connected via its built-in WiFi adapter or ethernet port for waking to function reliably.
If you want to be able to wake your Mac when you're not connected to the same local network as it then some additional configuration may be required.
Before you try this make sure you've confirmed you're able to wake your Mac on your local network.
By default, the Off Helper will automatically try to setup the necessary port forwarding on your router using UPnP. It's therefore worthwhile to check if this was successful by turning off wifi on your phone and attempting to wake your Mac. If it's not working, but it works locally, then read on.
If you're still reading it's not worked and you're going to need to make some changes in your router's settings. The simpliest way of configuring your router is using UPnP but this is turned off by default on many routers. Log into your router's admin panel and locate the checkbox for UPnP and enable it if it's not enabled already. If it was turned off, to trigger the port fowarding you'll need to either restart the Off Helper or toggle Auto Map Ports on and then off again.
If that didn't work, or you'd prefer to configure it manually, then read on.
The specific steps will depend on your router. In a nutshell, log into your router's admin panel and find the settings on
port forwarding. Forward port 1984 to the IP address of your computer, using TCP or TCP/UDP. You may also find it useful to assign your computer
a
static IP address on your network in case it changes and you're no longer forwarding to the correct address.
You can check if your port is forwarded correctly by using this tool.
You can find detailed instructions on how to set up
port
forwarding on your particular router here. There's also information on configuring port forwarding in our WoL Guide (Ignore the part about forwarding port 9. You need to forward port 1984).
If you enable port forwarding on your router it's recommended that you set a password in the Off Helper.
If your computer is connected to the internet via a VPN there's an additional step required in the app in order to wake it. The app requires your real public IP address to wake up your computer over the internet. If your computer is connected to a VPN, the IP address it detects will be that of your VPN. You can find your real IP address if you disconnect from your VPN and go to whatismyipaddress.com. In the app, on the Computer Details screen, find the Public IP Address Override field and enter this IP address. Note that this IP may change from time to time so you may need to update it in the future.
If you were expecting to use WoL to wake your Mac, although Apple computers do technically support the same WoL standard as Windows, the usefulness of WoL has been superseded by the standard macOS power management
features. Technologies such as Dark Wake leave the networking aspect of your computer powered up for it to be able to automatically wake up other parts of the system if, for example, something tried to access a hard drive on it. If you want
to use WoL on your Mac you'll need to disable these features, which is not recommended.
The Off helper does its best to launch prior to login and most of its features work without the PC being logged in. However, due to restrictions on what access applications are able to do without a logged in user session, some features are not available until the initial user login has taken place. This mostly affects Off's status reporting feature. To work around this issue, if you're able to trust that your computer is safe from unwanted physical access, it's recommended that you enable auto login. Instructions for enabling auto login can be found here.
Within the app, you're able to schedule Off to perform a shutdown etc. at any time within the next 24 hours. If you want to create a repeated schedule then the best way to do this is using Shortcuts. See the Shortcuts guide for more details.
Off includes its own Widgets for displaying your computer's current state and battery life. If you're not sure how to add Widgets to your phone then take a look at Apple's Guide. If you want a Widget that can trigger actions on your computer then you can create one using Shortcuts. Watch this video to see how.
Off has extensive support for Shortcuts and Siri. See the Shortcuts guide for more details or watch these
videos.
Using the app's support for Shortcuts it's possible to make a button that you can place on your home screen that will trigger your computer to shut down, restart, wake up etc. What this video to see how.
If you're having problems discovering your computer try the following:
Check the Off Helper is running on your computer (it will be visible in the system tray).
Check you have Bonjour installed and go into Services and check that its status is Running. (On Mac this isn't necessary as it's included as part of the OS).
Try restarting the Bonjour Service. Open Task Manager and go to the Services tab. Locate the Bonjour service and right click on it. Then select restart.
Make sure you've got the latest version of the helper application installed on your PC or Mac.
Make sure you're on the same local wifi network as the computer.
Check that the Off app has been granted access to your 'Local Network' by going into your phone's 'Settings', finding the Off app and ensuring the 'Local Network' switch is turned on.
If you are still unable to find your computer after trying these steps then you can link the computer using the alternative method of scanning a QR code.
The first time Off is opened iOS should prompt you to grant Off access to find and and connect to devices on your local network. If this wasn't accepted, Off won't be able to find your computer or perform any commands on
it until you enable this permission manually in your iOS device's Settings.
On your iOS device, open the Settings
Scroll down the list until you find Off
Turn on the toggle for Local Network access
The first time you trigger a media control with Off your mac will prompt you to grant Off Accessbility access. It should just be a case of accepting this prompt. If you didn't see the prompt or you're receiving this error
when trying to trigger a command then follow these steps:
Go to your Mac's 'Preferences'
Click 'Privacy & Security
Select the 'Privacy' tab
Click the padlock in the bottom right to unlock
Scroll down the list on the left until you find 'Accessibility'
Look for 'Off Helper' in the list of apps with Accessibility access
Click the checkbox to enable it
If after following the above steps you're still experiencing issues then you may need to reset permissions due to a bug in macOS. Perform the above steps and then the additional steps below:
Look for 'Off Helper' in the list of apps with Accessibility access
Press the minus button to delete it
Attempt to perform the action from your phone again
Your Mac should prompt you if you want to allow the Off Helper access to control your computer
Allow Access
If problems still persist after this you can reset all permissions for the Off Helper by opening Terminal and executing the command 'tccutil reset all com.bridgetech.Off-Server'.
The first time you trigger a power command on your mac with Off your mac will prompt you to grant Off System Events access. It should just be a case of accepting this prompt. If you didn't see the prompt or you're
receiving this error when trying to trigger a command then follow these steps:
Go to your Mac's 'Preferences'
Click 'Privacy & Security
Select the 'Privacy' tab
Click the padlock in the bottom right to unlock
Scroll down the list on the left until you find 'Automation'
Look for 'Off Helper' in the list of apps with Automation access
Click the checkbox to enable it
If after following the above steps you're still experiencing issues then you may need to reset permissions due to a bug in macOS. Perform the above steps and then the additional steps below:
Look for 'Off Helper' in the list of apps with Automation access
Press the minus button to delete it
Attempt to perform the action from your phone again
Your Mac should prompt you if you want to allow the Off Helper access to control your computer
Allow Access
If problems still persist after this you can reset all permissions for the Off Helper by opening Terminal and executing the command 'tccutil reset all com.bridgetech.Off-Server'.
Not really. Services aren't allowed to interact with the UI, which would limit Off's functionality.
It's possible to perform most actions when multiple accounts are logged into your Mac. However, shutting down or restarting your Mac causes an administrator password prompt to be shown, which Off can't get around at
present.
Macs already have Bonjour as part of the OS so you don't need to do anything to configure it there. Windows, however, needs this to be installed separately. Off uses Bonjour to discover your computer on your local
network. If you would prefer you can use Off on Windows without installing Bonjour. Although, this will mean you'll need to link your computers manually using the QR code and interacting with the computer will be slower than it would be usually on your local network.
If you wish to prevent other people with access to your local network from being able to control your computers with Off, you can set a password on your computer. To do this, right-click on the icon in the taskbar/status
bar on your computer and select ‘Set Password’. Enter the password you would like to use and click ‘Set’. Next time you select that computer from your phone you will be prompted for this password. If you would like to delete a password you
can select ‘Set Password’ and select ‘Delete’.
If the Off app has found your computer but when you try to trigger it to shutdown etc. you see an error saying "Unable to connect to computer" this normally means that there's an issue with your firewall. To fix it, go
into your firewall's settings and make sure the Off Helper app is allowed to make inbound and outbound connections on port 1984. If your firewall is configured correctly and you're still experiencing the same error, check that in your phone's
Settings, Off has got the Local Network access toggle turned on.
On Windows, Off requires Bonjour in order to discover your computer. The Bonjour SDK is installed automatically when you install the Off Helper. If Off displays a notification saying 'Unable To Register Off on Network'
this normally means the Bonjour service isn't running. To fix this, on your PC open the Start menu and search for Services. The search results should contain an application called Services, which you need to open. This application will
display a list of all the services installed on your computer. Scroll down the list and find the 'Bonjour Service'. When it's working properly it should say 'Running' next to it. If it doesn't click 'Start' to start it. If it's not displayed
on the list you need to reinstall it. You can download it from here. To prevent failures like this in the future, right click on the Bonjour Service in the services list. Go to the Recovery
tab. For First failure, Second failure and Subsequent failures select 'Restart the Service'. This will automatically restart Bonjour if it ever encounters an error.
Off supports any version of Windows from Vista upwards.
The Off Helper supports macOS 10.12 and upwards. If you need to install the macOS app on a Mac running macOS 10.11 or earlier a legacy version of Off for macOS can be downloaded here. Note: this
version is unsupported and doesn't offer the full range of features.
Occasionally Windows Defender decides that Off is bad. There doesn't seem to be any particular pattern to this; some machines will get this warning and others won't. It is due to Windows Defender being overzealous about
the app being new and unfamiliar to it. So long as you've downloaded the Off Helper directly from BridgeTech.io it is safe to ignore this warning.
As well as the standard subscription options, it's possible to purchase Off with a single lifetime payment. To have this option available your subscription or trial will need to have expired. Once that's happened you'll find the lifetime purchaseoption on the Subscriptions screen in the More Options section.
