RemoteBoot WOL vs HomeGuru
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RemoteBoot WOL
Remotely power on your Mac or PC from your iOS device using Wake-on-LAN technology. This utility also allows you to check if your computer is online with a ping function. Siri Shortcuts integration enables voice commands for launching your computer.
- Wake On LAN (WOL)
- Remote PC startup
- Ping network check
- Siri Shortcuts integration
- Launch Mac/PC from iOS
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A powerful WOL (Wake On Lan) application. You can launch your Mac/PC from iOS. (Your computer must support WOL and be properly configured.) You can also use ping to check the startup. A little network knowledge is required to use this app. The OS, BIOS, router, and this app must be configured correctly for it to work. Siri Shortcuts are also supported. You can use Siri to launch your computer by adding an action from the Shortcut app.
HomeGuru
Control your home's lights and appliances with this app designed for SmartLinc INSTEON controllers. View and manage configured scenes, sending on, off, or fade commands directly from your device. It offers a faster and more user-friendly experience than web interfaces.
- Control lights and appliances
- View and manage scenes
- Send on, off, and fade commands
- Automatic device support
- User-friendly interface
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If you have a SmartLinc INSTEON controller from SmartLabs (part #2412N, not an INSTEON Hub), HomeGuru is the perfect way to control your home's lights and appliances. It allows you to view a list of all configured scenes in your house, view their status and control them by sending on, off or fade commands to them. It is much quicker and friendlier than using the web interface to the device, especially if you use authentication. HomeGuru supports all the devices the SmartLinc knows about automatically, no further configuration is necessary. IMPORTANT: HomeGuru supports SmartLinc firmware version 3.0 (iPhone 2.0). It is known to work with 2.8 without device status. (To check your version, look for Firmware Version under the General Settings.) Make sure you have a supported version before purchasing. If you have communication problems with your SmartLinc, please contact us for assistance or send an error report under your controller in settings.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: RemoteBoot WOL at 4.4 against HomeGuru's 3.7. RemoteBoot WOL also leads on ratings volume (33 vs 3) and review sentiment (72% vs 64%). HomeGuru's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 11 months). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
RemoteBoot WOL holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RemoteBoot WOL has 33 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of RemoteBoot WOL's written reviews are positive against 64% of HomeGuru's.
RemoteBoot WOL ships an update every 11 months, HomeGuru every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RemoteBoot WOL | HomeGuru |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (33 ratings) — better | 3.7 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 72.4% of reviews — better | 63.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 33 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Takashi Tsuchiya | zenwheel |
Customer experience
RemoteBoot WOL
HomeGuru
Bugs and requests
RemoteBoot WOL
Reported bugs
12 issues- App is broken from v4, always sends to broadcast address
- Apple Watch app is broken
- Does not send broadcast packets, only non-broadcast
- App crashes when configuring or adding servers
- Settings are sometimes removed
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- App crashes when entering IP/Hostname
- App crashes frequently during configuration
- App closes and removes settings
- App crashes when entering an IP address
- App crashes on iPad Pro
- Doesn't always work when computer is off
- Inconsistent results
Requested features
10 requests- Remove ads / Offer ad-free version
- Add automatic ping feature for status check
- Option to specify DNS name instead of IP
- Add confirmation that WOL packet was sent
- Ability to rearrange device list
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- Add PIN login or 2FA for security
- Improve UI/GUI design
- Add shutdown feature
- Add scheduling option for timed wake-ups
- Add Dyndns option for WAN usage
HomeGuru
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
RemoteBoot WOL
No in-app purchases
HomeGuru
No in-app purchases
