To prepare for campus moving to remote work, IT staff are making a number of changes to UWM computer settings. These changes are all intended to better support remote workers and ensure their computers are reliably accessible:

These changes only apply to computers that are physically located on campus that you are using remote desktop to access. This does not apply to University-provided computers that you have at home that you are using remote desktop to access UWM resources.

• Remote Desktop Access: Remote Desktop is a powerful tool that remote workers can use to access computers that are located on-campus. Several steps are usually required to enable and use Remote Desktop. These settings have now been applied to all supported computers, making it easier to set up without visiting the computer. In order to secure our computers, IT staff follow a process for approving users to use Remote Desktop. The process has also been streamlined, and it is now much faster to assign Remote Desktop permissions to you. For more info on Remote Desktop, see: https://uwm.edu/technology/working-remotely/
• Sleep & Hibernate Settings: Sleep mode and Hibernate mode are now disabled by default. These modes conserve energy but they can also prevent users from accessing computers by Remote Desktop. If you would like to enable Hibernate mode on a laptop or tablet computer, you can use these instructions: https://kb.uwm.edu/99336 (Hibernate is not available on desktop computers).
• Automatic Power-On Times: Wherever possible, desktop computers will be configured to power-on automatically at 7:00am on weekdays. This will prevent a situation where an on-campus computer is inaccessible after it is shut down for any reason. This change will be reverted after normal access to campus buildings is restored. Please note: computers of different models have different capabilities. Some computers may not support this feature.
• Other Power Settings: When a power outage occurs on campus, many computers that lose power need to turned on again by hand. IT staff are working to configure UWM computers to automatically power-up again after power is restored. This will ensure your computers continue to be accessible remotely in the event of a power loss. Please note: computers of different models have different capabilities. Some computers may still need to be powered on manually following a power loss.

If you need any assistance with working remotely, please contact the UWM Help Desk.