Omarchy Laptop and Network Recipes: Wi-Fi Bands, Power, Hibernate, Fingerprint and SSH

These 10 recipes extend our display, network, and audio basics. System features were checked against the official v4.0.6 tagged manual on 2026-10-26; HyprMon was checked against its author's repository. These are source checks, not physical hardware tests. Power profiles, fingerprint support, and successful resume need verification on your machine.

1. Share the connected Wi-Fi through a QR code

Join the intended Wi-Fi, then open Setup → Network → QR Code and scan with the other device. Version 4.0.5 includes a QR generation reliability fix; complete the stable update first if generation is failing.

On the receiving device, verify the actual SSID and access to the intended network. The QR contains network credentials: close it before presenting or recording. Closing the page does not revoke a password already shared; use a guest network or change the router password when access must be revoked.

Sources: v4.0.6 Networking, v4.0.5.

2. Check the band behind a shared Wi-Fi name

When 2.4/5/6 GHz use one SSID, start by inspecting the current band:

omarchy network band

If you have good 5 GHz coverage, test:

omarchy network band 5

This pins the band rather than an access point, preserving AP roaming. Compare speed and stability at the same location. Five GHz is not always better through walls or at longer range. Restore automatic selection when appropriate:

omarchy network band auto

Use nmtui or the network panel to recover the original connection if needed; avoid deleting every saved network as a first response.

Source: v4.0.6 Wi-Fi band.

3. Record DNS before changing it

Working IP access with failed name lookup is one clue pointing toward DNS. First record the current provider:

omarchy dns

Choose a provider under Setup → Network → DNS, or use the documented example:

omarchy dns Cloudflare

Test both public sites and internal names afterward. Corporate VPNs, split DNS, proxies, and browser encrypted DNS can change results. A public page opening does not prove internal access is restored. Undo through the menu by restoring the recorded provider or network-assigned DNS; confirm available option names locally.

Source: v4.0.6 DNS.

4. Separate network throughput from disk throughput

omarchy network speedtest down
omarchy network speedtest up
omarchy disk speedtest

The menu equivalent is Trigger → Speed Test. Network tests transfer real data, which matters on a mobile plan. Disk tests also create load. Pause large downloads, sync jobs, and heavy workloads, then record comparable results.

Slow downloads with normal disk throughput suggest checking Wi-Fi, VPN, and the remote source. Slow local copying with normal networking suggests investigating storage, file patterns, and competing I/O. These are diagnostic directions, not proven root causes. Close the test when finished; repeated write tests are unnecessary.

Sources: v4.0.6 Networking, disk speed FAQ.

5. Save different profiles for AC and battery

Omarchy remembers each power state separately, defaulting to performance on AC and balanced on battery. Inspect the profiles your hardware actually offers:

omarchy powerprofiles list

Set battery mode without unplugging:

omarchy powerprofiles set battery power-saver

To change the current power state instead:

omarchy powerprofiles set autodetect power-saver

Plug and unplug, check the power panel, and compare noise, temperature, and response under a similar workload. Not every machine has performance mode, and power-saver does not guarantee a fixed battery-life gain. Restore each state's recorded profile to undo, such as balanced for battery.

Source: v4.0.6 power profiles.

6. Distinguish suspend, hibernation, and Stay Awake

Stay Awake controls idle locking. omarchy toggle suspend reveals or hides Suspend in the System menu; it does not immediately suspend the machine. Disk-backed hibernation requires separate setup.

Check that you use the default Limine bootloader, have enough free storage, and have a working backup before considering:

omarchy hibernation setup

The documented setup creates a /swap subvolume sized to physical RAM. A 32 GB machine needs more than 32 GB of corresponding disk headroom. Save work and test System → Hibernate during a recovery window. After resume, check networking, audio, displays, and project state.

Version 4.0.6 fixes a lock-before-suspend problem; check that authentication is required after resume too. Inspect setup output instead of repeatedly creating swap. To remove Omarchy's hibernation configuration:

omarchy hibernation remove

This changes system sleep configuration and is not a cleanup command for arbitrary custom swap. Stay Awake also does not establish that closing the lid keeps jobs running. Do not put a running laptop into a bag.

Sources: v4.0.6 System sleep, v4.0.6 lock fix.

7. Set up fingerprint authentication with password fallback

Use Setup → Security → Fingerprint to install, enroll, and verify. Test manual lock, sudo, and system authorization separately. Enrollment success does not verify every authentication path.

The documented workflow skips fingerprint prompts with the laptop lid closed. When using an external keyboard in other circumstances, Ctrl + C can skip the fingerprint prompt during sudo; follow the resulting password prompt. Keep a known working password session until fallback is verified.

Undo with Remove → Security → Fingerprint. This is user authentication, not automatic replacement of the boot-time LUKS passphrase. Hardware and driver support still determine availability.

Source: v4.0.6 Fingerprint.

8. Use FIDO2 for sudo within its documented scope

Set up a supported security key through Setup → Security → Fido2. Follow enrollment, test an innocuous administrator query for the expected touch prompt, and verify password fallback separately.

The v4.0.6 manual limits this integration to sudo and system authorization prompts, excluding unlocking the computer. Plan for key loss and recovery. Browser Passkey support does not establish that system authentication is configured.

Undo through Remove → Security → Fido2 rather than copying someone else's PAM files.

Source: v4.0.6 Fido2.

9. Check both SSH service and firewall state

To allow another machine to log into this one, use Setup → Security → SSHD. Making outbound SSH connections does not require enabling the local SSH server.

The official setup handles the service, a rate-limited port 22 rule, and key authorization. Inspect:

systemctl status sshd --no-pager
sudo ufw status numbered

Then test login from the intended source device. Routers, VPNs, and other network rules may still restrict reachability. Do not disable the entire firewall just to test access. Version 4.0.5 fixed leftover firewall rules when disabling SSH; use the local SSHD menu control and recheck both service and rules afterward.

LocalSend's default port 53317 exception is separate. Review Docker published ports independently; a running firewall is not proof that every container port is unreachable.

Sources: v4.0.6 Networking, Security, v4.0.5.

10. Save home and office monitor layouts with HyprMon

Community tool; source checked, not hardware tested. HyprMon provides a monitor-layout TUI, scale, refresh rate, mirroring, and named profiles under Apache-2.0. Inspect current releases and the AUR recipe before installing.

Its current Lua support writes ~/.config/hypr/hyprmon.lua and adds a managed require("hyprmon") to hyprland.lua. Back up the main file, monitors.lua, and any existing sidecar first. Avoid competing rules managing the same output.

Run hyprmon, select outputs with Tab, move with arrows, use A for live application and Z to revert. Use S only after confirming the layout, and P to create actual home/work profiles. Then:

hyprmon profiles
hyprmon --profile work

Verify dock reconnect and a fresh login. Restore the backed-up configuration and include to undo; removing the executable alone does not undo saved monitor rules. The README also contains legacy .conf bindings: do not paste those into Lua, or blindly copy its global lid-suspend changes.

Sources: HyprMon README, v4.0.6 Monitors.

Verify one change at a time

Record the old state, change one item, test the real workflow, check persistence after login, and keep the undo procedure. See desktop recipes for capture paths, scheduling, and automation. Use troubleshooting to preserve evidence when a test fails.