We exploit the cone structure of unnormalized quantum states to reformulate the separability problem. Firstly a convex combination of every quantum state ρ in terms of a state Cρ with the same rank and another one Eρ with lower rank is perfomed, with weights 1 − λρ and λρ, respectively. Secondly a scalar [Formula: see text] is computed. Then ρ is separable if, and only if, [Formula: see text]. The computation of [Formula: see text] has been undergone under the simplest choice for Cρ as a product matrix and Eρ being a pure state, valid for any bipartite and multipartite system in arbitrary dimensions. A necessary condition is also formulated when Eρ is not pure in the bipartite case.