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Forum Discussion
elizabethmalec
Aug 26, 2026Follower
RBE770/RBE771 consistent internet drops when connecting to VPN
hello, when using my laptop to vpn remotely the connection when it is 1st being established will consistently connect, drop, reconnect at a minimum of 3 times before it becomes "stable." this AL...
HappyCat
Aug 26, 2026Virtuoso
StephenB wrote:Well, the default PC profile still uses TUN, while the default iPhone profile still uses TAP.
I believe these are the default configurations for access to the OpenVPN Host feature that is available on most Netgear routers. This discussion appears to be about using the Cisco Secure Client AnyConnect VPN on a laptop connected to the Orbi 770 system. Internet search appears to support that Cisco Secure Client uses a tun connection.
- schumakuAug 27, 2026Guru - Experienced User
HappyCat wrote:
This discussion appears to be about using the Cisco Secure Client AnyConnect VPN on a laptop connected to the Orbi 770 system.
Yep, However, I can't find any proof if that happens on establishing a TAP or a TUN VPN session.
The OP should evaluate the powerful Windows event log FMI on what is exactly happening while the OpenVPN session is starting.
There is a very similar thread on the Cisco Community - completely independent of Netgear and OpenVPN - where users show repeated reconnects from VPN clients. Especially those with multiple network adapters (WiFi, LAN, VPN, ...).
Pretty much convinced, there is nothing wrong with these reconnects - multiple interfaces/adapters, routing changes, ...
- StephenBAug 28, 2026Guru - Experienced User
schumaku wrote:
Yep, However, I can't find any proof if that happens on establishing a TAP or a TUN VPN session.
I just double-checked, and my memory here wasn't quite right. The default VPN profile for Windows actually is set up for TAP, while the smartphone profile is set up for TUN.
TAP is what didn't work for me on my Orbi 870. I never got a useful VPN session. Switching to TUN resolved that problem. Since elizabethmalec is already using TUN, then there is no need for her to test with TAP.
schumaku wrote:
Pretty much convinced, there is nothing wrong with these reconnects - multiple interfaces/adapters, routing changes, ...
Which is why I suggested that if she is ending up with a stable connection, she might just leave well enough alone.
- KevinLiTSep 07, 2026NETGEAR Moderator
Hello @elizabethmalec ,
Welcome to the NETGEAR Community!
I understand that you are having intermediate network connection issues with your RBE771 using firmware version 10.5.20.10. To mitigate this issue, please update your RBE771 to our latest firmware release version 12.1.7.23.
Navigate to the link below for the download file for your RBE771:
https://www.netgear.com/support/product/rbe772v2
For step-by-step instructions on how to manually update your RBE771 please navigate to the link below:
https://kb.netgear.com/31573/How-do-I-manually-upgrade-firmware-on-my-Orbi-router-using-orbilogin-comBest,
Kevin
NETGEAR Team
- StephenBAug 27, 2026Guru - Experienced User
HappyCat wrote:
I believe these are the default configurations for access to the OpenVPN Host feature that is available on most Netgear routers.
Yes. But your comment was that iphone/laptop made no difference to the VPN server in the router. And that is incorrect since one device is using TAP and the other is using TUN.
HappyCat wrote:
Internet search appears to support that Cisco Secure Client uses a tun connection.
Many folks (including me) had quite poor results with TUN with newer Orbi products. Switching the laptop profile to TAP solved that problem for me. The easiest way to do that is just apply the Smart Phone profile on the PC instead of the Windows one. But in elizabethmalec's case, she might also need to use the OpenVPN client for home access, and not the Cisco Client (assuming it only supports TUN).
EDIT - I got this backwards. The default profile for Windows uses TAP, and the default profile for smartphones uses TUN. Since elizabethmalec is already using TUN with the Cisco client, there is no need for her to try TAP (which is what failed for me).
elizabethmalec wrote:
Cisco Secure Client AnyConnect VPN
One limitation is that you can only connect to one VPN at a time. If you already have a VPN tunnel open to your work network, then the Cisco Client will disconnect from that before it opens the tunnel to your home network. So one possibility is that you are seeing that behavior when you start up the connection. There might also be something else going on - I haven't seen any other posters here who are using that particular client with to connect to their Orbi.
If the connection works well once it stabilizes, then one option is to just live with that behavior.
Another option is to also install OpenVPN on the PC, and use that for home remote access. But if you do that, you will need to be careful to only open one tunnel at a time (disconnecting Cisco before connecting OpenVPN, and vice versa).