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Spectrum internet service using Arris SB6183 cable modem.
Windows 10 laptop computer with Cisco Anyconnect VPN client version 4.6.01103.
Netgear R7000/AC1900 with firmware version 1.0.9.42. (has been at this version for at least a few weeks).
Background:
Until a couple days ago (October 21, 2018) I had Time Warner as my internet provider. Spectrum bought out Time Warner a couple years ago. I received a call from Spectrum asking if I wanted to upgrade my internet speed from a 60/5 plan to a 100/10 plan for a lower monthly fee that I'm paying now. I said sure, who wouldn't want faster internet for less money. So they made the change on their end. The night they made the change I went to various computers on my local network and tested. Everything was working fine and speed tests showed a download speed of 120Mbps and upload speeds of 11Mbps. So all good.
I work from a home office because I travel quite a bit. Monday I was traveling so I didn't even get online at home with my work PC. Tuesday morning I fire up my work PC and open the Cisco VPN client on that PC and initiate the connection process to the VPN server. The Cisco client connects to the VPN server just fine. But - I am unable to browse any internal or external websites and I can't use any company services like Outlook, Skype, and Sharepoint sites. When I try to visit any website I get the following error message in the browser.
This site can’t be reached
xxxxx.xxxxxxxxx.com’s server IP address could not be found.
*Note - I x'd out the server name above because it doesn't matter what site I'm trying to connect to. So that name will change.
Thinking it was something minor I rebooted the cable modem, Netgear router and work PC. After everything started back up without logging into the Cisco VPN on my work PC I could visit websites no problem. Then I connected to the VPN again and I get the same error I had above.
I then logged into my router and checked for any obvious setting changes. I didn't see any. I checked for a firmware update but there is none. Then I connected my cable modem directly into my work PC and lo and behold the VPN client connects to the VPN server fineand I can access all the resources I need to access through the VPN. So removing the Netgear router allowed the VPN client to work correctly.
Now one would think that this obviously points to an issue with the Netgear router blocking VPN traffic from my work PC. But here is the one big wrench thrown into this situation - when I had Time Warner cable this exact same setup worked fine with the VPN. So how on earth could changing from Time Warner to Spectrum break the VPN connection when the VPN connection still works fine directly through the cable box now that I'm on Spectrum? All roads point to the Netgear router being the issue. I tried to do a port forward on the Netgear router for the VPN-PPTP but that didn't help.
I may have a different brand router around the house someplace that I plan to test later on tonight. But if anyone has any thoughts or ideas on how to fix this I would appreciate it.
Re: Cisco Anyconnect VPN not working through R7000
I guess I've taken care of this myself. I ended up factory defaulting the router. Then I re-entered all my settings and upon doing that I am now able to connect via the VPN client on my work PC successfully. All I can think of is there must have been some parameter stored in a buffer or memory location for the old VPN session with my previous internet connection and doing the factory reset cleared that out. Whatever it was it's now working.
So it appears the moral of this story is if you're having a problem connecting via a VPN client on a PC then try a factory default on the router. That fixed my issue.
Re: Cisco Anyconnect VPN not working through R7000
I don't see an option to edit my original post so I'm replying to my own post. I was able to find an older router I had used previously. It's a Cisco E3000. I connected that to my cable modem and I was able to connect to my work's VPN server using the Cisco Anyconnect client and have everything work correctly through the Cisco E3000 router. So this is definitely pointing to an issue with the Netgear router I have. For some reason the Netgear router is blocking VPN traffic from the VPN client on my work computer.
Re: Cisco Anyconnect VPN not working through R7000
I guess I've taken care of this myself. I ended up factory defaulting the router. Then I re-entered all my settings and upon doing that I am now able to connect via the VPN client on my work PC successfully. All I can think of is there must have been some parameter stored in a buffer or memory location for the old VPN session with my previous internet connection and doing the factory reset cleared that out. Whatever it was it's now working.
So it appears the moral of this story is if you're having a problem connecting via a VPN client on a PC then try a factory default on the router. That fixed my issue.
