Re: Unable to access internet after connecting to VPN

Retired_Member · ‎2018-03-25

So I occasionally work from home and connect to my company's VPN and then remote in to my work PC. When I'm on my home network, I can successfully connect to the VPN but then I am unable to access the internet, nor able to connect to my desktop. If I create a hotspot with my phone everything works perfectly. I've tried changing a few related settings and forwarded some ports but nothing has worked yet.

Retired_Member · ‎2018-07-14

I finally figured out what the problem was. On my chromebook I had the "Prefer this network" setting enabled for my Orbi's wifi network. Once I disabled that option, everything started working fine.

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st_shaw · ‎2018-03-25

We need more information.

1. Are you at home on your Orbi network and connecting to your company's VPN when you have the issue?

2. What desktop are you unable to connect to--your work desktop, or your desktop at home?

3. How are you connecting to your work VPN (e.g. third party VPN client software or Windows built-in client) and what device are you using to connect?

4. What exactly do you mean when you say everything works perfectly with your phone as a hotspot? What works--connecting to the company VPN, reaching the Internet, or what?

Retired_Member · ‎2018-03-25

1. Correct, I am at home on my Orbi network and connecting to my company's VPN when I have the issue.

2. I am unable to connect to my desktop at work.

3. I am connecting to my company's VPN with my Chromebook using the Cisco AnyConnect app from the Chrome Web Store.

4. Using my mobile hotspot I am able to connect to the VPN, succesfully browse the internet and my company's intranet, and am able to connect to my work desktop using an RDP client on my Chromebook.

guzzijason · ‎2018-03-25

Is the Orbi connected to a router or a bridge? And is the Orbi in router or bridge (AP) mode itself?

st_shaw · ‎2018-03-25

@Retired_Member wrote:

1. Correct, I am at home on my Orbi network and connecting to my company's VPN when I have the issue.

2. I am unable to connect to my desktop at work.

3. I am connecting to my company's VPN with my Chromebook using the Cisco AnyConnect app from the Chrome Web Store.

4. Using my mobile hotspot I am able to connect to the VPN, succesfully browse the internet and my company's intranet, and am able to connect to my work desktop using an RDP client on my Chromebook.

Thanks.

Sounds like it could be an issue with DNS.

When you connect to the VPN with the hotspot are you still using the exact same Chromebook and AnyConnect App as with Orbi?

To check whether it's a DNS issue, you can write down the IP address of your desktop at work. Then when you come home, try to connect to your desktop using the IP address. You can also try pinging 8.8.8.8 from the Chromebook once you connect to the VPN (assuming you have an app that supports ping.) If you can ping, then it's a DNS issue.

Retired_Member · ‎2018-03-25

The Orbi is in router mode, and is connected to my cable modem.

Retired_Member · ‎2018-03-25

Yes, I am using the same laptop and same AnyConnect app when connecting using the hotspot.

My apologies, it looks like internet access still works when I'm connected to the VPN on my Orbi network, I just cannot access intranet pages or remote in to my work desktop.

Pinging 8.8.8.8 was successful when using the Orbi network and the hotspot.

st_shaw · ‎2018-03-25

Thanks. I assume you are connecting the laptop to Orbi and to the hotpsot via WiFi and do not have both a wired and WiFi connection on the laptop at the same time.

Can you tell whether the VPN is connecting successfully to your work server? If you have UPNP active or the Orbi's VPN service active that could interfere with your work VPN connection. You could make sure these are off.

If that's not it, then I would suggest you try accessing your work desktop via its IP, and see if that works.

Retired_Member · ‎2018-03-27

Didn't have any luck with UPNP off. Correct, I am only connected to the network via Wifi.

I checked my IP address after connecting to the VPN when on the Orbi network and on the hotspot and found that while the Cisco client says I am authenticated and connected, my IP address does not change when on the Orbi network. When I connect from the hotspot I see the IP correctly update.

st_shaw · ‎2018-03-28

Well, at least you know what the problem is. Your VPN is not assigning an IP to your computer. It's not obvious what would cause it.

Make sure your Orbi LAN is on a different subnet than what's used at your work. For example, If they are both 192.168.1.X, most VPNs wqon't work.

You said you forwarded some ports and changed some related settings. I'd factory reset Orbi to make sure nothing there is conflicting.

st_shaw · ‎2018-03-28

If none of the above helps, then I expect the problem is with your VPN server and not with Orbi. You can google "cisco anyconnect vpn client no ip address" and find lots of similar problems. They were usually solved by rebooting the Cisco server, chaning configuraton, or changing the server version level to address bugs.

You might need to talk to your work IT folks and have them look at the debug logs etc. to see what's happening.

Retired_Member · ‎2018-07-14

I finally figured out what the problem was. On my chromebook I had the "Prefer this network" setting enabled for my Orbi's wifi network. Once I disabled that option, everything started working fine.