WATCHGUARD
MOBILE VPN FIX
Last Updated: 3.24.2020
Set it and Forget it,
Peace of Mind Solutions
With more and more clients working from home due to the Coronavirus COVID-19 your VPN solution is being put to the test! For those of you utilizing the Mobile VPN with SSL Client from WatchGuard on the latest build of Windows 10 you may be noticing intermittent issues with initially connecting to the VPN. If you are experiencing this issue you will see the client hang on the 'connecting' phase for several minutes. Sometimes the user will have to try several times before it will finally connect, or even restart their PC.
The Problem
The Solution
While users may have some success try to connect a 2nd (or 3rd, or 4th, or 5th...) time, here at StarNet Technologies we're all about Set it and Forget it Solutions. Our technicians have discovered a tried and true solution to this issue instead of another band-aid.
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The most recent version of the WatchGuard Mobile VPN with SSL client is version 12.5.2 and was released by WatchGuard 12/5/2019. Even though this version was released in late 2019, the TAP driver that the installer deploys is still version 9.0.21 released way back in 2016! A much newer version of this driver from late 2019 is available and installing this driver will solve your connection issues!
How to Deploy the Fix!
First verify that you have the old version of the TAP driver. Open up the Windows Device Manager (right click on the Start Button, select Device Manager). Now expand the Network Adapters and look for TAP-Windows Adapter V9. Double click the TAP Adapter, and select the Driver Tab. Here you can check and see what version you are on:
Now that you have verified what version of the TAP driver you have on your system, it's time to download the newest version. The easiest way is to download the latest version of the OpenVPN Client Here. Run the installer, and when you get to the step to Choose Components, un-check everything except the TAP Virtual Ethernet Adapter option:
Click through the rest of the OpenVPN installer - when completed this will automatically update your TAP driver, but you will still be able to use the WatchGuard client! Go through the process above to verify that you are on the new driver. If the installation is successful you should now see this under your TAP driver tab:
That's all there is to it! Now you and your clients can enjoy a much more reliable connection while you work from home!
