VPN disconnecting and slower speeds (Forticlient working from home issue)

[kyle939]

Hello all,

This is becoming a massive problem and think it’s time to move from Virgin Media unless someone can help!

So, before I get into it. I’ve stopped using the Hub 4 because it’s terrible and bought a proper Asus AC5300 gaming modem which works flawless and I have disabled the advanced error search thing  this: https://my.virginmedia.com/advancederrorsearch/ - before anyone says to do that. The Hub 4 is in modem only mode and I have tried to actually use the Hub and found it’s not any better than the 3 so clearly the problem is worse and WiFi range is not as good compared to my router I bought and I have attached so regardless if I use the Hub 4 or my modem, the problem is there! - Also since I have swapped to a better modem, it’s fixed other issues in my house like connection issues or dropping spots and speeds 

I have called and spoken to enough people and it never seems to go anywhere or get any help, so I’ve had to raise a complaint which was the first! 

I am working from home and are required to log in under a VPN SSL which they use is FortiClient and Zscaler (not my choice or can I change it either so have to bare that in mind) as you can understand working for a life insurance company and to connect to the network and protect customer data and privacy, you Virgin Media need to understand WHY I have to use the VPN/SSL! 

Now, my issue is that the connection drops a fair bit, more than it should making my home working terrible affecting my performance to do my role and going into the office is to dangerous due to a son with Cystic Fibrosis so right now, working from home is my option until it all dies down!

So two things, how can I fix the connection dropping AND stop the limiting of speed

When I am connected to the VPN, we know, you know, I have seen that Virgin Media actually limit the upload/download speed, making taking inbound calls via VoIP a huge issue, then connections drops as well, making it a terrible experience from Virgin Media!

Is there a way, setting or something that can be done to actually improve the network or something at all that can be toggled on or off, because right now my complaint is open and going nowhere and I will be pushing further because it’s not right at all. 

I have the 1Gbp/s package so the fastest currently Virgin media offer and with my PC it’s fine. Heck, my WiFi is faster than most people’s LAN... even if I try via Ethernet, the problem is still there and literally I am out of ideas!

I have tried DMZ, uPnP, port forwarding, TPLinks etc etc and need help because it seems Virgin Media customer care are not helping and seem to transfer me all over to other people and never actually offer something other than “we have to monitor it and if bad send a technician” which I’ve had more engineers in my house than my parents, it’s not my house or network, it’s you, the company and how you handle VPN and this whole working from home time badly!

I hope someone can help or has some information I’ve not tried because I really need it to stop it affecting my job!

Thank you!

[gary_dexter]

Actually the VPN endpoint you’re connecting to is limiting speed/bandwidth, not Virgin Media.

So you need your IT people to check what bandwidth limiting/load-balancing they’re imposing on their VPN endpoints.

This can be further proven if your speeds are fine when not connected to a VPN.

That being said you are also on a residential service with no support for home-working or VPN usage so you won’t get anywhere raising it with VM Support. 

[kyle939]

I’ve had numerous conversations with both sides and never got anywhere and the limit is not their end they’ve even shown me. 

I then went to Google/YouTube and found a lot of people even proving that Virgin Media limit VPNs. 

Secondly, yes I am residential? Society has been changed with millions of people working from home so what has that got to do with anything? Also Sky and BT do not have this issue with the same SSL connection, only VM, so how can being residential or not help. It’s like saying “oh you are not allowed to work from home because we do not support it” when it’s not their choice is it. 

ontop of that how much more would it cost to change from residential on my package? If someone knows roughly?

Oh I’ve already figured out I cannot get anywhere with them, they pass it off from person to person and it seems like a brainless service lately 

[sophist]

do you know if you're connecting to your fortigate endpoint via dtls? if not, ask your it department.. 

if you are, you may want to ask them whether or not they can provide a connection over tcp rather than udp - see if that improves things.

you are allowed to work from home, there's just no support for it - if you're having problems with a specific application/service, it's on you to diagnose, not VM. 

you can see the prices of VM business packages at virginmediabusiness.co.uk 

[kyle939]

My IT team never give that information it seems and not sure if that can change it because it’s hundreds of people as well. 

Also, I understand it’s not supported and I get that but the connection drops and IT looked over it all, even the logs and it points to VM being the culprit based off the logs and connection dropping, which is where this hole issues comes through. 

I also Googled and there are lots and lots of people on Virgin Media working from home using different vpns to connect to their business of work and ALL have the same issue, yet I and we have to speak to our IT, when we’re all Virgin Media on different connections? Hmmmmm!

Looking at the business packages, they do not offer the 1Gb package, also would the business package make any difference at all to the situation? That’s the question. 

[sophist]

it's easy to point at your ISP as the problem...

i also connect to a fortigate endpoint and can sustain a connection at pretty much the maximum speed of my VM circuit with no dropouts.. /shrug.

your it department can run SSL and dtls in tandem. the selection of which you use is a clientside option - it just needs to be listening at the other end.. so it's worth asking them if they have it enabled/can support it.

edit: also worth adding, whilst it's possible that the fortigate is connected at 10gb, i reckon it's more likely that it's connected at 1.. the "hundreds of users" are sharing this capacity.. so let's say there's 250 connected, bandwidth is obviously going to be constrained.. it doesn't explain the dropouts, but you shouldn't be expecting anywhere near the gig speed of your VM connection. do your speeds improve at all when connected outside of business hours? 

[kyle939]

It is pretty easy for us to point the finger at them because I’ve spoken to IT and multiple other users who are ALL Virgin Media and facing the same issue as myself, but others with different ISPs are not, so yeah. We are pointing it them 🙂

If you have this “such stable settings” then what are you using to keep it stable or settings?

I understand and know how the tunnel/ vpn network works and no, it’s the same speeds outside of business hours 

[gary_dexter]

So everyone you’ve spoken to uses Virgin and your exact same VPN setup?

[sophist]

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@kyle939 wrote:

It is pretty easy for us to point the finger at them because I’ve spoken to IT and multiple other users who are ALL Virgin Media and facing the same issue as myself, but others with different ISPs are not, so yeah. We are pointing it them 🙂

If you have this “such stable settings” then what are you using to keep it stable or settings?

I understand and know how the tunnel/ vpn network works and no, it’s the same speeds outside of business hours 

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i’m not using anything specific to keep it stable, it just is.. infact i run several vpns/tunnels over my connection, some 24/7 - most of them are sourced on my router, some are sourced on devices behind the router - most are initiated in/on my network outbound to external sources, but i also have a vpn service running on my router that terminates connections from outside..

to be clear, i’m not suggesting that you’re wrong - VM (or their equipment) may well be the cause of your woes here, but as the connection is otherwise working, you’re going to have to diagnose what’s wrong with teh connection yourself (which you’re trying to do, right, by posting here) and find a workaround that gives you a level of service that you’re happy with.. 

[kyle939]

In my office yes, all facing the same issue and some have different modems, different laptop setups but connecting on the same network I presume. 

There has been a lot of conversations lately and the logs taken from the disconnects and networks are pointing at the ISP which is where I am stuck posting here because I never get anywhere with anyone on the phone. 

Just to add icing to the cake, upon googling vpn and Virgin Media and people working from home, they are different people, different companies and tunnels and vpns etc etc etc and same issue.