Unable to Access Remote Network Shares

Issue

After establishing a VPN connection, remote network shares hosted on the VPN server side are not accessible.

Solution

To resolve this issue and regain access to network shares, follow these steps:

1. Use IP Address Instead of Hostname

   • NetBIOS name resolution may not work reliably over NAT.
   • Always try accessing the share via its IP address (e.g., \192.168.8.100\share).

2. Disable “Bypass LAN traffic”

   • This option excludes local/private network ranges from the VPN tunnel.
   • Go to: Settings > Network and disable Bypass LAN traffic.

3. Enable Virtual Adapter Mode (if needed)

   • If local and remote LANs use overlapping IP subnets (e.g., both are 192.168.1.x), NAT mode may cause routing conflicts.
   • Switch to Virtual Adapter Mode to avoid these collisions.

4. Avoid Using Tunneled Apps (unless needed)

   • The Tunneled Apps feature restricts VPN tunneling to specific apps.
   • If enabled, it may block system components, including access to network shares.
   • Disable or adjust this setting if full network access is required.