You'll then see the VPN move dynamically to the top of the options when it is connected. Drag the VPN to the top of the list and then click OK. To be sure that the VPN is given priority when connected, click the little cog wheel at the bottom of the list of Network options in System Preferences and select Set Service Order.

Note: The supplied account name included a back-slash, which is unusual in Mac file paths but does work for the VPN setup so make sure you use that if your username includes one. Once the password had been reset at the server end the connection was immediately established. Make sure all characters are drawn from the ASCII range and it should work. The persistent connection failure we experienced was due to a non-ASCII character in the password. OpenVPN and other protocols may have different settings.Ĭonnection steps for a VPN are outlined here - macOS Sierra: Set up a connection to a virtual private network- and in other places on the web. Bear in mind that the tips below apply to connecting to a VPN using the common L2TP protocol. Hours of investigation later I found the problems and now all is running fine.

Macs talk to Windows servers every day over VPNs, right? For us the connection persistently failed, despite all settings details being available, and despite those settings working fine when used in Windows desktops and laptops. But all should be pretty straight-forward, you'd think. The remote server is a Windows machine and is managed by a rather Windows-centric IT service company. My partner's company requires her to access company documents on a server over a VPN and she wants to use her MacBook Pro (running High Sierra) rather than the old and sluggish Windows laptop that her company offered.

Setup vpn server mac