When and how to connect to the VPN
Most days you do not need it. Here is how to tell, and how to connect when you do.
The VPN is a private tunnel back to your office network. It is not something you leave on all the time, and most days you will not need it at all. If your VPN app looks different from the one described here, the first section still applies. Ask us and we will point you at the right buttons for yours.
Do this first: decide whether you need it
| Where you are | What you are trying to do | VPN? |
|---|---|---|
| In the office | Anything | No. You are already on the network. |
| Working from home, a hotel, anywhere else | Open files on the office server, or use a program that lives there | Yes. |
| Working from home, a hotel, anywhere else | Email, Teams, OneDrive, or anything in a web browser | No. |
The mix-up we see most. If your email is Microsoft 365 or Google, it does not need the VPN. Neither does OneDrive, Teams, or anything you open in a browser. Those live on the internet rather than on your office network, so switching the VPN on for them just adds a detour and makes things slower.
Short version: outside the office, and you need something that lives at the office. That is the whole rule.
Connecting
- Look near the clock at the bottom-right of your screen for the OpenVPN Connect icon. If it is not there, press the Windows key and type OpenVPN.
- Open it. You will see the profile we set up for you.
- Click Connect.
- After a moment it says Securely Connected! with a timer counting up. That is it. Carry on as normal.
You do not need to install anything. We set the app and your profile up for you. If the app has vanished from a computer, tell us rather than downloading a VPN app yourself, because the one you find will not be the one connected to your office.
Disconnecting
Open the app and click Disconnect. Worth doing when you have finished, and definitely when you get back to the office. Nothing breaks if you forget. It just means your internet is taking a longer route than it needs to.
Three things worth knowing
On hotel and coffee shop Wi-Fi, sign in to the Wi-Fi first. Those networks make you open a browser and accept their terms before anything works. Get a normal web page loading, and then connect the VPN. Trying it the other way round is the most common reason it will not connect.
Your profile is a key, not a setting. The file we used to set you up contains a private key to your office network. If a colleague needs the VPN, tell us and we will issue them their own. Please do not forward yours or copy it onto a personal computer.
It is not antivirus, and it does not make you anonymous. Yours does one job: it puts you on your office network from somewhere else. Your usual protection carries on doing its job whether the VPN is on or off.
If it will not connect
- Check your internet works at all. Open any website first.
- If you are on public Wi-Fi, finish their sign-in page, then try again.
- Close OpenVPN Connect completely and open it again.
- Restart the computer.
Did this not sort it out?
If those four have not done it, do not keep retrying. Something at our end usually needs a look, and that is quick for us to check. Tell us where you are connecting from and whether other websites load.
Tell Michael which step you got to and what the screen says. A photo of the screen from your phone is perfect.