Cisco AnyConnect constantly dropping out

[pirapramtade]

Hi,

I've encountered so many dead ends on this and I don't know where to turn now. I use Cisco AnyConnect VPN on my company laptop when working from home on Vodafone broadband.

I signed up for Vodafone broadband in May 2020, at that time using a Windows7 laptop. Everything worked fine. I upgraded to a Windows10 laptop in June 2020, everything continued to work from June 2020 until January 2021. Then suddenly my Cisco AnyConnect just started dropping out for no apparent reason. Nothing that I'm aware of changed on my laptop or WiFi (unless it was a background Windows update). When Cisco drops out, my WiFi and internet remain connected...when I'm on a conference call, for example, there is no interruption in the call, but my access to all my company's systems stops. Clicking on Reconnect in Cisco AnyConnect does not work, the only way I can reconnect is to switch off/on the WiFi on my laptop. It then might work for anything between 1 minute and a couple of hours before dropping out again. The dropouts seem to be triggered whenever I try to download a large file from my company's servers, but also at other random times when I am not putting any load on the Wifi.

My company's service desk has tried everything they can but nothing works. They even resorted to sending me a new Windows10 laptop but it does exactly the same thing.

My old Windows7 laptop works perfectly on my Vodafone broadband, Cisco AnyConnect never drops out on that machine.

Has anybody got any ideas?

Thanks!

[gipjon]

there is a straightforward answer , just use the windows 7 laptop or, install windows 7 on the works laptop, 

I'm not sure if you can run the anyconnect in window 7 compatible mode in windows 10, 

Vodafone has got a new wifi system call wifi doctor which started this year, not sure if its anything to do with that, google wifi doctor 

does it still do it if you connect the laptop to the router using the ethernet cable and turn wifi off 

[pirapramtade]

Thanks for your reply. Using the Windows 7 laptop would be the easiest option but unfortunately I've been told it's a security risk (by my company) as it's no longer supported.

I've tried running AnyConnect in Win 7 compatibility mode in Win10, but it dropped out after 10 mins again.

I remember chatting to a Vodafone assistant a while ago, and they mentioned Wifi Doctor, did some checks on my router and then said it was a client problem and sent me back to my IT help desk. I have no idea what they checked though. Do you know if there's something I can check myself relating to this?

Connecting with an ethernet cable seems to work, although I haven't tested it for more than a few hours as my phone line is at the opposite end of the house to my home office. I'd really prefer to fix the root cause rather than wire a new phone connection through my house.

[gipjon]

After reading what you have put it does seam more like a router wi-fi issue . If you have a old router . You could connect the old router to the first router using the lan cable .Turn the dhcp setting to off on the second router . Then you could connect the laptop to the second router wifi .

I have the same issue with my phones .and vodafone dont want to accept they have a issue

[pirapramtade]

@gipjon....thank you, I will try that idea with an old router tomorrow and see how I get on and report back!

@Cynric...thanks, I have never heard of a Powerline adaptor and might try this if I am sure it will fix it. Some of them seem quite expensive if they don't sort it.

@GDL_UK...sometimes I have had that exact same problem. We use MS Teams too and when my VPN drops out, I can still hear others but they can't hear me. I resolve by right-clicking the AnyConnect icon in the toolbar and clicking Quit and people can hear me again.

[Jayach · Accepted solution]

I don't think the different Op system will be a problem so more likely hardware related.

The older laptop may be 2.4Ghz only and the new one 2.4/5Ghz so I think I would try splitting the bands in the router and connecting to them separately to see if that makes a difference.

[GDL_UK]

I have a brand new Thinkpad T470 connected on 5GHz (separate band), but splitting the WiFi makes no difference.

[Jayach]

To be honest GDL_UK your problem may not be exactly the same as the OP, they know another laptop works O.K. so we are just trying to find a reason.

Have you tried yours wired, to see if it a WiFi problem?

[GDL_UK]

Again, that is very difficult to do because our ONT is under the stairs, and that isn't really a place one can work from.

I haven't experienced any of these issues on any other wifi connection (or my previous BT connection, which I had for three years). Having combed through the logs, I can see the following error:

"The VPN client was unable to modify the IP forwarding table"

[pirapramtade]

@Jayach...thanks, I have split my Wifi bands and so will see if this makes a difference. I'll give it a few hours of use tomorrow morning and report back late morning.