Connecting to the Office VPN

The office VPN lets you reach internal file shares and line-of-business apps securely from home or while travelling. New to VPNs, or not sure how this differs from a personal VPN app like NordVPN? See What Is a VPN? Work VPN vs Personal VPN first.

Note

This guide is for the separate VPN app. If your laptop instead has a VPN already built into Windows with nothing to install, see Connecting via the Windows Built-in VPN instead — check with support if you’re not sure which one applies to you.

Installing the VPN client

1. Download the client from the link in your onboarding email (or ask support to resend it).
2. Run the installer and accept the default settings.
3. Launch the client — you’ll be asked for your server address, which is pre-filled if you used the link above.

Connecting

1. Open the VPN client.
2. Sign in with your usual company username and password.
3. Approve the MFA prompt on your phone if asked.
4. Once connected, you should see a “Connected” status and a padlock icon in your system tray or menu bar.

Tip

Leave the VPN connected for the whole working session rather than disconnecting and reconnecting for each task — it’s designed to stay on in the background.

Troubleshooting

“Connection timed out” Usually means your home or hotel Wi-Fi is blocking the VPN port. Try switching to a mobile hotspot to confirm — if that works, the network itself is the problem, not your laptop.

“Authentication failed” Double check your password hasn’t expired, and that you’re approving the correct MFA prompt (not an old one still open on your phone).

Connected, but can’t reach a file share Give it 30 seconds after connecting — internal DNS can take a moment to catch up. If it still doesn’t resolve after a minute, contact support with the exact share path you’re trying to reach.

If none of the above resolves it, contact support and mention you’ve already tried a hotspot — that saves a step in diagnosis.