Windows
VPN access blocked by firewall geofencing policy
VPN sign-in failed with a "server is down" message because the firewall geofencing policy blocked the user's location. An exclusion was added, the VPN was retested successfully, and the change was later reverted when it was no longer needed.
Killed once by someone from XL.net, on 2026-02-02.
What you see
- VPN connection fails and reports that the server is down.
Why it happens
Likely The firewall geofencing policy blocked VPN access from the user's location.
When it shows up
VPN fails only from a specific location and the firewall policy uses geofencing for access control.
You are in this case if:
- Firewall geofencing policy is in place for VPN access.
- Access is blocked from one location but works after adding a location exclusion.
1 fix below
The steps that killed it
The steps are behind a quick check
There are two ways in and both take a few seconds. Signing in opens the steps on every bug page; so does reading the picture.
Or answer this
Drawing a picture for you.
Can't read it? Sign in instead.
Keeping it away
- Confirm whether a geofencing policy applies before treating the VPN error as a server outage.
- Record whether any access change is temporary so it can be reverted later.
Someone from XL.net killed this on a Windows computer on 2026-02-02. It is written up from that one repair, so it cites no outside page.