Samsung SCH-LC11 Blocks Microsoft VPN

[abailey]

Just got our new Samsung SCH-LC11 Mifi's today. Very impressed by the speed however we discovered a huge limitation. It appears that the Mifi blocks GRE traffic, even after enabling the "VPN Passthrough Enable". I contacted the VZW support line, spent 45 minutes with the rep who finally told me this device is intended for "home" users that don't connect to VPNs. I then asked him why is there a "VPN Passthrough" function and why do they highlight this product in the VZW Business site?

I checked the VZAM.net site and there is no VZAccess for this model yet.

Anyone else heard of this issue or tried to connect to a Microsoft VPN using 4G service? I'm trying to figure out if it is the Mifi or Verizon that has an issue.

Thanks!

[ITKen]

NedP, see if you are able to exchange your Samsung for the VZW 4510L.  From my initial testing, it doesn't seem to have the VPN issue that the Samsung is experiencing.

[flynhi]

I utilize the same VPN as NedP and am scheduled to recv the 4510L on Thursday.  I will post with the VPN success/failure outcome.  Keep your fingers crossed!

[NedP]

This message is for the VZW moderator....My friend is using the Novatel LTE mifi device and I am using my Microsoft VPN through it without issue....ergo the problem lies with the Samsung device and I would like a swap and I will followup with custome service.

thank you.

[flynhi]

I concur with NedP.  The 4510L does not appear to have the same VPN (PPTP) issues as the Samsung.  I am running successfully via Juniper IPSec VPN.  Yeah!

[bonez]

So today I went to a Verizon store about this PPTP issue, they put me on the phone with Tech Support.  Tech Support said something along the lines of "if you can get to the internet, its your problem or Samsungs problem, not ours".  Way to stand behind your "VPN compatible" hotspot!  I'm on the phone with Samsung now.  Hope they can help somehow.  Note to others: returns are only 14 days now, not 30. If you need your SCH-LC11 replaced re: VPN issues do it before 14 days has happened to save a headache.

[NedP]

Keep us posted on what samsung says...since this appears to be a device issue.

[bonez]

I was on the phone with Samsung for about an hour as they transferred me to three different tiers of support, the final person told me pretty much what is already in this thread: that it doesn't work.  He suggested I try getting a static IP or mess around with port forwarding.  But in the end he said they aren't trained in advanced networking and don't directly support doing VPN on the devices.

So Verizon said to call Samsung, Samsung said to call Verizon.  Workday is running short, I'll have to dig more into this next week!  Will get Backtrack going and figure out exactly which packets are getting dropped, maybe dig through the Firmware a bit more and see if theres something configured improperly.  Wish we could see the config.xml file.  The URL is there, but the link doesn't work.  http://192.168.1.1/config.html  Note the Novatel Mifi2200 text on the bottom of the page.  Copy & paste firmware!

[ArnettH_VZW]

I'm sorry that you are having this problem. Although we offer minimal assistance with VPN, we want to ensure that your issue gets the attention it deserves. Just to confirm, you do have the VPN passthrough enabled, correct? Also, have you tried to reach out to your VPN admin for add'l assistance. 

[bonez]

ArnettH_VZW thanks for the response.  Yep, I have VPN passthrough enabled, my NAT addresses are not overlapping with the PPTP server.  I run the VPN for our company, so yeah  See, I can connect to it from every other network/device.  But when I try through the SCH-LC11vzw it fails to connect.

Maybe we can get the group that writes the firmware for the SCH-LC11 to take a look at this.  From what I can tell looking through the firmware - Samsung provides part of it, then Verizon "brands" it and disables/enables options as needed.  I'm starting to think an option isn't enabled that should be.

Thanks for your assistance!

[NedP]

Excuse me for a second here, but there are three pages of comments about this device.  And there are limited responses from VZW.  Why aren't you addressing all the other requests directed to VzW moderators?   This seems to be a pretty shallow response from VZW.  I would expect much better.

[jbresee]

Verizon refused to exchange mine.  I am at 17 days with the device and they said the will not replace the device after 14 days, even if it doesn't work.

Nice.

[NedP]

I got VZW to exchange my Samsung for the Novatel MIFI device.  I just got it activated and it has maintained the VPN connection for over five hours even when it went dormant.    From my perspective this shows it is strictly the Samsung device that has the problem.  

[cep42]

Ned P,  just to confirm the Novatel allows you to connect to your VPN?  I've called Verizon, and they say its both 4G devices that don't work yet. I've gone to 2 Verizon stores to see if they would let me test to see if the Novatel works. Neither store had the Novatel device set up. I returned the Samsung and don't want to put my IT dep't through getting a new device, setting it up and finding out that it doesn't work and returning it again.  I wish that I could have a job where I don't have to have a clue and get paid for it.

[VL600_Boston]

The following articles may help clarify the situation.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885267      Article ID: 885267 - Last Review: August 29, 2007 - Revision: 2.2

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/818043      Article ID: 818043 - Last Review: February 3, 2011 - Revision: 18.5

(Note  Interoperability and known issues)

How Skype gets round firewalls:   http://h-online.com/-747197

[flynhi]

cep42,

I can confirm the novatel 4510L mifi does work with VPNs utilizing PPTP.  I've been using mine for about a week now with no issues.

[NedP]

Cep42,

Yes, I use the Juniper VPN and works fine with the Novatel device.  I could never  get it to stay connected with the Samsung, but this operates just fine. 

[bonez]

Thanks for the follow-up NedP.  This has been a disappointing experience, to say the least.  I've pretty much given up.  I borrowed a Mifi 2200 from work temporarily to solve the problem.  If I had more time lately I'd poke at it more, but it pretty much looks like a firmware problem but I couldn't identify the exact configuration that was causing it.

[memman]

Thank goodness the OP now says "Solved."  There is just one small problem........

[flynhi]

True true... I guess "solved" means buy a novatel and NOT the samsung.

[bonez]

*yawn*

Still waiting for the Firmware to fix this glaring problem (to many).  Had to give back the Mifi 2200 I was borrowing as my temporary fix to this problem.  It's really too bad the only fix I know of now is outright buying a Mifi to replace this SCH-LC11.  Especially when it says "VPN Compatible" on the product info page.

http://www.verizonwireless.com:80/b2c/store/controller?item=phoneFirst&action=viewPhoneDetail&select...

Says VPN Compatible.  But that's only true if your using something other than PPTP.  I am disappoint.

[#22]

There are some great suggestions about some workarounds, but the true issue lies with the equipment.  Here is some official information about the problem that we are aware of.  We are working on this vigorously, but an fix has not been implemented yet.

Issue:

 
Device will not connect to known good PPTP VPN server. If you are using a Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) VPN, the Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot LC11 currently does not support Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) packets used in this configuration.

Temporary Workaround:

Please contact your IT administrator to configure your connection manager to use Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) or another alternative VPN solution available within your company (if available)

.

How we are going to fix this: 

Samsung is working to include the software update for this issue in Maintenance Release 2, which is targeted for release later this quarter.

Thanks so much for your patience regarding this issue.  A fix is on the way, but it will take some time.