Why doesn't the Teamviewer VPN adapter work as described?

Jefflevin
Jefflevin Posts: 16
edited November 2021 in General questions

I am trying to employ Teamviewer VPN, and have run into a roadblock in the official documentation at Teamviewer VPN Feature Explained: How it Works | VPNpro.

"After you have successfully installed the TeamViewer VPN, the next step is to understand how to use it. First, you will need to obtain the IP address for the VPN. You will see the VPN adapter in the Network Sharing Centre. If you click on it, you will have the option to enter the ID of the remote computer to start the VPN connection. You can also click on the remote PC and select the VPN if you are logged in to your TeamViewer account."

Neither option works. What's more, there are only two tabs for the Teamviewer VPN properties -- networking and sharing. I use the Microsoft VPN client for connections to my firewall, and it has three additional tabs -- general, options and security. The general option allows you to enter the IP address of the destination computer. The Teamviewer simply has no means of knowing what to connect to, you're not prompted for an address, and it says that a network cable is unplugged. Can somebody tell me how to get this straightened out?

Best Answer

  • JoshP
    JoshP Posts: 905 Senior Moderator
    Answer ✓

    Hello @Jefflevin

    Thank you for the clarification, and the article feedback.

    As mentioned in the article, the VPN is not required for connecting to and controlling remote devices. It is used to access specific remote apps, printers, or devices such as Hard Drives.

    All TeamViewer connections are just as secure, regardless of if the connection is made for VPN, meeting, remote connection, or file transfer. You can read more about the TeamViewer security here.

    If the above clarification is what you wish to use it for, then once the VPN driver is installed on both sides of the connection, you connect to the desired device via the standard method of ID and Password, ensuring you have selected the VPN bubble on the Remote Control tab of TeamViewer.


    This will produce the VPN window where your IP address and the remote device's IP address, as well as the device's name, can be seen.

    From there, you can select Share files via Explorer to access the device as if it were in your LAN.

    If this information does help you, I am happy to add it to our article to help prevent any confusion in the future for other users.

    Of course, if your issues persist, any further clarification is welcomed.

    Take care! 🍀

    Josh P.

    Senior Community Moderator

    ---

Answers

  • JoshP
    JoshP Posts: 905 Senior Moderator

    Hello @Jefflevin

    Thanks for your post.

    Please know the linked article is not the 'official documentation' but rather a third-party article regarding the TeamViewer VPN. We are not affiliated with the website you linked.

    The actual official documentation is here:

    Please take a look at the above article and let us know if your issue persists. If you could provide a bit more information on what you are attempting to do with the TeamViewer VPN, this may also help.

    Josh P.

    Senior Community Moderator

    ---

  • Your article has far less information than the non-official article. There's NOTHING between where it shows you how to install the VPN driver and where you're connected to the remote machine. All I'm trying to do is make widely-used connections by remote users more secure.

  • JoshP
    JoshP Posts: 905 Senior Moderator
    Answer ✓

    Hello @Jefflevin

    Thank you for the clarification, and the article feedback.

    As mentioned in the article, the VPN is not required for connecting to and controlling remote devices. It is used to access specific remote apps, printers, or devices such as Hard Drives.

    All TeamViewer connections are just as secure, regardless of if the connection is made for VPN, meeting, remote connection, or file transfer. You can read more about the TeamViewer security here.

    If the above clarification is what you wish to use it for, then once the VPN driver is installed on both sides of the connection, you connect to the desired device via the standard method of ID and Password, ensuring you have selected the VPN bubble on the Remote Control tab of TeamViewer.


    This will produce the VPN window where your IP address and the remote device's IP address, as well as the device's name, can be seen.

    From there, you can select Share files via Explorer to access the device as if it were in your LAN.

    If this information does help you, I am happy to add it to our article to help prevent any confusion in the future for other users.

    Of course, if your issues persist, any further clarification is welcomed.

    Take care! 🍀

    Josh P.

    Senior Community Moderator

    ---

  • Should emphasize in your documentation that the VPN is not for security, and that Teamviewer is secure regardless of VPN.