RDP to VPN client disconnects

I’m connecting on a local home network from PC1 to PC2 via RDP. Both are running Win10. PC2 then connects via VPN to an external network. However, as soon as the VPN connection is established, the RDP connection drops.

The VPN provider is Citrix (Citrix Virtual Adapter takes over once connected)

From my research on the topic it appears that possilbe ways to resolve this are

  1. To enable split-tunneling on the server side of the VPN (which is not possible in my case).
  2. Enable ipv6 and connect via RDP on that. However, I can’t figure out how to set this up at all. PC2 has has ipv6 enabled, but its not showing any settings under ipconfig /all.
  3. There was also talk about disabling “use default gateway on remote network”, but I can’t find such a setting either.

Any advice and tips on how to resolve this would be mighty kind.

Without split tunneling? Not as far I’m aware.

You’ll have to RDP into it, connect the VPN, it will switch network adapters and cut you off, and then you’ll need to RDP into it again. Are you prevented from making a second RDP connection after the VPN is active?

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Unfortunately there i no way to access RDP once VPN is active.

Is it practical to put a VM on PC2, and use that for Citrix?
I appreciate that’s less convenient, but this is something I’ve had to do with clients from time to time when they have strong restrictions on access to their network.

In my environment I can’t stop working / making documentation / following procedure just because client X operates a certain way.

Walking that line between client requirements and internal requirements: the bane of the consultant.

PC2 is the clien’t laptop. That’s the one that initiates the VPN connection. Unfortunately their VPN solution only allows connections from devices on the same domain, so my initial plan of just creating a VM on PC1 and connect to the remote VPN won’t work either.

Is there perhaps a way to try this with multiple network interfaces, ie one over ethernet and the other via wifi?

Alternatively perhaps a way to try this with ipv6? Perhaps there is a IRC chat where i can get some hands on assist from others with more experience on how to set this up.

Any ideas?

Ehh, so I have a few thoughts on this.

Some potentially simple, others potentially overly complicated but may work.


As for IPv6, you will likely have to open ports as you’re tunneling through the VPN and back into your home network.

Open port 3389 pointing directly at PC2 on IPv6 only, then try to RDP into it

This happens because the ping packets are being either lost or blocked on the path between your device and the server. This could be a software or hardware router filtering these packets or an unreliable Internet connection which is causing packet loss.