Troubleshooting Tip: FortiClient stuck in 'Connecting' status due to Geofencing being set to 'Allow' without selecting any countries

The FortiSASE Geofencing feature controls access by allowing or blocking remote user connections and edge device connectivity to FortiSASE’s security Point of Presence (PoP) based on the originating countries, regions, or infrastructures.

By default, when the Country/Region setting is set to Deny with no countries selected, FortiSASE enforces no restrictions.

However, if the status is set to Allow without specifying any countries, FortiSASE interprets this as allowing connections from no locations and automatically applies an underlying rule that denies all connections.

This will cause FortiClient to become stuck in the 'connecting' status because the session handshake with FortiSASE is not completed, as FortiSASE does not send any response back.

After a while, the session initiation times out, and FortiClient returns to the connection page.

To resolve this issue, either:

• Change the status to Deny.
• Select the countries to be allowed.

Related article:

Geofencing