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marijasmlvc
marijasmlvc
Visitor III
June 4, 2026
Question

FortiClient VPN stuck on "Connecting" on some machines (same network, same config)

  • June 4, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 65 views

Hi everyone,

We are experiencing an issue with FortiClient VPN (free version) and wanted to check if anyone else has encountered something similar.

Here is the situation:

We have two computers in the same domain, on the same network, using the same internet connection. The same security and domain policies apply to both machines. They are connecting to the same IPsec VPN tunnel using the same user account.

One machine connects without any issues, while the other consistently gets stuck on “Connecting” and eventually the application has to be killed from the process.

We have tested multiple versions of FortiClient (7.4.0, 7.4.2 and 7.4.3), but the behavior remains the same.

We also contacted Fortinet support, and they confirmed that the issue is most likely related to the FortiClient application itself. However, since we are using the free version, they are not able to escalate the case further.

Additional note: the same issue occurs with different user accounts and from different networks (tried WiFi and Mobile Internet) as well. I simplified the example above, but in reality we have 4–5 machines from the same network that cannot connect to this specific tunnel, and 2 machines that connect without any issues.

Has anyone experienced something similar or found a workaround?

Thanks in advance.

3 replies

funkylicious
SuperUser
funkylicious
SuperUser
June 4, 2026

try downloading the lastest visual c++ redis and install, also if you are using dell laptop removing dell optimizer. another option would be also to download the latest nic drivers

"jack of all trades, master of none"
HarneferV_JICAZA
HarneferV_JICAZA
Explorer
June 4, 2026

We experienced a similar symptom in the past where FortiClient remained stuck in "Connecting". In our case, the issue was caused by a mismatch between the IPsec proposal settings configured on the endpoint and those configured on the VPN concentrator, specifically the DH Group settings in Phase 1 and Phase 2. After aligning the proposals on both sides, the affected clients were able to connect successfully. It may be worth comparing the VPN profile configuration between a working and a non-working machine to verify that the Phase 1/Phase 2 parameters are identical.

AEK
SuperUser
AEK
SuperUser
June 4, 2026

Hi Marijas

This can occur if the computers have different WiFI cards, WiFi drivers, Windows update and patches, ...etc.

The following may help:

  • Try the older versions: 7.2.14 and 7.0.14
  • Try connect using wired network instead of WiFi
  • Try change WiFi driver or use another WiFi adapter (like USB WiFi adapter)

Hope it helps.

AEK
marijasmlvc
marijasmlvcAuthor
Visitor III
June 4, 2026

7.2.14 worked!!! Thank you very much!

That said, I still don’t quite understand why this would be version-dependent. We are using the same configuration (Phase 1 and Phase 2 parameters are fully aligned), and all other VPN tunnels work without any issues on 7.4.3.

The only difference is that this particular tunnel consistently fails to connect on 7.4.3 version on some computers, while everything works fine on 7.2.14.

If you have any idea what might be causing this behavior, I’d really appreciate the insight.

Thanks again!

    AEK
    SuperUser
    AEK
    SuperUser
    June 4, 2026

    Happy to hear that it worked.

    According to what I’ve seen in this forum, different FortiClient versions may react differently with different network adapters and drivers, and with different Windows version, updates and patches. So generally one of the above mentioned workarounds should help.

    AEK
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