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chipcoit
chipcoit
New Member
July 26, 2022
Solved

FortiClient & Static DNS Entry

  • July 26, 2022
  • 6 replies
  • 44532 views

Hello FortiCommunity,

We currently are using FortiClient with an EMS server and noticed when we connect to the VPN we received our specified internal DNS on both our physical adapter (wifi/lan) and our vpn adapter. Our specified internal DNS are our domain controllers that run DNS services.

 

The issue we are having with this is that sometimes the FortiClient software disconnects or something in windows causes the application to crash. My assumption is when you hit the disconnect button on the FortiClient it removes routes and/or the static DNS entry. With that process not taking place the end result is that the static DNS that was not cleared, thus leaving the PC unable to connect to the internet. 

 

Our users working from home do not get admin access to their network adapters as well. The combination leaves the end user unable to connect to the internet and our remote tool useless. Do you guys know why the static DNS is set- can we set this to obtain automatically? I did try "same as client system DNS" but our firewall uses the FortiNet's DNS for what I can only assume is DNS filtering along with other items. 

 

Is there a way to stop these crashes or disconnects? Has anyone else had this issue?

 

Thanks,
Michael

    Best answer by chipcoit

    We are on version 6.4.3 for most of our endpoints. After upgrading to version 7.0.6 via deployment on the EMS server- this seemed to fix the issue. Regardless if a user switches wifi networks or if the network gets dropped the static DNS entries get removed successfully now.

    6 replies

    Anthony_E
    Staff
    Anthony_E
    Staff
    July 28, 2022

    Hello Michael,

     

    Thank you for using the Community Forum.

    I will seek to get you an answer or help. We will reply to this thread with an update as soon as possible.

     

    Regards,

    Best Regards
      Anthony_E
      Staff
      Anthony_E
      Staff
      August 2, 2022

      Hello Michael,

       

      We are still looking for an answer to your question.

      We will come back to you once we will find it.

       

      Regards,

      Best Regards
        OwenW
        OwenW
        Explorer II
        August 2, 2022

        I have similar problem with AD -> DNS plus VPN. It seems that any wireless blip causes the DNS to overwrite back to local DNS, which ends in conflict. Please have a look at that and see if the issues interact.

        chipcoit
        chipcoitAuthorAnswer
        New Member
        August 8, 2022

        We are on version 6.4.3 for most of our endpoints. After upgrading to version 7.0.6 via deployment on the EMS server- this seemed to fix the issue. Regardless if a user switches wifi networks or if the network gets dropped the static DNS entries get removed successfully now.

          SubaruEurope
          SubaruEurope
          Visitor III
          February 2, 2024

          We are on 7.0.9 and the issue is still present.

          OffroadingConvoy4
          OffroadingConvoy4
          Explorer
          December 14, 2023

          We still have this problem on 7.0.7 and are now considering other solutions. We've had this problem since we first got this product.

          matthew_wlf
          matthew_wlf
          New Member
          March 6, 2024

          We have the same problem with forticlient 7.2.3 not on all clients but on a few. I think this problem could be related with windows..

          lkosc
          lkosc
          New Member
          September 30, 2024

          does Fortinet doing something with the matter? Is the free version involved to promote paid version? 

          any fortinet engineer can take a word? 

          PierrePaulDuval
          PierrePaulDuval
          Visitor III
          November 7, 2024

          On our side, we are using FortiClient 7.0.11. We started to roll out Windows 11 23H2 last month and some customers experienced the same issue right after the upgrade. We created a script that runs locally to remove the DNS entries since the computer is not reachable via internet.  This issue never happened in Windows 10. Right now, I'm stuck between Microsoft saying it's not their issue and Fortinet saying they fixed this issue a long time ago.  

          5Lights
          5Lights
          New Member
          September 23, 2025

          We have the same issue since upgrading to win11. Running 7.2.3 and 7.2.4.
          Users dont have admin rights to reset the DNS servers to automatic 

          antech
          antech
          Visitor III
          January 13, 2026

          Unfortunate that this is still an ongoing issue years later. We are seeing this issue on v 7.4.3 (latest build) as well.

          This is a major issue for Hybrid users who work from home on occasion. When disconnecting from the VPN, the Wi-Fi adapter remains set to a "static" DNS server (which gets set to the user's home router/DNS server after disconnecting from the VPN).

          When the users come into the office, they cannot connect to the Wi-Fi because their DNS server is still locked to 'static', and they cannot change it because it requires elevation. The 'fix' is to have them connect wired (not all buildings have a wired connection) so that an IT admin can remote in and enter their admin credentials to reset the DNS to Automatic (DHCP).

          After setting it back to Automatic, if the user works remotely again & connects to the VPN, it again gets set back to Manual. :(

          Mx2
          Mx2
          New Member
          January 15, 2026

          We got this issue after 7.4.3 upgrade and found a potential workaround. When the issue occurs, restarting "FortiSSLVPNdaemon.exe" process fixes it. However, users cannot restart the process as it runs with SYSTEM privileges,  so you have to find a way around that.

           

          But the same issue persists with FCT 7.4.4 and 7.4.5, and unfortunately the workaround does not seem to work with 7.4.5 anymore. It's super annoying problem to deal with, easiest solution is to reboot the machine. 

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