Connection problem related to resuming after sleep in combination with VPN

[dopo]

Hello,

Using my laptop with Windows 10 Pro v10.0.18363.815 I noticed a connection problem related to resuming after my laptop went to sleep, using Dropbox v97.4.467 and a VPN (ProtonVPN currently but I tried with NordVPN as well and the behavior is the same).

The situation goes as follows:

1. My laptop has an active VPN and Dropbox connection.
2. I add a small PDF (774 kB, as example) to Dropbox via Windows Explorer.
3. I change the file's Smart Sync setting to Online Only using the right mouse click menu item (doing this 2 times to make sure that a V symbol is shown next to Online Only) --> side question: why is there no third label like 'Local + offline' next to 'Local' and 'Online Only' as there are 3 possible situation?
4. After about 10 seconds I double click on the file to see if it downloads and it does, so again I change it to Online Only.
5. I let my laptop go to sleep.
6. I wake up my laptop again by pressing the power button.
7. The VPN takes about 1 minute to become active again, making Dropbox first showing a grey icon (not connected) and then a white icon (connected).
8. I go to Dropbox via the internet browser and click on the file, and it opens, so there is an active internet connection and Dropbox is reachable.
9. I double click on the same file in Dropbox via Windows Explorer but I get the error message: "Smart Sync Download - Failed to download '[filename.extension]'. Dropbox is having trouble connecting.".
10. I disconnect from the VPN and go to a web site via the web browser to test when the internet connection is active again.
11. I double click on the same file in Dropbox via Windows Explorer and it opens right away.
12. I change the file's Smart Sync setting again to Online Only using the right mouse click menu item (doing this 2 times).
13. I reconnect to the VPN and go to a web site via the web browser to test when the internet connection is active again.
14. I double click on the same file in Dropbox via Windows Explorer but I get again the error message: "Smart Sync Download - Failed to download '[filename.extension]'. Dropbox is having trouble connecting.".

This lasts until I restart the laptop, as a restart of neither VPN nor Dropbox app helps, or I noticed that after more than +/-15 minutes it suddenly works fine again.

As I demonstrated, without VPN resuming works fine almost immediately after the Dropbox app icon went white again. So why is the Dropbox app not seeing that the VPN has reactivated the internet connection after resuming from sleep mode?

[Lusil]

Hi there @dopo, thanks for reaching out to us and for the detailed post. 

In general, VPNs are a private, encrypted tunnel through the internet between you and your network that allows you have secure remote access to your file server.

In this case, it sounds like your VPN could be hindering the connection between the desktop app and the website. 

If your VPN has any advanced settings that would allow a stable connection to Dropbox, could you try enabling them to see if this resolves the issue? 

Let me know how it goes, thanks!

[dopo]

Hi Lusil,

There are some settings possible in ProtonVPN but IMO nothing interesting to use. There is a Split Tunneling option, but then you disable ProtonVPN for Dropbox, and that cannot be the goal of course.

I will launch my problem at ProtonVPN although it is not in particular related with ProtonVPN as I tested with NordVPN and the result was the same.

I'm not a specialist in this, but does the Dropbox app makes its internet connection via another port number than a browser does? If so, could Dropbox app not use the same port as the one used by a browser?

Regards,

Dominiek

[Lusil]

Thanks for getting back to me, @dopo.

You can try changing the proxy settings from your desktop app's preferences following these steps. 

Let me know if this helps!

[dopo · Accepted solution]

UPDATE of 18/05/2020: see below

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Hello @Lusil,

I decided to removed NordVPN from my laptop completely and to continue testing with ProtonVPN only to avoid any interference between the VPN settings.

I looked at your link but (other that the text seems to be outdated for Dropbox v97 combined Windows 10) I decided to leave my settings like they were: to keep the proxy settings on 'Auto' and the LAN sync setting on 'On'.

Next I decided to go deeper into the help section of ProtonVPN, and found this item: Using Adobe Cloud, OneDrive or Office 365 while connected to ProtonVPN It recommends to manually define an TCP/IPv4 gateway on 192.168.0.1, which I did, and it seems to help.

I still have to make use of this change for a longer time to be sure that it is really a final soution but after trying 1 time after resuming from sleep the Dropbox app reconnected nicely after the grey-to-white icon colour change, so there is hope! 🙂

One remark is that I noticed that the setting 'Interface Metric' under 'IP Settings' of my TCP/IPv4 adaptor was set to a fixed value '3'. I decided to change it as well to 'Automatic' as this was the setting prescribed for the gateway setting.

I will come back reporting my experiences after having worked with this change during the next couple of days.

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UPDATE of 18/05/2020:

__________________________________________________________________________

Everything still works fine, only remark is that the TCP/IPv4 adaptors 'Interface Metric'under 'IP Settings'  has been reset automatically to '3' instead of 'Automatic':

For me this is the final solution in combination with ProtonVPN.

[Lusil]

Great work on the investigation and troubleshooting, @dopo!

It does sound like sleep mode could affect the performance of the desktop app since you're using a VPN.

However, you can also try quitting the desktop app before putting your computer to sleep mode and, once the VPN is active upon rebooting, run the desktop app again. 

In any case, let me know how it goes!

UPDATE: Thanks for keeping me in the loop, I just saw your updated reply. I'm glad to hear that it's working well for you now. 

If anything else comes up in the future, we're only just a post away, so give us a nudge. 

In the meantime, I hope you have a lovely day ahead!