Resolve RDP Connection Failure Due to VPN Subnet Conflict

draft · remote-access vpn-remoterdpsubnet-conflict

Generated by docuprocessor (prompt article/v3) · 2026-04-22 10:00

Source thread

thread_id: spaces/AAAA05BdS6s/threads/hIwm_UX3iGs · 18 msgs · first 2024-08-14 · participants: Tech ATech BTech C

Tech A 2024-08-14 19:24

Anyone good with macs? 😵‍💫 Dr Patel from Yogi dental wants to connect to a pc in the office through vpn, vpn is connected but can't connect to the pc via microsoft remote desktop, keeps failing, tried with hostname, ip, same error, he says this works on another windows pc he has, i was going to try from my pc but watchguard vpns won't even connect on our end, so can't test from my own pc, but on his other pc works. any ideas? I also tried following these steps > https://www.avica.link/blog/0x204-remote-desktop/#h2_9 but same thing

image/png image.png

**Screen Display — macOS Desktop with Remote Access Failure** A **Microsoft Remote Desktop** connection attempt to **192.168.1.235** has failed, displaying **Error Code: 0x204** with the message: *"We couldn't connect to the remote PC. Make sure the PC is turned on and connected to the network, and that remote access is enabled."** In the background, **OpenVPN Connect** shows an active VPN connection (status: **CONNECTED**) to server **23.30.113.241 [client]**, with a session duration of **00:45:40**, bytes in **8.44 KB**, and last activity **0 sec ago**. The OpenVPN profile is toggled **ON** and the username displayed is **patel**.

Tech A 2024-08-14 19:25

we already tried to offer him logmein instead, but he wants vpn/rdp lol

Tech B 2024-08-14 19:33

what's the local subnet on the mac? it may be conflicting with vpn

Tech C 2024-08-14 20:05

can you ping that IP address? open Terminal, its like CMD and use the same ping 192... command

Tech A 2024-08-14 20:13

I can ping from office to mac, but not the mac to the office, mac ip is 192.168.113.2, the computer that I am trying to setup rdp to is 192.168.1.235

Tech C 2024-08-14 20:14

what is that PC? is it another wks? Do you have RDP enabled on that PC? Firewall? Can you RDP to that IP locally?

Tech A 2024-08-14 20:16

yes, everything is enabled, firewall, tried disabling and enabling it already, already added exclusion for remote assistance and remote desktop, locally, rdp works fine. could not try it from my pc since vpn won't work for me, but I almost sure that would probably work too

Tech A 2024-08-14 20:17

is just a regular pc, op1 in yogi dental

Tech C 2024-08-14 20:18

could not try it from my pc since vpn won't work for me - why not?

Tech A 2024-08-14 20:21

Not really sure, I recall trying to connect to a WG vpn for another office to test something from my end, it did not connect either. Kevin also tried, same thing for him

Tech B 2024-08-14 20:21

192.168.113.x is vpn tunnel subnet. what is the subnet of the lan where mac is you did not answer?

Tech A 2024-08-14 20:23

1 sec

Tech A 2024-08-14 20:28

192.168.1.x

Tech B 2024-08-14 20:28

☝️🧐 what can you tell from this

Tech B 2024-08-14 20:33

this should be an immediate red flag the local subnet is conflicting that's why it not routing via vpn you can try forcing all traffic via vpn in settings on both wg and openvpn client app, but local may still take priority.

Tech A 2024-08-14 20:39

I guess I can try and see if I can access his router at home and change subnet then, if thats easier

Tech A 2024-08-14 20:39

since the above might not work?

Tech B 2024-08-14 20:40

yes if you can change the local subnet that should fix the problem easiest

---
title: "Resolve RDP Connection Failure Due to VPN Subnet Conflict"
category: remote-access
tags: ["vpn-remote", "rdp", "subnet-conflict"]
source_thread_id: "spaces/AAAA05BdS6s/threads/hIwm_UX3iGs"
source_space: "spaces/AAAA05BdS6s"
generated_at: "2026-04-22T10:00:04"
participants: ["Tech A", "Tech B", "Tech C"]
---

# Resolve RDP Connection Failure Due to VPN Subnet Conflict

## Problem

A client attempting to connect via Microsoft Remote Desktop from a Mac to a PC at their office (192.168.1.235) through OpenVPN was receiving Error Code 0x204: "We couldn't connect to the remote PC. Make sure the PC is turned on and connected to the network, and that remote access is enabled." The VPN connection showed as active and connected, and RDP worked fine when connecting locally within the office network. The same VPN and RDP configuration worked successfully from the client's Windows PC.

Investigation revealed that the Mac's local subnet (192.168.1.x) was identical to the office network subnet (192.168.1.x), while the VPN tunnel was using subnet 192.168.113.x. This subnet conflict prevented proper routing of RDP traffic through the VPN tunnel, as the local network took priority over the VPN route.

## Resolution

1. Access the client's home router configuration interface
2. Change the local subnet from 192.168.1.x to a different subnet that doesn't conflict with the office network (e.g., 192.168.0.x or 192.168.2.x)
3. Restart the router and allow devices to obtain new IP addresses
4. Test the RDP connection through the VPN

Alternative approaches if changing the local subnet is not feasible:
- Configure the VPN client to force all traffic through the VPN tunnel (may not resolve the conflict if local routing still takes priority)
- Use a different remote access solution like LogMeIn that doesn't rely on direct IP routing

## References

- Source discussion: `spaces/AAAA05BdS6s/threads/hIwm_UX3iGs`
- Attachments: - ![image.png](../attachments/hIwm_UX3iGs.hIwm_UX3iGs/image.png) — **Screen Display — macOS Desktop with Remote Access Failure**

Generated article

draft