April 27, 2025
L2TP/IPSec Issues within Windows 10/11
I’ve been experiencing persistent issues establishing a functional L2TP/IPSec VPN connection at home. After thorough research, I discovered that modifying the Windows registry was necessary to enable proper operation.
- Open Command Prompt as Administrator:
- Press
Win + Xand selectWindows Terminal (Admin)orCommand Prompt (Admin).
- Press
- Add Registry Entries:
- Copy and paste the following commands into the Command Prompt and press
Enterafter each command:
- Copy and paste the following commands into the Command Prompt and press
PowerShell
REG ADD HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PolicyAgent /v AssumeUDPEncapsulationContextOnSendRule /t REG_DWORD /d 0x2 /f
REG ADD HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\RasMan\Parameters /v ProhibitIpSec /t REG_DWORD /d 0x0 /f
- Restart Your Computer:
- After executing the commands, restart your computer to apply the changes.
Explanation
- AssumeUDPEncapsulationContextOnSendRule:
- This registry entry allows IPSec to work in a NAT (Network Address Translation) environment. Setting it to
0x2enables IPSec to traverse NAT, which is essential for many home and small office networks.
- This registry entry allows IPSec to work in a NAT (Network Address Translation) environment. Setting it to
- ProhibitIpSec:
- This registry entry ensures that IPSec is not prohibited, allowing L2TP/IPSec VPN to function correctly.