MiWorkspace: Troubleshoot DirectAccess Offsite

DirectAccess is a VPN solution built into the Windows operating system. The VPN will connect any time it detects it's off the campus network.

Traffic accessing campus resources will be rerouted through the VPN tunnle, traciffic to other destinations like Google or Facebook will not pass through the VPN. If you are having trouble reaching University websites or resources off site, there may be a problem with the VPN tunnle.

Perform the following steps in order to resolve the issue.

Note If you just powered on your laptop, wait a few minutes before proceeding with the steps below. It may take a few minutes for the tunnel to connect in certain circumstances.

1. Use the Local DNS Name Resolution:
   • Right click the DirectAccess icon in the system tray, and select Use Local DNS Name Resolution.
   • Navigate to the website/drive mapping or server again.
2. If  using Chrome, close and reopen a browser window.
3. If using a free wifi zone, accept the Terms of Service when connecting to the wifi spot. You'll have to visit a website outside of umich.edu for their Terms of Service page to display. The terms must be accepted before the VPN can attempt to connect.

If after performing these steps you still can't connect, something may be wrong with the configuration of DirectAccess on your laptop.

Please contact the ITS Service Center with the following information:

• What are you attempting to reach off the campus network?
• What time did you attempt to connect?
• Generate the DirectAccess Troubleshooting logs and attach them to the incident:
  1. Right click the DirectAccess Icon and select Advanced Diagnostics.
  2. After a few moments, the Generating Logs.. hyperlink will change to Open logs directory. Click Open logs directory.
  3. Zip and attach the 3 files in this folder to the incident.