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Locating and Exporting 'Network Sign-in' and VPN Settings in Windows 10 (Enterprise)

Anonymous
2019-08-20T16:20:08+00:00

Greetings,

I'm in need of assistance in locating VPN settings w/ Network Sign-in option.  Interested in deploying them through GPO but running into an issue finding the settings.

Now...  I know where the VPN settings are located IF you create the VPN through Network & Internet > VPN > 'Add a VPN Connection'.  Those settings are located at %AppData%\Microsoft\Network\Connections\Pbk  folder.  If you need a Network Sign-in option at login while your out of the office, I've always gone to Network and Sharing Center and going through the 'Set up a new connection or network' wizard.  If you go this route, the settings are NOT stored at  %AppData%\Microsoft\Network\Connections.  If I go through and create the VPN through the first option and then go back to the second option BUT choose the VPN connection settings to use, Network Sign-in shows up, but nothing changes in the file.

Also, to be clear, I realize there is an option in the GPO to deploy VPN but the settings for CISCO Meraki aren't compatible with Microsoft through GPO (Pre Shared Key) or through PowerShell script...

Any thoughts or questions are appreciated,

Dean Bennett

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Internet and connectivity

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  1. btbt 11,826 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2019-08-20T19:17:37+00:00

    You're sure the "allow other people" VPN profiles are not going into C:\ProgramData? This is a hidden folder by default after all. Considering this folder is used in what you see as VPN options, if this folder was blocked, creating computer-level VPN profiles would fail.

    So after creating a VPN profile with "allow other people.." enabled, what happens to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Network\Connections\Pbk? It's completely empty?

    Do you currently have other, working VPN profiles on the system?

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-08-20T19:34:39+00:00

    THAT is the MISS 'link'!!  MY (user) pbk folder only has _hiddenPbk right now but has a PBK that has the name and the settings for the 'Network Sign-in'!

    Makes sense just couldn't figure out where it was stored!

    User created VPN's are created and stored in AppData

    Community / Shared VPN connections are stored in the Program Data.

    Thank you Entegy for your time and sharing your knowledge!

    Mucho Cudos!  lol

    Thanks again,

    Dean Bennett

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  2. btbt 11,826 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2019-08-20T17:50:44+00:00

    I followed your instructions. Enabling "Allow other people...", which requires admin rights on the machine, made the VPN connection in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Network\Connections\Pbk.

    I also just learned that a rasphone.pbk file can hold multiple VPN profiles as my GPO mandated VPN connection was still there. Deleting my test VPN profile only modified the rasphone.pbk file, it did not delete it entirely.

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  3. btbt 11,826 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2019-08-20T16:55:28+00:00

    Sure, just tried it. I created a new VPN connection via the Network and Sharing Centre's create a new connection wizard. The resulting rasphone.pbk appeared in %AppData%\Microsoft\Network\Connections\Pbk. I also confirmed it was the one I just created by looking at the date modified on the PBK file.

    I then deleted the VPN connection from the "Change adapter settings" menu in the Network & Sharing Centre and %AppData%\Microsoft\Network\Connections\Pbk\rasphone.pbk disappeared.

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-08-20T16:42:50+00:00

    Entegy,

    Thanks for the reply.

    Interesting.  What setting under the VPN settings allows the Network Sign-in to show up?  If I go through the Network & Sharing Center Wizard for connecting to a workplace, the VPN settings do NOT show up in the PBK folder.

    Thoughts?

    If you have a moment could you go through that wizard and see if it's missing for you as well?

    Thanks for your time.

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