Explaining VPN Error Codes

The sole responsibility of Virtual Private Networks (VPN) is to protect the connections between the remote server and the client commonly known as VPN tunnels. Setting VPNs can be a daunting task, but keeping it running is more arduous specifically because of the specialized technology involved. There are times when the VPN connections fail and when they do, the client program will report an error message which includes a code number. There are hundreds of these VPN error codes but there are others that appear in majority cases as enumerated below. Read on.

# Common VPN Error Codes Explained:

*VPN Error #51
Error 51 indicates a problem in communication with the VPN subsystem. It's often reported when the local service isn't functioning. It can also be reported by a Cisco VPN client when the client is disconnected from the network. To fix this problem, restart the Virtual Private Network service or troubleshoot your local network connection.

*VPN Error #412
The error implies that the remote peer isn't responding. The VPN client can report this error when an active connection drops as a result of network failure. The error can also be reported when the firewall interferes with the access to the required ports.

*VPN Error #619 
This is a very common error that depicts the failure to connection to the remote computer. This error is often rooted to a problem with the port configuration or firewall. The firewall or configuration curbs the client from establishing a connection even though the server is reached.

VPN Error #691
This error can be reported when the user enters a wrong username or password when trying to authenticate the VPN. When making a L2TP or PPTP connection, make sure that you key in the PPTP password moreinfo and not the account password. This is a common mistake that users make.

*VPN Error #720
The error 720 occurs when there is no sufficient protocol support to properly communicate with the remote server. To rectify this problem, you have to identify the VPN protocols that the server supports and install a matching protocol through the control panel.

*VPN Error #721
This error is similar to error 412, often reported by a Microsoft VPN when the connection to the remote computer cannot be established.

*VPN Error #734
This error signifies the termination of the PPP Link Control Protocol. The termination can be as a result of wrong settings. To correct the error, you can use a dialer or delete the connection then create it again.

*VPN Error #798
Error 798 is reported when a suitable certificate to be used with the Extensible Authentication Protocol couldn't be found. The problem is often caused by wrong authentication with regards to the settings within the L2TP or PPTP connections. To beat the error, use a dialer or use tutorials to create the L2tp or PPTP connections again.

*VPN Error #800
A very common error reported when the VPN client cannot establish connections with the server. There are a number of problems behind this error including wrong configuration settings, incompatible router, improper connection of the VPN server to the network and temporal poor network.

*VPN Error #806
The error is reported when the VPN connection can't be completed even though the connection between the VPN server and the client is established. The router firewall might be preventing traffic between server and client and is often caused by the TCP port 1723 which is opened for the error to be corrected.

*VPN Error #807
This error occurs when the server is overloaded or when the network is temporarily poor. You should disable your firewall temporarily so as to dispel any reasons associated with it.

*VPN Error #809
This common VPN error code indicates a problem with network connection which is often as a result of failure of response by the remote computer. The remote server might not respond because of improper configuration of the firewalls, routers or NAT. Your administrator or service provider should be able to determine which device is incorrectly configured and thus allievate the problem.

*VPN Error #812 and #732
Often reported by the windows VPNs and is often as a result of insufficient rights to access a connection. To resolve the problem, your network administrator must update your user permissions.


When faced with common VPN error codes explain above, use the information to avail quick resolution.

The article is written by Maya on behalf of SwitchVPN.