How to: Windows 7 incoming VPN from Android
A couple of weeks ago I tried to get my HTC Incredible S, running Gingerbread to connect via VPN to my Windows 7 box. I failed, but today I succeeded. This is how.
I created the incoming VPN on Windows 7 by following instructions I found on the web:
Open the Network and Sharing Center
Click on Change Adapter Settings
Press Alt-F, and select New Incoming Connection
Configure the incoming connection
Change the IPV4 properties to specify a DHCP range
Make sure the range you specify is on your LAN, and out of the range served by your DHCP server (you can updated your DHCP server to exclude this range).
Check the firewall
I went to Advanced Settings under Windows Firewall, clicked on Inbound Rules, clicked on the Local Port column to sort by that column, and then verified that the line for port 1723 was set up and enabled (Routing and Remote Access (PPTP-In).
Set up port forwarding
I then went to my Router configuration, and set up port forwarding, so that external connections to port 1723 were forwarded to the machine I just configured (which is always allocated the same IP address by the router):
Now my Android device can connect to my internal VPN using the default settings. You’ll need to know your external IP address. You can find it using tools like http://www.whatismyip.com/ but it may change. I have mine set up using http://www.dyndns.com/
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June 29th, 2011 - 19:43
Wouldn’t it be simpler just to use a Remote Desktop client from your Android into your Win7 machine? That’s what I use on my Epic4G and it works pretty well; only problem is that it requires IP instead of machine name so I periodically have to look that up for it to work.
July 17th, 2011 - 15:39
Great guide!
Dave, connecting to one box via RDP is definitely not the same thing as accessing an entire network via VPN.
July 26th, 2011 - 16:06
You can use a dynamic DNS service, such as dyndns.org, to automatically translate your changing public IP address to a hostname that stays the same (eg. samplename.dyndns.org). most routers have the ability to configure this service; just sign up for a free account, and enter the account info in the dynamic dns section of your router. Then you wont need to worry about checking to see if your ip address has changed.
July 26th, 2011 - 16:07
sorry, i just realized that dyndns.org is mentioned at the bottom of the article. anyway check it out, it works.
August 27th, 2011 - 19:34
This is absolutely fabulous! I’ve been searching for days trying to find out what VPN protocol to use (I didn’t know which one the Win7 built-in VPN server used), this made everything work.
I have 3 PC’s at home, all of which have files that I like to be able to reach from the ‘Net and RDP is not a viable option. This way, I can get to my stuff at home with my phone if I need to.
October 15th, 2011 - 02:32
Set up the VPN, but cannot connect on my android device. Keeps giving me wrong username/password error. Ports are forwarded. :/
January 5th, 2012 - 20:55
Hi,
Rob….you have to do exacly like in this guide. There is a known error with PPTP on Android. I had the same issue. The problem was with IP range.
Change the IPV4 properties to specify a DHCP range
Make sure the range you specify is on your LAN, and out of the range served by your DHCP server (you can updated your DHCP server to exclude this range).
Without this it would not work.
January 9th, 2012 - 02:22
Happy belated new year to all!
How EXACTLY should I do to “Make sure the range I specify is on my LAN”?,
I believe I know where to check the range served by my DHCP server though.
Thanks in advance guys
JDL
January 28th, 2012 - 16:14
@Javier DL
Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections
Double click on Incoming Connections Icon
Networking Tab / Properties of IPV4
If your router is say set to provide say 192.168.0.3 – 192.168.0.30, then you could enter 192.168.0.31 to 192.168.0.35 (or any range that does not overlap the router range and is a valid ip address.
For others..
If you are trying to connect to the VPN with a device already on the network via wifi try using your data connection instead.. I guess you would not be able to VPN onto a network that you are already on?
June 20th, 2012 - 22:44
Thank you so much for this guide. It has helped me get this working on my Galaxy S3.
June 28th, 2012 - 12:46
Hi – Thanks for the info. My problem comes after the VPN connection has been establish. Do I need another application to view my shared files on my Windows 7 computer on my Android? If this is true can you suggest one from the Google On Line Software Library
November 21st, 2012 - 04:51
everything is perfect, connected. now, how to view files??
January 18th, 2013 - 07:27
I was able to setup the incoming connection on my windows 7 computer, now i have an android device, i started setting up the VPN, first it asked for the name so i entered a name of my choice, then it asked for a server address so i entered the Local IP Address of my computer, then it asked for username and a password but i am wondering where i can find it. And yes I had setup the port forwarding for VPN-PPTP on the router as per the guide above. Someone please help!