Forum Discussion
Baileily
Sep 02, 2026Tin Contributor
Why does a VPN connection change how Windows discovers devices on the local network?
When I connect to a VPN on my Windows PC, I can no longer see other computers or network devices like printers and media servers that are normally visible on my local home network. I suspect the VPN ...
Weiona
Sep 04, 2026Tin Contributor
By default, the VPN sets itself as the "default gateway" for all your internet traffic. This means when you try to reach a device on your home network (like a printer), your computer looks at its routing table and sends that request through the VPN tunnel, instead of directly to your local router. The request never reaches your local devices.