Screen sharing clashes with VPN?

[Paul Muller]

While connected through VPN screen sharing fails with "We can't connect you to the presentation" (macOS, Viscosity/OpenVPN).

I'm not seeing any errors in the Console from Skype for Business. I've experienced this for weeks and months but only just now figured out that it's caused by a VPN connection.

I'm on Office Insider Fast for Skype for Business and thus running 16.3.241.

Side note: I don't need VPN to access the "Skype server" but I have it on for other connections to my employer.

[#2]

Hi Paul.  Can you please update to the new insider fast build 16.4.203 and report the issue?  Then we can get the log files to see what's happening.

Thanks,

Kam

[#3]

I'm on 16.4.203 now. Where are those log files stored? Is there a way to maybe increase the log level beforehand to provide more insight?

[#4]

Hi Paul.  You can find the log files here:

~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.SkypeForBusiness/Data/Library/Logs/com.microsoft.SkypeForBusiness

You can report the issue via Help/Report an issue... too.

[#5]

Yesterday for the first time in months it worked even with VPN on. However, I wasn't able to reproduce my luck today. So, I'm no longer so sure if VPN really is the decisive factor. Anyway, here all the RDP related errors from the log file:

07:26:34.364 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION encwin32dskp.cpp:187 Curtain mode not available hr[0x80040154]
07:26:34.372 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION RdpGfxEncoder.cpp:269 Provider is not a hybrid provider hr[0x80004002]
07:26:34.389 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION monconfig.cpp:359 Monitor config 0 left 0, top 0, right 2559, bottom 1599, scaling 2.000000
07:26:49.906 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION CAppSharingSharerChannel.cpp:348 Close hr Code:0
07:26:49.906 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION CAppSharingSharerChannel.cpp:343 Has been disconnected
07:26:49.910 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION TsSystemPalMac.cpp:2194 HRESULT PAL_System_ThreadFree(HANDLE): Invalid Condition Handle
07:26:49.910 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION thread.cpp:395 Failed to free thread hr[0x80004005]
07:26:50.004 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION CAppSharingSharerChannel.cpp:343 Has been disconnected
07:29:10.496 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION encwin32dskp.cpp:187 Curtain mode not available hr[0x80040154]
07:29:10.497 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION RdpGfxEncoder.cpp:269 Provider is not a hybrid provider hr[0x80004002]
07:29:10.507 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION monconfig.cpp:359 Monitor config 0 left 0, top 0, right 2559, bottom 1599, scaling 2.000000
07:29:21.760 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION CAppSharingSharerChannel.cpp:348 Close hr Code:0
07:29:21.760 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION CAppSharingSharerChannel.cpp:343 Has been disconnected
07:29:21.763 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION TsSystemPalMac.cpp:2194 HRESULT PAL_System_ThreadFree(HANDLE): Invalid Condition Handle
07:29:21.763 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION thread.cpp:395 Failed to free thread hr[0x80004005]
07:29:21.855 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION CAppSharingSharerChannel.cpp:343 Has been disconnected
07:37:53.354 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION rdpencviewctrl.cpp:278 The client is already disconnected!
07:37:53.354 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION CAppSharingViewerChannel.cpp:338 Disconnect hr Code:1
07:37:53.354 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION CAppSharingViewerChannel.cpp:327 Has been disconnected
07:37:53.355 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION TsSystemPalMac.cpp:2194 HRESULT PAL_System_ThreadFree(HANDLE): Invalid Condition Handle
07:37:53.355 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION thread.cpp:395 Failed to free thread hr[0x80004005]
07:37:53.355 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION TsSystemPalMac.cpp:2194 HRESULT PAL_System_ThreadFree(HANDLE): Invalid Condition Handle
07:37:53.355 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION thread.cpp:395 Failed to free thread hr[0x80004005]
07:37:53.452 00007fff95fba3c0 ERROR RDPINTEGRATION CAppSharingViewerChannel.cpp:327 Has been disconnected

[#6]

Hi Paul.  The snippet does not have enough information.  A few questions:

1.  Does the desktop sharing work without VPN?  In configurations where the edge server is enabled externally, desktop sharing will work with VPN.

2.  If you experienced the desktop sharing does not without VPN, is it 100% failure?

3.  Do you have other clients such as SFB Windows or Lync Mac to try with the VPN connection?

We have tested with different VPN.  We don't have the specific VPN that you have.

[#7]

@Kam Foo Aw I realize this is an old thread.

I've been having this issue with my company's VPN for a while. I seem to be the only one in the company, only with my Mac and only over VPN. Others with a Mac and even myself with a plain setup Mac (with VPN) do not have this problem. 

I suspect a conflict with a kernel extension, something specific to my configuration. 

I have to stop VPN to join a meeting with screensharing. In that case all of our Intranet and email are not accessible to me.

Even weirder: sometimes it just works, even through VPN, even connecting to a recurring meeting that otherwise doesn't work with screen sharing. It seems random but doesn't work much more often than it does.

[#8]

Skype for Business meetings should work through a VPN. Without having detailed logs and information, I can't say what could be going wrong. Please work with your organization's helpdesk to engage with Microsoft support to help resolve this.

Phil.