{"id":27830,"date":"2026-03-04T20:08:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T18:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/docs\/configuring-and-connecting-ipsec-vpn-with-forticlient\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T17:12:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T15:12:35","password":"","slug":"configuring-and-connecting-ipsec-vpn-with-forticlient","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/en\/docs\/configuring-and-connecting-ipsec-vpn-with-forticlient\/","title":{"rendered":"Configuring and connecting IPsec VPN with Forticlient"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Prerequisites<\/h1>\n\n

Before you start, make sure you :<\/p>\n\n

    \n
  1. Have an up-to-date FortiClient<\/strong> installed on your Windows 11 PC.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Your VPN credentials<\/strong> (username and password supplied by your company).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Know the VPN server<\/strong> address (provided by your administrator).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Have the VPN configuration file available if your company provides an import file<\/strong> (optional).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

    Manual configuration of IPSec VPN<\/h1>\n\n

    Step 1: Open FortiClient<\/h3>\n\n
      \n
    1. Click on the Start<\/strong> menu.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Search for FortiClient<\/strong> and open the application.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

      Step 2: Access the VPN section<\/h3>\n\n
        \n
      1. In FortiClient, click on the 3 horizontal lines<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Click on Add a new connection<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n
        \"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n

        Step 3: Fill in VPN information<\/h3>\n\n
        Field<\/strong><\/td>Example of values<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead>
        Connection name<\/td>VPN Enterprise<\/td><\/tr>
        VPN type<\/td>IPsec VPN<\/td><\/tr>
        Server address<\/td>vpn.example.com<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
        User name<\/td>your VPN login<\/td><\/tr>
        Password<\/td>your VPN password<\/td><\/tr>
        Pre-shared key<\/td>supplied by the company<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

        ?? If some advanced fields are not provided by the company, leave the default values.<\/p>\n\n

        \"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n
        \"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n
        \"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n

        Step 4: Save configuration<\/h3>\n\n
          \n
        1. Click on Save<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        2. The VPN connection now appears in the list of available connections.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

          Step 5: Connect to the VPN<\/h3>\n\n
            \n
          1. Select your VPN connection.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          2. Click on Connect<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          3. Enter your password<\/strong> if requested. Your company may have a two-factor authentication system that you’ll need to go through. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
          4. A notification will confirm that the VPN is active.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

            Configuration by importing a VPN file<\/h1>\n\n

            Step 1: Get the configuration file<\/h3>\n\n
              \n
            • The file is usually supplied by the IT team with an extension such as .fctvpn or .xml.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n

              Step 2: Import the file<\/h3>\n\n
              \"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n
                \n
              1. In FortiClient, go to Settings<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              2. Click on Restore (in System).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
              3. Select the supplied file.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              4. Check that the connection appears in the list.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

                Step 3: Login<\/h3>\n\n
                  \n
                1. Select the imported connection.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                2. Click on Connect<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                3. Enter your password<\/strong> if necessary.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                4. The VPN connection is now active.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

                  Tips and best practices<\/h1>\n\n
                    \n
                  • Always use the latest version of FortiClient<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Never<\/strong> share your VPN password<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Disconnect from the VPN when you no longer need it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • If the VPN does not work :\n
                      \n
                    • Check your Internet connection.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Check your login details.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Contact IT support with the exact error message.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      Prerequisites Before you start, make sure you : Manual configuration of IPSec VPN Step 1: Open FortiClient Step 2: Access the VPN section Step 3: Fill in VPN information Field Example of values Connection name VPN Enterprise VPN type IPsec VPN Server address vpn.example.com User name your VPN login Password your VPN password Pre-shared key […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":30754,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"doc_category":[127],"doc_tag":[],"class_list":["post-27830","docs","type-docs","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","doc_category-vpn"],"year_month":"2026-05","word_count":304,"total_views":0,"reactions":{"happy":0,"normal":0,"sad":0},"author_info":{"name":"Support","author_nicename":"support","author_url":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/en\/author\/support\/"},"doc_category_info":[{"term_name":"VPN","term_url":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/en\/docs-category\/vpn\/"}],"doc_tag_info":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/27830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/docs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27830"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/27830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30772,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/27830\/revisions\/30772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"doc_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_category?post=27830"},{"taxonomy":"doc_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheops-technology.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_tag?post=27830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}