Office 365 cloud features do not work when using a privacy VPN

Anonymous
2016-07-27T20:31:21+00:00

When I have a privacy VPN active (such as Private Internet Access - PIA) I can't access the cloud features on Office 365 (such as online templates, OneNote sync to the cloud, Excel or Word saving to OneDrive directly, etc). I have tried 3 different VPN solutions: PIA, NordVPN and VPNArea and they all exhibit the same issue. Is there a way to solve this or to tell Office to bypass the VPN?

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-07-28T03:15:41+00:00

    Hi EddieMN,

    To better understand the situation, I’d like to confirm the following things:

    1. Is there proxy or firewall in your environment? If the issue is related to the computers in your office, do other users’ computers with the same connection encounter the same issue? Please check if the related IP addresses are included in your outbound allow lists. To learn more, see Office 365 URLs and IP address ranges.

    Note: In your office, you may contact IT to check the list.

    1. Can you sign into Office 365 portal to use other Office 365 services? Please share with us more details for “Office 365 cloud features do not work” (e.g. some screenshots for the issues or error messages)?
    2. Disable the VPN connection in your office, check if Office 365 cloud features work well with normal connection.
    3. Open Excel>File>Account>capture a screenshot of Product Information.
    4. By "Saving to OneDrive", do you mean consumer OneDrive or OneDrive for Business?  

    Moreover, I have sent you a private message to confirm some information. You may find the message via the URLhttps://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/privatemessages/list.

    Best regards,

    Tim

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-07-30T09:14:24+00:00

    Hi EddieMN,

    Are there any updates? Do the Office 365 cloud services work well now?

    Regards,

    Tim

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-12T14:08:16+00:00

    Tim,

       Sorry about the delay, I've been quite busy. Answers to your questions below:

    1. No, other users do not use personal VPNs to my knowledge, so they have no issues. Sorry if I wasn't completely clear in my original post, the issue only happens when I have the personal VPN active, if I turn it off all features work normally. Also, the issue happens both at the office and at home.
    2. I can log on to the portal, I can connect to Exchange, looks like OneNote can sync notes and the OneDrive app works. A consistent example of something that doesn't work is when I try to search for templates or clip art online from one of the programs. Here are some screenshots:

    PowerPoint Online picture search with VPN off:

    ![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/da742187-2939-4dd2-a081-96e2ab594ecd?platform=QnA)PowerPoint Online picture search with VPN on:

    Publisher template search with VPN off:

    ![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/efca90fc-f88d-4896-8e39-f1c01b3a7ff0?platform=QnA)Publisher template search with VPN on:

    ![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/a42a44ea-c367-403d-840d-dd511d8ed97d?platform=QnA)3. As I mentioned before is not the "office" VPN, but a personal privacy VPN.

    4. ![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/52a3ac57-6f01-425a-a527-9dbf8f07bfa2?platform=QnA)5. OneDrive for Business I assume since it is the account with my Office 365 work subscription... Here's what happens when I click on Save As and select the "OneDrive - [My company name]" option (instead of a regular folder):

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-16T15:57:40+00:00

    Hi Eddie,

    It seems some ports are blocked when you use the VPN connection.

    Regarding the situation, we suggest you confirm the scenario with your VPN provider, and let know if you need further assistance.

    Regards,

    Jiaxing Bian

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  5. Anonymous
    2017-08-29T10:01:22+00:00

    I have the same problem. There are no ports in my VPN. This is a One Drive problem, gentlemen. In fact, as I type this reply I am connected to the VPN and One Drive is telling me it is "processing changes (15 min now) and that it will upload when a connection is established.

    I can do all my Microsofty-stuff ... except One Drive. Never had this problem with Dropbox, Box, or Google Drive.

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    6 people found this answer helpful.
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