Why doesn't Telstra support VPN

[Cheezy2]

I recently was sent a new NBN modem by telstra as the old one was having issues. The new one was free of charge as I have only been back with Telstra a short time. With my old modem I could use a basic Cisco ipsec VPN to my office with no issues.

The new modem (which was a different model) would not allow me to communicate over the VPN tunnel which connected with no problems.

I put the old modem back and it worked fine so I reinstalled the new one and searched online for a fix. I tried port forwarding and all other suggestions I found on line but nothing worked.

I then decided to contract Telstra. The response was since the internet and my voip phone were working then nothing was wrong.

They said I was trying to do something that was not supported. I thought that this was completely ridiculous but could get nowhere with the consultant reading from a script and most likely not allowed to help.

I made more calls and was advised to buy my own modem and there was a vague assertion that Telstra would reimburse the cost of the modem.

I filed a complaint and the response to that was the same. No attempt to help was made.

I filed another complaint and the consultant suggested I call tech support. I called them and they said they would send a tech out but I may have to pay if there was no problem with the modem.

The tech visit was promptly arranged and the tech turned up with a selection of modems. First he tried the same one as the new one I was sent but that did not work. He tried a couple of other models and they all worked fine so he left me one of those.

My VPN is working fine still but what I don't understand in this day and age that Telstra does not support VPN's. They are very common things now and no one else from my office has issues with their modems.

There is no issue that I an a dumb customer who knows nothing. I worked for Telstra for 30 odd years. The last few as a data installer and data tester. I now work in IT. They just treat their customers as idiots and wonder why we hate them.

When my contract is up it will take some smooth talking by Telstra for me to stay with them. I will probably keep my mobile with them as the coverage is so good.

[ForensicsGuru]

Obviously, Telstra does support VP -you said it yourself, it works for you with another modem.

So, the problem is with bugs in modems' firmware or with various locks/blocks Telstra puts on their modems. I am running TG799vac and I am using two different VPN systems for two different companies I am consulting for. I am aware of other people having problems with various VPN systems on various models. IMHO, sometimes the problem is not only in modems, but also in the implementation by the VPN providers...