Disconnect VPN in Windows 10

How to Disconnect a VPN in Windows 10

On a Windows 10 PC you can connect to a VPN (virtual private network) for your work or personal needs. A VPN connection often helps to establish a more secure connection to the Internet, and access internal resources located somewhere else. VPNs are a popular solution when you need to connect your PCs over the Internet, or access your work documents from home.

Virtual private networks (VPNs) are point-to-point connections across a private or public network, such as the Internet. A VPN client uses special TCP/IP or UDP-based protocols, called tunneling protocols, to make a virtual call to a virtual port on a VPN server. In a typical VPN deployment, a client initiates a virtual point-to-point connection to a remote access server over the Internet. The remote access server answers the call, authenticates the caller, and transfers data between the VPN client and the organization's private network. See the following article:

How To Set Up a VPN Connection in Windows 10

This post will show you how to disconnect a VPN (virtual private network) connection in Windows 10. We will will review different methods. We will start with the Settings app, as it is the easiest method.

To Disconnect a VPN in Windows 10

1. Open Settings. E.g. press Win + I to open it quickly.
2. Navigate to Network & Internet > VPN. There is also an ms-settings command for this page, ms-settings:network-vpn.
3. On the right, select a VPN connection you want to disconnect from.
4. Click on the Disconnect button. See the screenshot below.
5. You can now close the Settings app.

Alternatively, you can use the classic Control app for the same with the Network Connections applet.

To Disconnect a VPN in Network Connections

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Go to Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center.
3. Click on the link Change adapter settings on the left.
4. Click on the connected VPN connection you want to disconnect.
5. Finally, click on the Disconnect this connection button.

Also, you can use the Remote Access Phonebook app (rasphone.exe).

Disconnect a VPN in Windows 10 using rasphone.exe

1. Press the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog.
2. Type rasphone.exe into the Run box.
3. Select the connected VPN you want to disconnect (it's named Winaero in my case).
4. Click on the Hang Up button to disconnect this VPN.
5. Click Yes to confirm, and you are done.

You can also use the command line tool rasdial to disconnect a VPN connection.

To Disconnect a VPN in the Command Prompt

1. Open a new command prompt.
2. Type the following to see the available VPN connections on your computer: PowerShell Get-VpnConnection.
3. Make note the connection name you want to disconnect. In my case it is "winaero". The Connection status column shows if it is currently connected or disconnected.
4. Type rasdial "vpn connection name" /disconnect to disconnect it. E.g. rasdial "winaero" /disconnect.
5. Alternatively, you can type rasdial -H "vpn connection name". This is similar to the above.
6. Once disconnected, you can close the command prompt.

That's it.

Related posts

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• Disable VPN Over a Metered Connection in Windows 10
• Remove VPN Connection in Windows 10
• How to Connect to VPN in Windows 10
• How To Set Up a VPN Connection in Windows 10