[GH-ISSUE #4552] Unable to connect from Windows to other peers #9708

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opened 2026-08-05 01:23:09 -04:00 by saavagebueno · 3 comments
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Originally created by @MMaiero on GitHub (Sep 27, 2025).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/4552

Describe the problem

I have a new Windows PC that I want to add to an existing deployment with about 10 devices mixed between iOS, Mac and Linux.

The device is connected and visible from both the Netbird console and the other devices, also from windows everything seems fine apart the fact that I am not able to ping other devices in the net bird network. All the devices are presented as Idle from the windows point of view.
Those devices become reachable only if one of those pings the windows device. At that point the connection is established and works bidirectional.

Things have started working without issues for the windows device when, from the Netbird console, I have disabled the "Enable Lazy connections" that I have previously enabled and had no issues for the other devices.
After this change and restart of the windows client all the devices are reported from the netbird status -d as connected and also ping succeeds without problem as well as complete reachability of exposed services.

All the devices are running the latest version for their OS (vast majority 0.58.2)

To Reproduce

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

  1. Go to net bird console and enable Lazy Connection
  2. All the existing devices are up to date with that flag and working as expected
  3. Install Netbird on a windows 11 device and connect
  4. Try to ping one of the other peers. DNS resolution will happen correctly, but ping fails

Expected behavior

The device is able to ping the other devices in the network without the need to wait for one of them to ping the windows device to set the client to client connection

Are you using NetBird Cloud?

Yes

NetBird version

0.58.2

Is any other VPN software installed?

Yes in some of the other devices (Tailscale), no other VPN in the windows device

Debug output

N/A

Screenshots

N/A

Additional context

Add any other context about the problem here.

Have you tried these troubleshooting steps?

  • Reviewed client troubleshooting (if applicable)
  • Checked for newer NetBird versions
  • Searched for similar issues on GitHub (including closed ones)
  • Restarted the NetBird client
  • Disabled other VPN software
  • Checked firewall settings
Originally created by @MMaiero on GitHub (Sep 27, 2025). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/4552 **Describe the problem** I have a new Windows PC that I want to add to an existing deployment with about 10 devices mixed between iOS, Mac and Linux. The device is connected and visible from both the Netbird console and the other devices, also from windows everything seems fine apart the fact that I am not able to ping other devices in the net bird network. All the devices are presented as Idle from the windows point of view. Those devices become reachable only if one of those pings the windows device. At that point the connection is established and works bidirectional. Things have started working without issues for the windows device when, from the Netbird console, I have disabled the "Enable Lazy connections" that I have previously enabled and had no issues for the other devices. After this change and restart of the windows client all the devices are reported from the netbird status -d as connected and also ping succeeds without problem as well as complete reachability of exposed services. All the devices are running the latest version for their OS (vast majority 0.58.2) **To Reproduce** Steps to reproduce the behavior: 1. Go to net bird console and enable Lazy Connection 2. All the existing devices are up to date with that flag and working as expected 3. Install Netbird on a windows 11 device and connect 4. Try to ping one of the other peers. DNS resolution will happen correctly, but ping fails **Expected behavior** The device is able to ping the other devices in the network without the need to wait for one of them to ping the windows device to set the client to client connection **Are you using NetBird Cloud?** Yes **NetBird version** `0.58.2` **Is any other VPN software installed?** Yes in some of the other devices (Tailscale), no other VPN in the windows device **Debug output** N/A **Screenshots** N/A **Additional context** Add any other context about the problem here. **Have you tried these troubleshooting steps?** - [x] Reviewed [client troubleshooting](https://docs.netbird.io/how-to/troubleshooting-client) (if applicable) - [x] Checked for newer NetBird versions - [x] Searched for similar issues on GitHub (including closed ones) - [x] Restarted the NetBird client - [x] Disabled other VPN software - [x] Checked firewall settings
saavagebueno added the triage-needed label 2026-08-05 01:23:09 -04:00
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@bc547 commented on GitHub (Sep 28, 2025):

I seem to be experiencing the same issue. My Windows 11 PC does not initiate connections to other peers when attempting to ping them. However, other peers can initiate a connection to the Windows 11 PC, and once the connection is established, the Windows PC can also successfully ping the other peer.

Only after disabling Lazy Connections on both the Windows PC and my self-hosted dashboard server (under Settings → Client → Enable Lazy Connections) everything started working correctly.

Tested with client versions 0.58.2 and 0.58.0 (after downgrading) and both have the same problem.
Finally downgraded to version 0.57.0 and this version works fine with Lazy Connections enabled (I did not try other versions)

<!-- gh-comment-id:3343574508 --> @bc547 commented on GitHub (Sep 28, 2025): I seem to be experiencing the same issue. My Windows 11 PC does not initiate connections to other peers when attempting to ping them. However, other peers can initiate a connection to the Windows 11 PC, and once the connection is established, the Windows PC can also successfully ping the other peer. Only after disabling Lazy Connections on both the Windows PC and my self-hosted dashboard server (under Settings → Client → Enable Lazy Connections) everything started working correctly. Tested with client versions 0.58.2 and 0.58.0 (after downgrading) and both have the same problem. Finally downgraded to version 0.57.0 and this version works fine with Lazy Connections enabled (I did not try other versions)
Author
Owner

@zanderson-aim commented on GitHub (Sep 29, 2025):

Yep confirming the same issue here. Windows 11 Pro 24H2. Downgrading to 0.57.0 fixes the issue.

No issues on my Linux Peers, if that helps.

<!-- gh-comment-id:3348099910 --> @zanderson-aim commented on GitHub (Sep 29, 2025): Yep confirming the same issue here. Windows 11 Pro 24H2. Downgrading to 0.57.0 fixes the issue. No issues on my Linux Peers, if that helps.
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Owner

@sunstarjeff commented on GitHub (Sep 29, 2025):

This appears to be the same issue as https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/4526, which is not yet been resolved.

<!-- gh-comment-id:3348840637 --> @sunstarjeff commented on GitHub (Sep 29, 2025): This appears to be the same issue as https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/4526, which is not yet been resolved.
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Reference: DYNR/netbird#9708