Windows and MacBook Pro Setup Combines Local Network Access with Dual VPNs and Kill Switch Protection
A home user received an older MacBook Pro A2141 and decided to integrate it into an existing Windows workstation rather than dedicating it to a single role. The Windows machine (i5-13400F, RTX 3060, Ethernet at 192.168.1.64) runs Amnezia VLESS, while the MacBook (i9, 64 GB RAM, Wi-Fi at 192.168.1.67) uses AmneziaWG. Both devices connect through an MGTS router on the 192.168.1.0/24 network.
The goal was to allow daytime use by another person under a separate macOS account while enabling the owner to run scripts, tests, and compute tasks on the MacBook when it is free. All traffic on both systems must remain protected by VPN with Kill Switch enabled, yet local file access and remote management must continue to function.
Initial attempts to run both VPN clients simultaneously caused the Windows machine to lose visibility of the local network and even the router itself. Investigation showed that the Soft Kill Switch in Amnezia 5.1.0.6 forced all traffic, including local packets, through the VPN interface. Disabling the Kill Switch temporarily restored connectivity, confirming the root cause.
The solution involved configuring split tunneling on Windows in “Direct” mode with an explicit exception for the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet. After re-enabling both the VLESS connection and Kill Switch, Test-NetConnection confirmed that SMB traffic to the MacBook now correctly used the Ethernet interface. The shared folder Shared_Work became accessible again from Windows Explorer.
A second macOS account named “servacok” was created for dedicated server-style workloads. While the original shared folder remained reachable via SMB, attempts to access a new folder under the secondary account failed due to cached Windows credentials for the first account. Rather than troubleshoot SMB further, the user switched to SSH and SFTP for the “servacok” account.
SSH login from Windows PowerShell succeeded immediately, and SFTP transfers of a 30 MB test file completed at approximately 56 MB/s. Files could be placed directly into the Serverok user’s home directory without relying on SMB shares. Both VPN connections and their Kill Switches remained active throughout testing.
The final configuration demonstrates that local network access and strong VPN protection can coexist when routing rules are applied correctly and alternative remote-access protocols are used for secondary accounts.
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