"Always Connected" NCSI Issue

Hi guys,

We have started to use the "Always Connected" feature in the F5 Edge Client (Win) and we've noticed quite a severe issue. Our setup is such that IE is configured to route all traffic via an internal proxy server. What we've seen is as follows:

1. User connects to a guest WiFi network (note: direct Internet access is granted, no sign in is required).
2. The F5 Edge Client detects network access and attempts to connect to the VPN.
3. A "Join Network" prompt box is shown. In the logs I can see the destination URL is http://www.msftncsi.com/ncsi.txt which is the Microsoft Network Connectivity Status Indicator. My assumption is that because we're routing all traffic via an internal proxy the URL http://www.msftncsi.com/ncsi.txt cannot be reached.
4. At this point we can see the VPN login page in the background but we cannot reach it without closing the "Join Network" window.
5. Closing the "Join Network" window forces the client into "Disconnect" mode and closes the login page in the background. At this point there is seemingly no way to get the client to revert to "Always Connected" mode without uninstalling and reinstalling.

I need to do a bit more testing on this but I suspect either disabling NCSI, which we don't really want to do, or adding the URL to the proxy bypass list will resolve the initial issue. What I'm keen to understand though is why the client behaves in this way (forcing itself into "Disconnect" mode) and whether there is a way to force it back into "Always Connected" mode without uninstalling and reinstalling.

Thanks

Peter