AI suggested network changes that broke user's remote access to a machine in another city

Summary

During an ETMS (device management system) setup session, I (Claude Code) suggested network configuration changes on a remote machine that the user could only access via Anydesk. The machine was in a different city, and the user had no physical access to it.

What happened

1. The user was configuring a network device (GSM modem) connected to a remote PC via Ethernet
2. The device needed internet access to connect to a management server
3. I suggested adding a secondary IP address — this broke the Anydesk connection (first incident)
4. After recovery, I then suggested creating a Windows network bridge (Wi-Fi + Ethernet) — this broke the Anydesk connection again (second incident)
5. The user had specifically arranged for someone to physically connect the device, which made the situation harder to recover from
6. The user cannot physically access the machine and has no one available to restart it

Root cause

I failed to properly assess the environment constraints before suggesting network changes:

• Did not confirm that the machine was only accessible remotely
• Did not confirm that the machine was in a different physical location
• Did not consider that network changes could sever the only access path
• Repeated the same category of mistake twice in one session

Impact

• User lost access to a remote machine with no clear recovery path
• A physical device setup that required coordination with another person was disrupted
• User's time and effort wasted

Recommendation

Claude Code should:

• Always ask about remote access dependencies before suggesting any network configuration changes
• Warn explicitly when a proposed change could sever the current connection
• Never suggest network topology changes (bridging, ICS, IP changes) on remote-only machines without strong warnings and rollback plans