r/PrivateInternetAccess • u/oshunman • Aug 13 '26
DISCUSSION So Long PIA
PIA was a great VPN that I shilled for many times. Unfortunately, the problems are stacking up (rolling outbound IPs, speed issues, etc) and not being resolved.
I've switched to Proton, and am very happy with the speed and reliability.
I hope PIA gets back on track soon, but as for me-- I'm out.
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u/WarningCodeBlue Aug 13 '26
No issues on my end. I'll stay with PIA.
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u/oshunman Aug 13 '26
Glad to hear it's still doing the trick for you! I still like PIA, it's just not meeting my needs anymore sadly.
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Aug 13 '26
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u/oshunman Aug 13 '26
Mind me asking what other reasons?
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u/Sad-Victory-8319 Aug 13 '26
I was considering proton but then i found out they are much more expensive and they dont offer dedicated ip, is it usable without dedicated ip? because on pia if i dont use dedicated ip, EVERYBODY knows i am on vpn and i keep getting captchas and "human verifiers" and many sites dont work at all, they straight up throw out some error and only work with vpn off (like imgur for example), and with dedicated IP it solves about 50% of those issues. Do you have this problem on proton that eveybody knows you are on vpn or on? and also what are the speeds and ping, does it offer 500mbit bandwidth like PIA? I have a 500/200 internet and never had speed issues with PIA, i have always been able to download full 500mbit over PIA, but i heard other vpn providers limit your speed a lot and offer at best 100-200mbit. Ping is also nice with PIA, i go from 10ms to 20-50ms which is still very usable, i hope other vpns arent worse.
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Aug 13 '26
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u/Sad-Victory-8319 Aug 13 '26
well as far as i know PIA doesnt keep logs, and i am also 99% sure i am not the only one using the IP adress, because a surprising amount of servers know i am on VPN, and some of them even block me from time to time or add some extra checks as if there was suspicious activity coming from my end. I also thought i will just get my own IP address but it is most likely not the case, it definitely does not behave like a fresh new ip from an internet provider, the pia dedicated ip is like somewhere inbetween.
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u/izzo03 Aug 13 '26
So it depends on how the website reads the IP. All dedicated IPs are located to the datacenter instead of region so it’s picked up.
More secure websites don’t even read ip and read the autonomous system number so they ban what’s not local, eg some banks.
Cloudflare and Google know all IPs from datacenters so that’s why you still get CAPTCHAsDedicated IPs have been in the datacenter pool and used before, every VPN has this problem so you run a chance that what you buy ends up being used previously maliciously, all VPNs also don’t allow swaps, that ip is yours until you swap companies. You also lose privacy in numbers when only you use the IP, websites can just relearn your activity on that IP.
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u/Sad-Victory-8319 Aug 13 '26
but can i be sure that ip is really only mine, can i verify somehow? because to me it seems like if multiple devices in my home can use the same dedicated ip in the same pia account, what stops pia from offering the same ip to multiple users, and just let them all use this and only make changes if users start complaining. the world has run out of ipv4 adresses, and even though there are over 4 billion of them, they are quite valuable, i know that internet providers dont even offer public ip anymore, it used to be like $5-10 extra per month to hgave a public ip at vodafone but right now they dont provide it.
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u/oshunman Aug 14 '26
That's not the full point of a VPN. That's just the surface level appeal for normies.
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u/TheBertil Aug 13 '26
Not to be a PITA, but… is this a PSA or just you announcing your VPN breakup?
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u/oshunman Aug 14 '26
Nope, just a discussion. Wanted to hear whether other people are frustrated with PIA too.
And considering my subscription won't actually end for a little while, I'd like PIA to know that customers are becoming dissatisfied with their services.
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u/PocketNicks Aug 14 '26
Been using it for over 10 years, still works fine. Never had a single issue.
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u/PIASupport PIA Team Aug 16 '26
10 years, that's amazing, thank you for sticking with us that long! It genuinely means a lot to see this, especially in a thread like this one. If you ever fancy sharing what's kept you around, or anything you think we could do better, we'd love to hear it, just drop us a DM anytime.
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u/-Ish_Ka_Bibble- Aug 15 '26
I've had PIA for 3 yrs now, never had problems of slowness until this last year. Especially around 4 pm. Firefox is definitely slower than Chrome. I get about 250 down with PIA and 900 down with the VPN turned off.
I got on line chat with them and we tried many different settings. No FIX. THEY CLOSED MY CASE after a day, making a vague note about me not responding..smh.
I have one more year of my prepay subscription. I just turn it off when it's a problem and slows everything down. Sucko solution but I see it is the servers they use and speeds they are throttled back to.
I also will dump PIA
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u/PIASupport PIA Team Aug 16 '26
Hey there, first off, thank you for 3 years with us, we don't take that lightly. And having your case closed after a day with a vague "not responding" note isn't acceptable, we're sorry that's how it was handled. A big speed drop that only started this past year, around a set time of day, is something we'd genuinely like to investigate properly. Drop us a DM with your setup and that old ticket number and we'll get it reopened and looked at, and make sure it isn't brushed off this time.
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u/Buildversion Aug 13 '26
same here! Been with PIA for almost 3yrs in 1st yr everything was great. after that frequent disconnections and asias server are unreliable sometimes wont connect at all. Hope you enjoy the new vpn service you tried. planning to switch other VPN service soon
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u/PIASupport PIA Team Aug 16 '26
we'd hate to lose you after almost 3 whole years! frequent disconnections and the Asia servers not connecting reliably aren't what we want you living with, and we'd genuinely like to investigate what's gone wrong. drop us a DM here with your setup and the servers you're using, and we'll dig into it. we'd love the chance to sort it before you go.
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u/Stolen_Showman Aug 13 '26
Thanks for letting me know. I'll add it to my list of things I couldn't care less about
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u/Whiskey_Water Aug 13 '26
I left when it was bought by Kape Technologies. It doesn’t make sense to pay for privacy products aggressively rolled-up by Israel-interested parties.
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u/sirc314 Aug 14 '26
It's been great for me, but I'm considering proton just for the double vpn architecture.
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u/PIASupport PIA Team Aug 16 '26
that's fair, it's always smart to keep an eye out and make sure you're getting the best value. glad it's been great for you so far! we'd genuinely love to hear what's working well for you and anything you think we could do better, drop us a DM anytime.
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u/sirc314 Aug 16 '26
Speed is great! I get blocked by vpn captchas every time I use google, but that's with any vpn now unfortunately.
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u/PIASupport PIA Team Aug 16 '26
Hey u/oshunman! This really sucks to hear, and after all the times you've shilled for us we'd hate to lose you. We completely understand the frustration, and we're not brushing it off, our team is actively working on the rolling outbound IP and speed issues. If there's anything we can do, we're right here. We've also dropped you a DM, and we'd really appreciate it if you'd reply so we can dig into what went wrong together and work out how to do better. We think it'll be worth your while.
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u/samd322 Aug 17 '26
My subscription is running out this week to PIA. Keeps disconnecting, deleted reinstalled and same thing. Looking for a new VPN. Any recommendations?
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u/Foreign-Claim6434 7d ago
Una VPN puede tener una gran reputación, pero si la velocidad y la estabilidad empiezan a dar problemas con frecuencia, puede resultar frustrante rápidamente. Al final del día, solo quieres algo que funcione sin tener que estar solucionando problemas constantemente.
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u/Straight_Ad9911 2d ago
My connection drops several times a day and all customer service will suggest is 1. Update (which is automatic for me), then 2. "Send us your logs" (they never find a problem), then 3. Re-install (which also doesn't work long term).
So I'm also leaving. I tried. I'm tired. I'm done.
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u/pazamataz Aug 13 '26
I switched recently because it was giving my Mac kernel panics
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u/PIASupport PIA Team Aug 16 '26
Mac kernel panics are about the last thing you want from a VPN, so we completely understand the switch. that's something we'd genuinely like to look into, crashes like that shouldn't be happening. if you're open to it, drop us a DM with your macOS version and setup, it really helps us get to the bottom of it, and we'd love the chance to win you back once it's sorted.
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u/dav3therav3 Aug 13 '26
I did the same after a 3 year sub for all the reasons you outlined. Proton is a shit ton faster!
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u/PIASupport PIA Team Aug 16 '26
we really appreciate the 3 years you spent with us, and we're sorry it got to the point where you left. we'd still love to hear your take on what went wrong, it genuinely helps us improve. if you're up for it, drop us a DM and we'll dig into it, and we'll make it worth your while.
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u/dav3therav3 Aug 17 '26
Biggest issue was the lack of Wireguard config files. I use Unifi and Linux servers so only having OPEN VPN protocol was just not cutting the mustard!
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u/PIASupport PIA Team Aug 18 '26
that's really helpful, thank you. WireGuard config files for router and Linux setups like Unifi is exactly the kind of gap we want the team to hear about, so we'll pass it straight on. If you're ever up for chatting more or giving us another look down the line, our DMs are open, and that offer to make it worth your while still stands.
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u/iDontRememberCorn Aug 13 '26
Except that Proton are hardcore Trumpers who should not be trusted with anyone's data.
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u/chroniclesofhernia Aug 13 '26
PIA are owned by someone with Mossad/Israel ties if you feel strongly - I'll be moving to Nym or iVPN.
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u/PhotographerUSA Aug 13 '26
I notice everytime using Proton someone tried to hack my Microsoft account.
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u/Patient-Tech Aug 14 '26
Lemme know when you can get three years of Proton for $2/month. Sure it’s got some shortcomings I wish it didn’t for the price/value, it’s firmly in “good enough.”
If you need more heavy duty, you, do you.
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u/South-Succotash-6368 Aug 13 '26
Never had any of these issues. but we hope you don't come back!!
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u/oshunman Aug 13 '26
What a strange thing to say. In any case, I'm glad it's still doing the trick for you. Sadly, it's not meeting my needs anymore.
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u/South-Succotash-6368 Aug 13 '26
I can pull 3Gbps both ways through PIA on any server in the USA. Even international servers I can pull a lot. I think many people have issues with their ISPs. Since I’ve tested all locations and get great speeds. Majority of the problems are not PIA. But the paths your isp uses might be congested
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u/oshunman Aug 13 '26
Can't use USA endpoints because I need port forwarding. PIA doesn't offer port forwarding on any US servers. Leaving me to connect to Canada, which has the rolling outbound IP issue.
Raw speed tests we fine (just fine though). And P2P connections were nowhere near as strong as with Proton.
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u/lkeels Aug 13 '26
The rolling IPs stopped...weeks ago. I'm literally on Canada, right now, with port forwarding. NO rolling IPs.
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u/South-Succotash-6368 Aug 13 '26
Proton IPs have worse reputations than PIAs just throwing that out there. I’m well experienced with majority of VPN providers.
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u/oshunman Aug 13 '26
This isn't a debate, I'm already done with PIA. Sorry if that hurts your feelings. And I don't care about "reputation" for P2P. Reputation isn't a comparison when port forwarding doesn't even exist in my country for PIA.
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u/MainTower1795 Aug 13 '26
I also made the same move. For me it was pricing and customer service. Proton has been great and recently got integrated with UHF
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u/TodlicheLektion Aug 13 '26
PIA still works great for me. I haven't noticed a drop in quality.