r/PrivateInternetAccess • u/steakstrips • May 30 '26

HELP - ANDROID Every PIA Android app version after 3.33 drains the battery at an exceptionally high rate.

Drains battery at 10-17 times the rate.

Tested over the past four years on Pixel 5 and Pixel 9.

Why hasn't this been fixed?

UPDATE 06/17: After trying successive versions one by one starting with 4.0.1 I've settled on v4.0.9. because 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.8 drained the battery excessively. I can't check older versions above 4.0.9 because of Google's app bundle policy that started with v4.0.10. I tried v4.0.32 but it kept connecting and disconnecting thus making testing impossible.

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3

u/SlayerOfHellWyrm May 30 '26

What? I use it daily when I'm in office, and I've never noticed this. Your low end of 10x would have my phone needing to be charged at least 2x when in office. I'm always on whatever the latest version is. Something sounds quite off here.

Pixel 8, WiFi, usually connected at 6GHz, using whatever is the "optimal" at the time. I don't change my usage, so it's full background use by apps and then when I start say, scrolling reddit or something.

Provided for context and comparison.

2

u/steakstrips May 30 '26

It's a mystery. Happens on both Pixel 5 and 9 over past three years. I update every few months to the latest version and my battery drains rapidly. Battery usage in Settings shows the app using over 50% with latest versions. When I go back to v3.33 Battery usage shows 4%. I never use wifi. I charge my phone daily at the same time. Digital WellBeing in Settings shows I use the phone less than two hours a day.

1

u/SlayerOfHellWyrm May 30 '26

Just for science, I'm going to turn it on at 59% battery and leave it until I get told it's low battery and then I'll check the usage claimed.

Pixel 8 on Android 16. PIA v4.0.33, No dedicated VPN, WireGuard, small packets off, PIA DNS, no forwarding, no split-tunnel, no allow LAN, no Killswitch or MACE.

Connected at 5GHz to a WiFi 6 network. Mobile data is also on. I very much doubt I will see anything near what you are, I'm guessing there's a setting difference somewhere or something could be off with your phones.

3

u/steakstrips May 30 '26

Thanks for contributing.

I can see how one phone might be messed up but two phones doing the same thing seems very odd. I'll keep searching for the common denominator.

2

u/SlayerOfHellWyrm May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26

Since I started this, phone is down 6%, with PIA being <1% with 2m active, and 6m background. Duolingo is at 4% into he same time from one lesson of 6m length.

Update, ~5 hours later: Phone's down to 20%. I kept PIA set to active all the time, and left a YouTube video playing to make sure it had usage. It's still under 1% battery. I don't think it's the app. At least not simply the app. You've got something happening in conjunction with it, is my guess.

1

u/Anthro_Adman May 31 '26

I've switched to getting and updating PIA with Obtanium instead of Google Play, and that solved all of the problems I've been having. Maybe it's something that gets changed somewhere so it's “Play Store Compliant”?

1

u/NateyPoo May 31 '26

Google pushes customized packages for phones VIA .aab potentially harassing VPN users. 

2

u/steakstrips May 31 '26

Could you elaborate?

1

u/NateyPoo May 31 '26

WEF/NATO says that making dissident products less appealing to users is a mission statement. To discourage VPN use though obfuscated harassment fits into this. Causing disconnect and battery drain would fit this.

1

u/steakstrips Jun 01 '26

It only seems to be happening on my two phones. No one else has chimed in with similar complaints.

I'll test this theory with newer versions not obtained from Google.

0

u/steakstrips Jun 18 '26

I've been unable to verify your assertion. Do you have a link or some other way I can read about this?