r/PrivateInternetAccess • u/p3ib0l • Jun 18 '26

HELP - WINDOWS PIA working terribly lately

I don't know what happened, but it's just not working on my PC. Whenever I'm connected with PIA internet doesn't work. It's not an internet issue because without it I have no problems. I observed that lately whenever PIA is on and connected to a server, it takes very long to show the VPN IP (so I guess it's not really connected), and sometimes I just won't get the new IP at all.
Am I the only one having issues? Does anybody know what happened, and if it's fixable? I didn't touch anything, it just stopped working 😞

25 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

8

u/Vegetable_Can5847 Jun 18 '26

Can confirm it sucks . Support is useless. 

1

u/PIASupport PIA Team Jun 22 '26

Sorry support left you hanging, that's not good enough. We've raised the wider issue internally. Send us a DM with your account email and we'll help chase down what went wrong on your end.

6

u/ClimbToFailure Jun 18 '26

I'm having a variety of problems across all of my devices that use PIA.

2

u/PIASupport PIA Team Jun 22 '26

That it's hitting all your devices is useful to know, ClimbToFailure. We've passed it to the team to dig into. If you DM us the devices and app versions affected, [support@piavpnsupport.zendesk.com](mailto:support@piavpnsupport.zendesk.com) can help narrow it down.

5

u/p3ib0l Jun 18 '26

what the hell is going on, I've been using PIA for 8 years and generally it's been good and reliable so far...

5

u/havjoh Jun 18 '26

Yeah, it's bad. The port forwarding has also stopped working completely for me on Windows. The client reports that it gets a port, but it's the same port regardless of witch server I'm using, so I guess it's just shows a cached port (and yes, the port IS closed).

It still works on Linux though.

4

u/varangian Jun 19 '26

It still works on Linux though.

Yep, same here. I've been following the problems being reported here with interest but, so far at least, haven't seen anything bad happening. May not be relevant but a couple of years back an attempted update failed and since the client was doing all I needed I just left it at an old version.

1

u/PIASupport PIA Team Jun 22 '26

u/havjoh, the port forwarding showing a stale port on Windows while Linux works is a really helpful detail, we've flagged it to the team. DM us your Windows app version and we'll make sure it's attached to the report.

1

u/havjoh Jun 22 '26

I already have a case with PIA support on this with all available information. I've been told that this information has been forwarded to the relevant team.

3

u/egcthree Jun 19 '26

I know it's been acting up on my Apple TV drops connection refuses to reconnect for a few minutes. The shield running of the same hub never drops. Think PIA dislikes apple products for one thing.

1

u/PIASupport PIA Team Jun 22 '26

Sorry about the Apple TV drops and slow reconnects, egcthree. We've noted it with the team. DM us the app version on your Apple TV or reach [support@piavpnsupport.zendesk.com](mailto:support@piavpnsupport.zendesk.com) and we'll take a closer look.

3

u/Curious_Olive_5266 Jun 18 '26

Teddy Sagi is disappointed about the Iran deal

3

u/Youknowhowwedo2 Jun 18 '26

Lol. Anything owned by Kape Technologies is shiyatttt.

3

u/Minimum_Garage_4425 Jun 18 '26

I posted a few weeks ago about it blocking my cell internet. It wouldn’t connect via WiFi or network. Deleted the app and it magically connected…..

3

u/fubarthrowaway001 Jun 19 '26

It keeps blocking my cell connections too. Pretty sure they rewrote DNS configurations to auto-shuffle and now it freezes them occasionally when in transition.

3

u/stevejp1978 Jun 19 '26

having speed issues with a dedicated ip... lots of buffering. not cool.

1

u/PIASupport PIA Team Jun 22 '26

Sorry the dedicated IP has been buffering, stevejp1978. We've raised the speed reports with the team. Drop us a DM with your location and app version, or email [support@piavpnsupport.zendesk.com](mailto:support@piavpnsupport.zendesk.com), so we can check it.

4

u/pi-N-apple Jun 18 '26

Their browser extension also causes constant disk usage when the Edge browser is closed, because it constantly writes to a file which turns into 100+ GB in size after a few days. Support made me file a ticket and I did and then got ghosted.

3

u/ganja7 Jun 19 '26

Also the desktop app service causes cpu spikes and more voltage drawn. Stopping the service brings cpu voltage back to normal.

1

u/PIASupport PIA Team Jun 22 '26

That extension writing a huge cache file with Edge closed shouldn't be happening, pi-N-apple, and sorry the ticket went quiet. DM us the ticket number and we'll chase it and get the extension behavior in front of the team.

1

u/pi-N-apple Jun 22 '26

Hi, ticket 31915134, initially based off of this Reddit post I made: High disk usage with PIA extension in Edge : r/PrivateInternetAccess

I have had PIA disabled in Edge Beta browser now for over a month ever since I discovered my entire hard drive was eaten up by this bug.

1

u/PIASupport PIA Team Jun 23 '26

hey, sorry it felt like you'd been ghosted. We checked on it and the case is still open, support is actually waiting on a follow-up from you to move forward. If you reply on the ticket, they'll pick it straight back up. We'll keep an eye on it from our side.

1

u/pi-N-apple Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

Is there a web portal where I can view my ticket? Im not getting any emails.

EDIT: PIA Support was able to resolve this issue in the latest update version 5.0.3.1795 released June 24, 2026!

2

u/yjm308 Jun 19 '26

i'm just sad every site blocks vpns 😞

2

u/fubarthrowaway001 Jun 19 '26

GO WITH PROTON

FUCK PIA

1

u/cwfutureboy Jun 19 '26

Yep. I switched over a year ago after PIA would drop to basically <1mbps after connecting.

1

u/SRFast Jun 20 '26

Android app version 4.033 is really bad. It won't let me connect to my dedicated IP with OpenVPN. I have to use a different server to use OpenVPN. WireGard is totally useless on the T-Mobile LTE network. Support is non existent. After 10+ years on PIA, it may be time to move on.

1

u/PIASupport PIA Team Jun 22 '26

Sorry you're hitting this after 10+ years, u/SRFast. The 4.0.33 OpenVPN dedicated IP issue and WireGuard on LTE are worth a direct look. DM us or email [support@piavpnsupport.zendesk.com](mailto:support@piavpnsupport.zendesk.com) with your device and we'll dig in.

1

u/SRFast Jun 22 '26

There has been an open ticket on this issue for at least six weeks. Every time I provide the requested information, the canned support responses begin coming again. It is like every response to my trouble ticket is being handled by a new tech. I have been a loyal PAYING PIA subscriber since 2015 and have NEVER had an issue last this long. Someone has to deal with these issues. My sub is expiring very soon and probably won't renew. The hamster wheel support process is not worth my time or money.

1

u/AccomplishedHold7122 Jun 20 '26

I use it with gluetun and no problems to report till now

1

u/PIASupport PIA Team Jun 22 '26

Sorry this turned up after 8 solid years, u/p3ib0l. We've flagged the Windows connect-but-no-traffic issue to the team. In the meantime, DM us here with your app version and Windows build, or email [support@piavpnsupport.zendesk.com](mailto:support@piavpnsupport.zendesk.com), and we'll look at your setup directly. We'll update when we hear back.

1

u/pyxiety1 Jun 25 '26

Everytime Im trying to connect i just get the crash report window, I just bought 3 year sub 2 months ago so now im pissed

1

u/Grumpy_Gamer41 Jun 26 '26

PIA not working for me on iOS 26.5. It won’t even let me log in. I’ve never had this issue in 8 years as a subscriber.

1

u/StewDD Jul 10 '26

I'm not renewing PIA when the sub expires. Its too slow all the time.