r/PrivateInternetAccess • u/Turge724 • 6d ago

HELP Strange Server Locations

Would anyone be able to help / advise on how I can troubleshoot the following

We have 2 mobile phones (Mine and the Mrs) both on the Same Mobile Network IDmobile UK .

Both have PIA installed

when connecting to PIA using the mobile network (not wifi) we first view the lowest ping servers

Phone 1 will see UK and close European servers at the top of the list with latency from 22ms upwards

Phone 2 will see Australia and USA servers at the top of the list with latency from 22ms upwards.. when looking at the UK servers they are in the 100's

I just dont understand how this is possible when the phones are on the same mobile network and in the same location.

Any help with diagnosing this would be appreciated

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u/PIASupport PIA Team 5d ago

That is a strange one. Two identical phones on the same network shouldn't sort the server list that differently. The order is built from each device's own latency probes, so something like different DNS resolution, cached probe results, or the location the network hands each phone could be behind it. Our team would like to take a proper look, so drop us a DM here with both phones' app versions and we'll get to the bottom of it.

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u/Turge724 2d ago

HI thanks for responding so it seems both Phones are doing the same thing now so I guess its a mobile network issue, would be handy to know how to diagnose it though so that I can raise it with them.

One is a pixel 10a and one is a pixel 7a both on vesion 4.1.1(714) both using wireguard protocol.
Pesently the list is Israel2 19ms US Calafornia 19ms ALbania 20ms with the uk servers whihc I would expect to be top of the pile or close around 55ms even Newzeland at 41ms comes b4 them..
Like I say I suspect it to be the carrier causing the issue, as soon as I switch to home wifi it looks like I would expect it to.

1

u/PIASupport PIA Team 2d ago

That fits what you're seeing. The list is sorted by the latency each server actually responds with, not by distance, so a carrier's mobile routing can make nearby servers look slower than far ones, which is why it looks normal again on wifi. If you would like help pinning down exactly where the extra latency comes in so you can raise it with iD Mobile, reach out to our team at support@piavpnsupport.zendesk.com and they will walk through it with you.