How bad is PIA (private internet access) as to other companies?

Discussion in 'Internet for Musician' started by Pedra Sofia, Jul 23, 2024.

  1. Pedra Sofia

    Pedra Sofia Ultrasonic

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    I just heard from over 4 different PIA users that said they signed up this year because they where told they can have multiple connection on the same device, but after a month they where told its not the case.

    NordVPN and just about everyone does not limit how may connections there are with a single device as they provide speed which is up to the user to decide if they want to split it into multiple vpns, but even then multiple connections using a chrome, Firefox PIA extension and multiple google accounts are limited, you loose link to large downloads etc, breaking them in results to errors forcing users to use the main vpn connection to download larger files, these issues are common with rapidgator etc.

    So I wanted to ask people here if they use multiple connections on the same device, for whatever reasons (downloading small files, watching YouTube or tv in other countries, connecting to banned websites) and what VPN they recommend cause I never had this issue with nordVPN.
     
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  3. Auen Fred

    Auen Fred Platinum Record

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  4. reliefsan

    reliefsan Audiosexual

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  5. Will Kweks

    Will Kweks Rock Star

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    Proton is great, I use it as well. Can use multiple connections from the same device with no problems (split VPN, browser addon to switch proxy sessions per browser). Bit fiddly to configure, but you do get port forwarding which is why I use it instead of Mullvad, who are otherwise the best in my opinion.
     
  6. holdup13

    holdup13 Kapellmeister

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    I use PIA (3 year + 4 months free plan) and I have no complaints, especially for the price. It's reasonably fast, it has a lots of servers, it supports port forwarding and other features for the more advanced users. However, they don't provide wireguard config files, and I think their windows desktop app needs better optimization.
     
  7. Pedra Sofia

    Pedra Sofia Ultrasonic

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    bump, error post
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2024
  8. Pedra Sofia

    Pedra Sofia Ultrasonic

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    I had nordVPN, they are truly the best but toooo expensive! but they allowed unlimited connections, even on a single device., IPs are ever changing for countries randomly, proton and PIA had many of their IPs blocked which means they are not dynamic, eventually none will work if your banned on sites for using VPN, proton also failed to allow multiple IP downloads from rapidgator etc, NordVPN allowed this, I was able to download up to 8 1Gb files at once in hours. , I dont have a VPN but it looks risky now that I see many reputable companies like PIA go south., people they are slow, cut multiple connection from same device., its 2024 you think something better is out there not worse.
     
  9. holdup13

    holdup13 Kapellmeister

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    I don't think NordVPN is expensive; ExpressVPN is, just to mention one. NordVPN is priced about the same as most VPNs out there, perhaps a little above average. The reason I never chose NordVPN is because I've read that their IPs are more often than not saturated with traffic, and it being one if not the most popular VPN, it makes sense. Never been a fan of VPN companies that invest copious amounts of money in publicity and marketing, because in the end it always ends up in a snake oil product. Now, NordVPN does what it says, but I don't think it's particularly superior to other VPNs. It does have a lot of options/protocols/configurations (althought it doesn't offer port forwarding, which is something I look for in a VPN). I chose PIA because it fit my needs and had a good price when I bought it. Never had speed problems with any of the servers, no blocked IPs on my end, everything works as expected. But again, I mainly use it on one device, so I can't really tell you what's the reliability of the multiple device connection feature they provide.
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2024
  10. dashfiss

    dashfiss Kapellmeister

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    Currently using PIA and can say right now that both NordVPN and Express are way more widely blocked than PIA, how the florp am I the only one commenting this :)

    And as you probably know, when one IP is down, there's usually no point in switching countries, that will be blocked as well.

    PIA is the best VPN I've tried, in this regard. What's the point of a VPN if you can't connect to your stuff..
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2024
  11. Pedra Sofia

    Pedra Sofia Ultrasonic

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    sorry dont mean to be direct but I find it hard to believe as PIA is even up there with the names you mentioned, they do not use dynamic IP addresses, they are static, especially their chrome extension which is outdated and incompatible with chromes new Mac updates later this fall.

    NordVPN has the best service, no limitations, but the most expensive
     
  12. saccamano

    saccamano Audiosexual

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    Not really sure why anyone would still consider nord as a viable choice for vpn when they have admitted to furnishing logs to any law enforcement request that befalls them... There's zero reason to use a vpn if that service is not running ram based servers and collects connection log data. You're just flushing your cash down the toilet and opening yourself to potential legal issues due to your connection not being private.

    OP: What you seek is available with vpn's that provide router firmware and/or hardware that greatly speeds up and streamlines the the entire process. Most apps are prone to issues with split vpn configurations as well - an even greater testimonial for running vpn's at the router level. Also running the vpn at router level your number of connections @ device is basically unlimited.
     
  13. The3rdisight

    The3rdisight Member

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    I've had PIA since 2015. Their service has rapidly deteriorated in the past two years. It's a joke.

    Sometimes it takes longer than two minutes to load a page. Countless "Are you a robot" capchas. Same IP for every location.

    I'll be happy to hear unpaid endorsements for a new VPN. Otherwise I'm going with nord.

    They bumped up their price 25% so I canceled my auto payment
     
  14. synths4grins

    synths4grins Producer

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