PIA VPN (Private Internet Access)

[Cali-Glock]

I have been using Private Internet Access (PIA) as my VPN for a few years and have been pretty happy with it, but more often than not Amazon Prime Video will not run if I have PIA running.

• Sometimes Amazon Prime Video will not even give me the option to play a video and will say I have to pay to watch
• Sometimes Amazon Prime Video will look normal and give me the option to play a video but it won't load and give me an error message which says one of a number of things might be interfering including a VPN
• Sometimes Amazon Prime Video will play just fine

I can disconnect PIA start the video and then start PIA back up, once the video is running but that is a pain in the butt.

Most recently (August and the first week of September) Amazon Prime Video was working fine with PIA running and then it reverted back to blocking me; I downloaded the latest PIA build but am still having problems.

Any suggestions or workarounds?

My two-year plan renews in about a week; should I try a different VPN?

[WoodTurner]

They probably have a list of known VPN IP addresses. When it occasionally works, maybe you are on a new node with an, unfamiliar to them, IP address.
I have the exact same experience with NordVPN and Amazon prime video.

[2shotjoe]

1. download the browser extension, https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/download
2. click the PIA icon and log in.
3. click the PIA icon, click the down arrow and whtielist sites.

[HecklerNKoch]

I can disconnect PIA start the video and then start PIA back up, once the video is running but that is a pain in the butt.

First this question: what is your end-goal in using any VPN when logging into a service? A service that knows where you originate from, anyway? (As opposed to using a VPN when you are sitting in a coffee shop.)


Then, have you determined where you connect to when you have established connection with PIA VPN?


Select a City PIA offers.



Let's assume PIA lands you at Cogent Communications.


Ok, now Cogent Communications has to route you through their Carrier Neutral Data Centers.


Say Cogent Communications has presence in Carrier Neutral Data Centers in California: Los Angeles, Oakland, Orange County, Sacramento, San Diego and Santa Clara.


Ok, now we're in their DataCenters. If we look up their peering network:


aut-num: AS174
as-name: COGENT
descr: Cogent/PSI
import: from AS0 accept ANY
export: to AS0 announce ANY
mp-import: afi ipv6.unicast from AS0 accept ANY
mp-export: afi ipv6.unicast to AS0 announce ANY
we're going to see that PIA has connected you to Cogent and Cogent is connected to 7,000+ autonomous systems and now the case is the reverse proxies of Amazon already know where you are coming from because you are on their freeway, trying to exit their off-ramp to enter their drive-way, to enter the portal of Amazon Prime Video.




Looking backwards, we now see that Cogent connects Cloudhelix to Amazon Web Services allowing them to provision their VLANs for both private and public services so that you can get connected.



That means there's a key exchange between AWS and Cogent and now you are on a 10G transport and peer with AWS at the nearest Internet exchange point. It's just you and AWS directly!


The phone calls are coming from INSIDE the house.




----


What is the end-goal of using a VPN when connecting to a service that knows who you are, where you are coming from and where you've been?


There is too much misinformation out there. If you have a specific goal, one might be able to help you achieve it but you have to know how to get there without being misguided.

[2shotjoe]

i'm not an expert on the PIA application, open settings and select Network. you can exclude programs from the VPN i believe with the Split Tunnel feature. read the example below from PIA. click the ? icon next to it and it will open the same url.

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/helpdesk/kb/articles/split-tunnel-app-examples

[2shotjoe]

It is. you just need to look up the amazon's ip address of their video service and it will bypass the VPN.

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