If the app is advertised as part of the service, and the app is trash, then yes, the service being provided is crap, because the app is part of the service the OP PAID for!
Could you share how to do the connection, kill switch, and split tunnels manually? I’d appreciate even some links to learn how to do it. thank you
It got a very price hike in turkey
10$/year (expensive to us) to 50$/year
It is cheap, I admit, but there are many cheap allternatives out there as well.
All the major VPNs are owned by some giant tech company. I’m not happy about Kape but overall PIA was still decent. I was just annoyed they basically abandoned the app for a year or so but it seems like they re-orged and there some development spooling up again.
I’m not super happy with Surfshark either but may consider dual subscribing with one of the PIA deals. It’s a cheap enough VPN at least.
It’s not working for a lot of VPNs due to much more aggressive blocking from the streamers. That’s just going to get worse.
Early report: Surfshark is FASSSSSSSST. Able to hit 300mbps easily. I haven’t set it up on a faster machine yet, but the two computers I set it up on are:
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M1 Pro MBP: 300+ mbps via WiFi
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Old Intel NUC HTPC: I was previously limited to around 150 mbps or so on PIA. This computer feels laggy AF even after wiping it clean. I think it’s just too old and time to move on, but I ran Speedtest on Surfshark and was surprised to see 350mbps+ (wired ethernet).
I will test later at home on my desktop PC and if I wire in my personal MBP to ethernet, but so far the speeds are promising.
One negative though is the Firefox Extension is broken, although the Chrome one seems to work. I’ll be sure to provide feedback on here later on.
SurfShark is great. Fast, reliable, and I can finally stream Netflix and BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world. After ten years with PIA I’m out too.
Does PIA have a China server? No idea. I don’t think most VPNs do because in order to run a VPN in China, you need to have government approval… meaning you’re not going to be allowed to circumvent the GFW.
You’re on a shared VPN that millions of users use. This is also one of the largest VPN services, so it’s likely their IP addresses are well known.
ya check ur setttins, im in CHHHHINNAAAAA
I suspect when the economy started slowing down in 2022, Kape started cutting resources or diverted them away from developing PIA. I hate how the apologists keep telling us you don’t need weekly app updates but it’s very clear they are hardly implementing any fixes. Sadly, a lot of good software out there is in such a condition where companies just don’t have resources to develop them–Firefox is a good example.
I’m leaving not because I hate this company or I have some vendetta against them. It’s simply not as good of a product as it was 5 - 10 years ago. I still kept recommending PIA all the way through 2022, but I started having doubts late last year and started reading about alternatives. I prepared myself that when my subscription would expire now that I at least make a decision to continue or to jump ship and try something out. The slow rollout of Apple Silicon App on Mac and seeing how many other providers have succesfully managed to roll all that out led me to believe there should at least be something better out there.
And even if there isn’t greener grass on the other side, the market is mature enough where none of these solutions will ever be bad. If it’s ever that bad I can always renew my PIA service and run right back to them.
Broken how? I use it all day every day…no issues at all. I’m on Windows.
I basically followed /r/vpn and the spreadsheet has deals for many of the VPNs. I got a Surfshark deal for $59 ($2.18/month). Maybe slightly more than PIA, but in the general ball park. If I hate it that much I can always come back.
Based on the down votes nord seems to be an unpopular option? Is it really that bad though?
I need a VPN for my fire tablet and I’m limited to nord, express, and atlas. Nord appears to be the better option of the 3.
Have you had any issues with it?
My apologies, I meant M1 Native app. I think I wrote another post when I realized that. My bad.
It’s very easy to avoid auto renewals. I always subscribe to services using a “single use” credit card number with just enough provision to pay the subscription.
No companies keep providing services without payment 
I’ve been using Surfshark OK in China. It’s on and off and you need to be good at selecting servers, but generally passable. FWIW I also use ProtonVPN (free) as a backup and I actually find that works really well. When you couple the fact that it’s free and on Android you don’t even need an account anymore, from a value perspective that actually seems super worthwhile.
If you’re going to be gone in China for a while it may make sense to have at least 2 services, but if you’re doing a quick trip, try out ProtonVPN for free first and see how that works for you. I use a paid service anyway not just for travel but for general privacy and keep any personal browsing at work private, so in that sense I don’t mind having a paid + free service when I use in China. Plus, having 2 means you can better deal with GFW crackdowns.
But again, free ProtonVPN may be enough for someone who’s just doing an occasional trip out there.
Never tried AirVPN. Now that I do see PIA updates happening again–maybe Kape restructured or something? I might come back, but haven’t felt the justification to purchase a subscription again.
Now I have tried it for a couple weeks and… performance is not that great. Glad I saved the money. That is what drew me in, after all.