I have a PIA VPN, I went ahead and sideloaded the latest .apk, successfully signed into my PIA account, and now I’m staring at the screen thats smaller and shaped like a phone (required a mouse etc). It (PIA) says I’m connected… so now what?
I want to be fully secured while browsing media/kodi/TTV etc, how can I ensure this. I assume I won’t have to sign in every single time right? Is there a symbol or easy way to check the VPN is actually on/working?
As a test, you could check your external IP address before and after turning on your VPN.
They should be different.
Using chrome or opera on your shield, visit:
https://www.whatismyip.com/
If your router’s software supports it, viewing the incoming/outgoing I.P. address on the router’s administration page is the most reliable method. On a personal note, I would never trust a VPN connection on an Android device, regardless of how reliable the application is. In my experience, DNS/IP leaks are far-more common on an Android VPN connection than they are on a Windows-based client.
PIA works fine on the shield. You can just activate it and leave it on. But it does work with Netflix and some others. The PIA app shows you the new IP address again.
In a web browser app, just navigate to the PIA home page and text at the top will display your IP address and indicate if you are protected or not. As an aside, you can configure the per app section in the PIA settings to only use the VPN for certain apps (e.g. Kodi) and not use it for others (e.g. Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc.).
I’m using ExpressVPN but I still cannot access geo blocked content. I’m attempting to use player.pl which I sideloaded along with the ExpressVPN app but it still says not available in my region. If my VPN is on and working, shouldn’t I be able to download the app from the google play store? instead of having to sideload it? Also, can anyone recommend a DNS service for the shield, I’m trying to access polish content
Oh wait how do I utilize the per app solution that’s what I need
I used the Shield game controller but I think you can do this with a mouse. Click the settings icon in the top right of the PIA screen. Scroll down and click on Per App Settings. Toggle the green lock for only the apps you want run through the VPN.
Click the back arrow to go to the original settings screen. I also enable the following: (1) 1-click connect; (2) Connect on boot; (3) Internet kill switch. With these options selected, I no longer worry about turning PIA on/off. Now I only mess with PIA if I want to connect to other locations.