Safe Mode Reinstallation

Booting into Safe Mode and reinstalling the VPN client helps you narrow down issues that may affect the functionality of the VPN client. To put your device into Safe Mode with Networking, follow the steps below:

  1. Click/Tap the Windows Start button.

  2. Open Settings, and click/tap the Update & security icon.

  3. Click/tap Recovery on the left side, and click/tap Restart now under Advanced startup on the right side.

  4. Click/tap Troubleshoot.

  5. Click/tap Advanced options.

  6. Click/tap Startup Settings.

  7. Click/tap Restart.

  8. When your computer restarts, press the 5 or F5 key.

Once you are in Safe Mode, uninstall all app files using the following instructions:

  1. Right-click the Private Internet Access (PIA) icon and click "Exit".

  2. Press and hold the Windows key, followed by R on your keyboard. This opens the "Run" dialog window.

  3. Type %PROGRAMFILES% and press OK or press Enter on your keyboard.

  4. Right-click the Private Internet Access folder (if present).

  5. Click Delete (Important: Do not touch any other folder in this directory. This can seriously damage your system.)

  6. Right-click the C:\Program Files\pia_manager folder (if present).

  7. Click Delete (Important: Do not touch any other folder in this directory. This can seriously damage your system.)

Uninstall the TAP driver from Device Manager:

  1. Press and hold the Windows key, followed by R on your keyboard. This opens the "Run" dialog window.
  2. Type devmgmt.msc and press OK or press Enter on your keyboard. The Device Manager window appears after a few seconds.
  3. Click the > arrow next to the Network Adapters section.
  4. Right-click any adapter listed as Private Internet Access Network Adapter, TAP-Windows Adapter V9, or TAP-Windows Adapter V9 #2.
  5. Click Uninstall.
  6. Check the box for Dor |elete the driver software for this device.
  7. Click OK.

Note: If there are any other "TAP" adapters listed, uninstall them in the same manner. For example, TAP-Win32 Adapter.

If you do not see any "TAP" adapters listed, check the Other Devices or Unknown Devices sections. If you still cannot see any TAP adapter, you do not have the TAP adapter installed, and you can continue to the next section.

  1. Power off the computer.
  2. When the steps above are complete, power off your computer completely. DO NOT USE RESTART.
  3. Wait at least 30 seconds, then power your computer back on.

Once you have completely uninstalled the PIA app, select either the 32-bit or 64-bit VPN client version and download the installer for the software.
After the installer downloads, right-click it and select "Run as administrator".
Once this is done, click Start > click Control Panel > click Network and Sharing Center > click Change adapter settings, and delete any VPN connections listed here. Do not delete the Private Internet Access Network Adapter.

You can find a guide for installation here if you require step-by-step assistance. After the above is complete, reboot your computer normally, and try connecting with the app. 

You have now successfully reinstalled the VPN client onto your device. If the issue you were combating persists, please reach out to our CS Team, and we would be more than happy to assist with sorting things out! 

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