When you connect your home computer to Private Internet Access (PIA), the device routes its internet traffic through the VPN tunnel by default. This can interfere with remote access services like Windows Remote Desktop or Secure Shell (SSH).
During an incoming connection attempt, the VPN forces your home computer to route its response through the encrypted tunnel instead of directly to the initiating device, so remote access fails.
You can bypass this in two main ways:
- Enable split tunneling: Use PIA’s split tunneling feature to exclude your remote access software from the VPN tunnel. This lets the app use your regular network connection while your other internet traffic passes through the VPN.
- Use a mesh VPN: Install a mesh VPN on both your home computer and the remote device. These apps create a direct, encrypted connection between devices and allow remote access without changing router or port forwarding settings.
Note: Configuring custom routing or third-party mesh VPNs can change how your connection behaves and may impact your overall network security. Advanced network configurations are outside the scope of PIA customer support and we don’t troubleshoot such custom setups.