How to Fix an IP Address Leak

Sometimes you may experience an IP address leak while connected to a VPN. If an IP leak occurs, your real IP address becomes visible even while you are connected to a VPN server.
 

This guide shows you how to diagnose and fix the issue. Before you begin, disconnect from PIA.

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Step 1: Disable WebRTC in Your Browser

Step 2: Change Your Connection Port

Step 3: Change Your Protocol

Step 4: Check Your Connection

Step 5: Reinstall the App

Step 1: Disable WebRTC in Your Browser

WebRTC can expose your real IP address even when a VPN is active. Disable it in all browsers you use before reconnecting. 
 

Steps to disable WebRTC vary by browser:

  • Chrome: WebRTC cannot be fully disabled without an extension. Install the WebRTC Control extension from the Chrome Web Store and enable it.
  • Firefox: Type about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Search for media.peerconnection.enabled and double-click the entry to set its value to false. Restart Firefox to apply the change.
  • Brave: Go to brave://settings/privacy. Under WebRTC IP Handling Policy, select Disable non-proxied UDP. Restart the browser.
  • Safari: Safari doesn’t provide a way to fully disable WebRTC, but it requires explicit permission before accessing your camera or microphone. Denying this limits how much WebRTC can do without your knowledge and restricts local IP address exposure in some configurations.

Step 2: Change Your Connection Port

Different ports use different network pathways, so switching to another port or connection type may allow the VPN to establish a stable connection. 

For step-by-step instructions for your device, see: 

Step 3: Change Your Protocol

Different VPN protocols handle traffic in different ways. If one protocol is being blocked or causing connection issues on your network, switching to another may resolve the problem. 

To change the protocol in the PIA app on desktop: 

  1. Open the PIA app and tap the down arrow (∨) to expand the app.
PIA's main screen, with a highlighting down arrow option.
  1. Tap the three-dot icon (•••) under QUICK SETTINGS.
PIA's main screen expanded, with a highlighted three-dot icon in the QUICK SETTINGS section.
  1. Select Protocol and choose between OpenVPN or WireGuard.

The Protocols tab in PIA's Settings menu on desktop.
 

To change protocols on mobile, you can find steps on how to change protocols in the PIA app for iOS and for Android here.

Step 4: Check Your Connection

After completing the steps above, reconnect to PIA and visit the PIA "What's My IP" page to check your connection status.

  1. If the page shows "You are protected by PIA,” your connection is secure.
  2. If the page shows "You are not protected" or "Your private information is exposed,” continue to the next step.

Step 5: Reinstall the App

Uninstall and reinstall the PIA app using the guide for your device:

Windows

macOS

Linux

After reinstalling, revisit the PIA "What's My IP" page to confirm your connection is protected.

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