Private Internet Access VPN is good for gaming.
It offers protection against online snoops who may employ DDoS attacks to gain an advantage. It also provides fast internet speeds through its 10 Gbps networks, reducing your ping and giving you a lag-free gaming experience.
If you want to know how to set up Private Internet Access for your gaming PC or mobile and discover the necessary features for a seamless gaming experience, keep reading!
How to Set Up Private Internet Access VPN for Gaming?
PIA is compatible with many gaming devices, from PCs and smartphones to tablets and gaming consoles. In this quick Private Internet Access guide for gaming, I’ll focus on PCs and mobiles.
How to Use PIA for Gaming on PC?
Whether you’re using Windows or macOS, Private Internet Access has reliable and user-friendly apps that work on both systems. I used macOS and Fortnite for this guide.
Here’s the step-by-step guide on setting up PIA for gaming:
- Subscribe to Private Internet Access. You can take advantage of these great discounts to get it cheaper.
- Download and install the VPN on your macOS.
- Launch the VPN and ensure you’re on the WireGuard protocol.
- Scroll through the server list and choose the lowest latency value. In my case, it’s South Africa.
- Launch your game and start playing without exposing your IP addresses or dealing with speed throttling from your ISP.
How to Use PIA for Gaming on Mobile?
Here are the steps for setting up Private Internet Access. I used Android for this guide, so I could play Monopoly Go (where being slow could lead to opponents stealing all of your money).
- Grab a discounted Private Internet Access subscription.
- Install the VPN directly from Google Play Store.
- Launch the VPN and ensure the protocol is set to WireGuard, which is the fastest.
- Connect to the fastest PIA server with the lowest latency value. In my case, it’s still South Africa.
- Launch your game and enjoy the lag-free play.
What Are Private Internet Access Gaming Features?
Here are the features that make PIA one of the best VPNs for gaming.
Encryption to Protect Valuable Gaming Data
Gaming data is just as valuable as money, and Private Internet Access protects you from breaches and hackers through military-grade encryption. It scrambles your gaming traffic, making it unreadable to anyone, including your internet service provider.
IP Masking for DDoS Attack Protection
By masking your IP address, malicious players can’t launch DDoS attacks since that requires your actual IP address, which the attacker can’t see. Plus, your ISP won’t throttle your speeds because they won’t know what you’re up to.
Super-Fast Speeds With Unlimited Bandwidth
Gaming is bandwidth-intensive and can gobble up to 12 Gb per hour on 1080p cloud gaming. Luckily, Private Internet Access offers unlimited bandwidth and low pings that allow you to enjoy gaming without dealing with lags from your ISP.
PIA also makes things easier by showing you latency values on every server.
This allows you to choose the fastest one right away instead of testing random ones.
PIA MACE to Counter Tracking
Other threats that can compromise your gaming experience include ads, trackers, and malware. PIA counters this through its PIA MACE feature, which keeps all these threats at bay and allows you to convert your system resources by reducing battery drain.
This is especially important if you’re a heavy mobile gamer.
SmartDNS for Gaming Consoles
Xbox and PlayStation don’t support the direct installation of VPNs.
Luckily, you can use the SmartDNS feature offered by Private Internet Access, which has many SmartDNS locations. This allows you to access services like restricted game updates and other features unavailable in your region.
The other advantage of using SmartDNS for your gaming needs is that it’s faster than a regular VPN connection because there’s no encryption.
Unlimited Device Connections
Another underrated advantage of using Private Internet Access for gaming is that it allows you to connect unlimited devices simultaneously. So you can provide complete protection for all the gaming devices in your house and share them with friends and family without paying an extra dime.
Affordable Price Plans
Private Internet Access is one of the cheapest VPNs on the market, with plans ranging from monthly to 3 years. Remember to grab our exclusive discounts before the offer runs out.
PIA Gaming Tests
I conducted a packet data loss test for Private Internet Access to show how it performs with online gaming. I tested it while playing Fortnite using base internet speeds of 60 Mbps.
As you can see, there was no packet data loss throughout the game, making the gameplay smooth and lag-free.
Gaming Is All About Speed - And PIA Is Fast!
As you can see from PIA’s features and the packet data loss test, internet speed is critical in gaming. Fortunately, Private Internet Access provides all that in massive doses.
Ready to enjoy lag-free gaming? Grab a Private Internet Access subscription right now to enjoy MAJOR discounts.
