Google backend services don't work over PIA VPN

hiroo

I'm running PIA VPN on my DD-WRT router so that all the traffic is going over the VPN.

However, I found that this causes problems because the Google backend services behind a lot of of popular sites/apps don't work over the VPN.  This is problematic, because, as you might have heard, they run some of the most popular sites/services on the internet!

What's weird is how it is inconsistent across platforms that are all connected to the same DD-WRT router running the PIA VPN connection.

Is this happening to everybody?  It's kinda hard to live without all these critical tools working!

My testing results:

Google Maps: 

- works: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app

Google Keep:

- works: browser (Chrome on Mac)

- doesn't work: Android app (read cloud data ok; new entered data doesn't get uploaded)

- not tested: iOS

Google Inbox:

- works for both send and receive: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app (send no work; receive works)

Google Hangouts Messaging

- works for both send and receive: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app (send no work; receive works)

Google Hangouts phone or video Calling

- works: hangouts chrome app on Mac

- doesn't work: Android app, iOS app (tries to call but spins then times out)

Youtube:

- doesn't work on any platform.  All can search and browse UI, but playing videos doesn't work. 

Google Play store:

- doesn't work on android. Spins and times out unable to connect to the backend.

Google Drive:

- Works: Mac, iOS

- Doesn't work: Android (can't upload new files, can't access files not already cached on phone)

Google Sheets:

- Works: Mac

- Doesn't work: Android (can browse file list but can't open/loadanything)

Android voice recognition will accept the recording but can't upload it for processing.

hiroo

Seriously, nobody uses Google stuff over PIA VPN?

idontknow

What kind of error are you getting?

Redback813

I use mac Office 2016 with google mail services and it send & receive without issue but can't send in isp only , and seriously who would use google for everything ? not me ! What's the point of privacy if your handing over personal private info on a large scale ?

hiroo

I don't get errors, when they don't work, things just never load or send.

For example, when an Android phone is connected to WiFi running PIA VPN, incoming Hangouts messages will show up, but if I respond, it tries for a while then times out and the message isn't sent.  I would think IP blocking, but then I can pick up an iPad attached to the same WiFi network and send a Hangouts message ok.

Most of the others that don't work are similar, it tries for a while then times out and says the server is not reachable.  

Like I said, I would suspect IP blocking like with Craigslist, but other devices or platforms on the same VPN connection will work.

idontknow

hiroo said:

I don't get errors, when they don't work, things just never load or send.

For example, when an Android phone is connected to WiFi running PIA VPN, incoming Hangouts messages will show up, but if I respond, it tries for a while then times out and the message isn't sent.  I would think IP blocking, but then I can pick up an iPad attached to the same WiFi network and send a Hangouts message ok.

Most of the others that don't work are similar, it tries for a while then times out and says the server is not reachable.  

Like I said, I would suspect IP blocking like with Craigslist, but other devices or platforms on the same VPN connection will work.

So no "untrusted connections" or anything relating to invalid SSL certificate? I had a problem relating to this and thought it was the VPN so wondering if you do too.

If not, what server location are you using? Also, you could be connected to the same server location but I think there are several IP address for each location so maybe one IP is blocked and one isn't.

5Mule

I have PIA connected via the router (Tomato), so everything is going through the VPN.  I have no issues with any google services, either on multiple laptops (mac / windows) or multiple wi-fi devices (android / ios).  Everything is working correctly.

jdyahoo

hiroo said:

I'm running PIA VPN on my DD-WRT router so that all the traffic is going over the VPN.

However, I found that this causes problems because the Google backend services behind a lot of of popular sites/apps don't work over the VPN.  This is problematic, because, as you might have heard, they run some of the most popular sites/services on the internet!

What's weird is how it is inconsistent across platforms that are all connected to the same DD-WRT router running the PIA VPN connection.

Is this happening to everybody?  It's kinda hard to live without all these critical tools working!

My testing results:

Google Maps: 

- works: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app

Google Keep:

- works: browser (Chrome on Mac)

- doesn't work: Android app (read cloud data ok; new entered data doesn't get uploaded)

- not tested: iOS

Google Inbox:

- works for both send and receive: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app (send no work; receive works)

Google Hangouts Messaging

- works for both send and receive: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app (send no work; receive works)

Google Hangouts phone or video Calling

- works: hangouts chrome app on Mac

- doesn't work: Android app, iOS app (tries to call but spins then times out)

Youtube:

- doesn't work on any platform.  All can search and browse UI, but playing videos doesn't work. 

Google Play store:

- doesn't work on android. Spins and times out unable to connect to the backend.

Google Drive:

- Works: Mac, iOS

- Doesn't work: Android (can't upload new files, can't access files not already cached on phone)

Google Sheets:

- Works: Mac

- Doesn't work: Android (can browse file list but can't open/loadanything)

Android voice recognition will accept the recording but can't upload it for processing.

Has anyone found a solution? I realized if I enable my PIA account, and tries to go into scholar.google website. I am unable to access that particular website. (any advice welcomes, Thanks)

jbis

Google stuff working fine here on VPN.

3l3phant

Google play (Music. No idea about the other Play services) doesn't work properly. When loading Play with PIA on you get the "Couldn't fetch recommendations. Please try again." messages. Looks like other people are experiencing the same thing, based on Google support forums.

PBRStreetgang

I'm able to access Google Earth through a Chrome tab, but I can't use the more robust Google Earth Pro (Mac) application.  The error states that "Google Earth is unable to contact the login server.  Verify you're connected to the internet a try launching the application again." Error code is: c000000c - Then with "Google Earth failed to connect to database; the URL https://kh.google.com:80 does not appear to be valid or the server may be temporarily down. 

So I did my due diligence and research the error code.  Most posts re: the error advise deleting the cache file or re-installing the app.  So I've flushed the cache hundreds of times, reinstalled the app; still no success.  This has happened infrequently on some of the US servers, but I could usually connect to a server outside of the US and it would open right away.  Now, it's happening on all available servers.

Also, the App Store and iTunes aren't connecting either.  Just an annoyance, other than Google Earth, Apple websites, (and Office 365 hosted email) I've been extremely happy with PIA's service.  I've been using and recommending PIA for years and this is the first time I've ever posted in the forums.  Thanks!

3l3phant

Update: Google play only seems to have an issue with the Chrome extension. It works with the app installed from the Google Play Store.

PBRStreetgang

Update:  MacOS users (and probably all other PIA users) who have been having issues with Google Earth Pro and iTunes / iBooks - delete and re-install the client, even if it's up to date.  Not sure what happened, but everything is back to normal after uninstalling and reinstalling.

et1123

hiroo said:

I'm running PIA VPN on my DD-WRT router so that all the traffic is going over the VPN.

However, I found that this causes problems because the Google backend services behind a lot of of popular sites/apps don't work over the VPN.  This is problematic, because, as you might have heard, they run some of the most popular sites/services on the internet!

What's weird is how it is inconsistent across platforms that are all connected to the same DD-WRT router running the PIA VPN connection.

Is this happening to everybody?  It's kinda hard to live without all these critical tools working!

My testing results:

Google Maps: 

- works: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app

Google Keep:

- works: browser (Chrome on Mac)

- doesn't work: Android app (read cloud data ok; new entered data doesn't get uploaded)

- not tested: iOS

Google Inbox:

- works for both send and receive: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app (send no work; receive works)

Google Hangouts Messaging

- works for both send and receive: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app (send no work; receive works)

Google Hangouts phone or video Calling

- works: hangouts chrome app on Mac

- doesn't work: Android app, iOS app (tries to call but spins then times out)

Youtube:

- doesn't work on any platform.  All can search and browse UI, but playing videos doesn't work. 

Google Play store:

- doesn't work on android. Spins and times out unable to connect to the backend.

Google Drive:

- Works: Mac, iOS

- Doesn't work: Android (can't upload new files, can't access files not already cached on phone)

Google Sheets:

- Works: Mac

- Doesn't work: Android (can browse file list but can't open/loadanything)

Android voice recognition will accept the recording but can't upload it for processing.

it is not working for me but only if it is the top row of suggestions on an item that I click on, it won't go to the site.

krc2010

Pixel 2 XL, same issue here with Google Photos sync. Waiting for WiFi when PIA VPN is connected.

djtiger

et1123 said:

hiroo said:

I'm running PIA VPN on my DD-WRT router so that all the traffic is going over the VPN.

However, I found that this causes problems because the Google backend services behind a lot of of popular sites/apps don't work over the VPN.  This is problematic, because, as you might have heard, they run some of the most popular sites/services on the internet!

What's weird is how it is inconsistent across platforms that are all connected to the same DD-WRT router running the PIA VPN connection.

Is this happening to everybody?  It's kinda hard to live without all these critical tools working!

My testing results:

Google Maps: 

- works: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app

Google Keep:

- works: browser (Chrome on Mac)

- doesn't work: Android app (read cloud data ok; new entered data doesn't get uploaded)

- not tested: iOS

Google Inbox:

- works for both send and receive: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app (send no work; receive works)

Google Hangouts Messaging

- works for both send and receive: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app (send no work; receive works)

Google Hangouts phone or video Calling

- works: hangouts chrome app on Mac

- doesn't work: Android app, iOS app (tries to call but spins then times out)

Youtube:

- doesn't work on any platform.  All can search and browse UI, but playing videos doesn't work. 

Google Play store:

- doesn't work on android. Spins and times out unable to connect to the backend.

Google Drive:

- Works: Mac, iOS

- Doesn't work: Android (can't upload new files, can't access files not already cached on phone)

Google Sheets:

- Works: Mac

- Doesn't work: Android (can browse file list but can't open/loadanything)

Android voice recognition will accept the recording but can't upload it for processing.

it is not working for me but only if it is the top row of suggestions on an item that I click on, it won't go to the site.

This is absolutely the same thing that's happening to me. I just subscribed to this VPN last week and since then there has been some very strange behavior happening. Most importantly of which is Google Voice. I had a very important interview last night but could not complete it because for some reason my internet was blocking the voice function. This NEVER happened before the VPN. So i turned it off in hopes things would go back to normal.. and they do not. 

Another example. I am a DJ. I post my mixes on mixcloud.com. On that website you can type the name of another dj in the search bar and results show up. Nope.. Not since the VPN. The search function does not work. And Im searching for my name so i know its there. 

Just as i was looking for this forum.. there were 3 or 4 sponsored links ahead of this link. I clicked on one and it gave me this:  

The webpage at https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiH5ryBn-TZAhXJtcAKHZBPD3QYABAAGgJpbQ&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESEeD2pDCJPEWLie_rnkvofE1B&sig=AOD64_2bZ1e0frkSeJqG8JRaoR02T0pguw&q=&ved=0ahUKEwi64rWBn-TZAhVJZKwKHTSHACkQ0QwIJw&adurl= might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.

ERR_TUNNEL_CONNECTION_FAILED

But if i go down to a non sponsored link, it works fine. So google lead services doesnt work with this either. This is going to be a problem as I operate various websites and use google to promote them. 

Google runs the internet at this point and If i can't use the entirety of google... the entirety of the internet as I was before I installed this VPN, then maybe this is not for me. 

Any suggestions?

djtiger

djtiger said:

et1123 said:

hiroo said:

I'm running PIA VPN on my DD-WRT router so that all the traffic is going over the VPN.

However, I found that this causes problems because the Google backend services behind a lot of of popular sites/apps don't work over the VPN.  This is problematic, because, as you might have heard, they run some of the most popular sites/services on the internet!

What's weird is how it is inconsistent across platforms that are all connected to the same DD-WRT router running the PIA VPN connection.

Is this happening to everybody?  It's kinda hard to live without all these critical tools working!

My testing results:

Google Maps: 

- works: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app

Google Keep:

- works: browser (Chrome on Mac)

- doesn't work: Android app (read cloud data ok; new entered data doesn't get uploaded)

- not tested: iOS

Google Inbox:

- works for both send and receive: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app (send no work; receive works)

Google Hangouts Messaging

- works for both send and receive: browser (Chrome on Mac), iOS app

- doesn't work: Android app (send no work; receive works)

Google Hangouts phone or video Calling

- works: hangouts chrome app on Mac

- doesn't work: Android app, iOS app (tries to call but spins then times out)

Youtube:

- doesn't work on any platform.  All can search and browse UI, but playing videos doesn't work. 

Google Play store:

- doesn't work on android. Spins and times out unable to connect to the backend.

Google Drive:

- Works: Mac, iOS

- Doesn't work: Android (can't upload new files, can't access files not already cached on phone)

Google Sheets:

- Works: Mac

- Doesn't work: Android (can browse file list but can't open/loadanything)

Android voice recognition will accept the recording but can't upload it for processing.

it is not working for me but only if it is the top row of suggestions on an item that I click on, it won't go to the site.

This is absolutely the same thing that's happening to me. I just subscribed to this VPN last week and since then there has been some very strange behavior happening. Most importantly of which is Google Voice. I had a very important interview last night but could not complete it because for some reason my internet was blocking the voice function. This NEVER happened before the VPN. So i turned it off in hopes things would go back to normal.. and they do not. 

Another example. I am a DJ. I post my mixes on mixcloud.com. On that website you can type the name of another dj in the search bar and results show up. Nope.. Not since the VPN. The search function does not work. And Im searching for my name so i know its there. 

Just as i was looking for this forum.. there were 3 or 4 sponsored links ahead of this link. I clicked on one and it gave me this:  

The webpage at https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiH5ryBn-TZAhXJtcAKHZBPD3QYABAAGgJpbQ&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESEeD2pDCJPEWLie_rnkvofE1B&sig=AOD64_2bZ1e0frkSeJqG8JRaoR02T0pguw&q=&ved=0ahUKEwi64rWBn-TZAhVJZKwKHTSHACkQ0QwIJw&adurl= might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.

ERR_TUNNEL_CONNECTION_FAILED

But if i go down to a non sponsored link, it works fine. So google lead services doesnt work with this either. This is going to be a problem as I operate various websites and use google to promote them. 

Google runs the internet at this point and If i can't use the entirety of google... the entirety of the internet as I was before I installed this VPN, then maybe this is not for me. 

Any suggestions?

Well i solved the microphone/voice issue. I never set the settings in the chrome extension. Anyone having any difficulties, try the extension settings first. 

Max-P

@djtiger The reason why the sponsored links are not working is likely that you have MACE enabled. It's a DNS ads and tracker blocker, so it cannot inspect any of the content in the web page just block the domain as a whole. This domain in particular is used to track clicks and also to serve ads on some websites so this is why MACE is blocking it.

If you disable MACE you should have better luck with it. Also as you have seen there's a lot of privacy options in the extension that also has the side effect of breaking things in some situations

What I usually do when troubleshooting a website having trouble with the extension is to turn off all the features and try again, and if it works then I know it's one of the options so I can reenable some one by one until I find out which one is the culprit.

rojaaip

Max-P has the best suggestion here.

chrispeddler

This is one problem with using VPN since anonymity and safety is the primary concern, of course, some features on a site will not probably work. You have to find ways to turn things of to every site that has problems since everything is so dynamic. Maybe proxies will work for you?