diff --git a/java-bigtable/google-cloud-bigtable/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigtable/data/v2/internal/compat/GaxDirectAccessChannelProvider.java b/java-bigtable/google-cloud-bigtable/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigtable/data/v2/internal/compat/GaxDirectAccessChannelProvider.java
index b562c6922330..6862dec603c3 100644
--- a/java-bigtable/google-cloud-bigtable/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigtable/data/v2/internal/compat/GaxDirectAccessChannelProvider.java
+++ b/java-bigtable/google-cloud-bigtable/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigtable/data/v2/internal/compat/GaxDirectAccessChannelProvider.java
@@ -36,7 +36,11 @@ public class GaxDirectAccessChannelProvider implements ChannelProvider {
   public static ChannelProvider create(
       InstantiatingGrpcChannelProvider outer, @Nullable Credentials credentials) {
     InstantiatingGrpcChannelProvider directAccessProvider =
-        outer.toBuilder().setAttemptDirectPath(true).setAttemptDirectPathXds().build();
+        outer.toBuilder()
+            .setAttemptDirectPath(true)
+            .setAttemptDirectPathXds()
+            .setAllowNonDefaultServiceAccount(true)
+            .build();
 
     InstantiatingGrpcChannelProvider cloudPathProvider =
         outer.toBuilder().setAttemptDirectPath(false).build();
@@ -52,7 +56,11 @@ public static ChannelProvider create(
   public static ChannelProvider createWithFallback(
       InstantiatingGrpcChannelProvider outer, @Nullable Credentials credentials) {
     InstantiatingGrpcChannelProvider directAccessProvider =
-        outer.toBuilder().setAttemptDirectPath(true).setAttemptDirectPathXds().build();
+        outer.toBuilder()
+            .setAttemptDirectPath(true)
+            .setAttemptDirectPathXds()
+            .setAllowNonDefaultServiceAccount(true)
+            .build();
 
     InstantiatingGrpcChannelProvider cloudPathProvider =
         outer.toBuilder().setAttemptDirectPath(false).build();
diff --git a/java-bigtable/google-cloud-bigtable/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigtable/data/v2/internal/compat/ShimImpl.java b/java-bigtable/google-cloud-bigtable/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigtable/data/v2/internal/compat/ShimImpl.java
index 86f91c57b274..c390154d6f86 100644
--- a/java-bigtable/google-cloud-bigtable/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigtable/data/v2/internal/compat/ShimImpl.java
+++ b/java-bigtable/google-cloud-bigtable/src/main/java/com/google/cloud/bigtable/data/v2/internal/compat/ShimImpl.java
@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ public static Shim create(
                 .setChannelPoolSettings(ChannelPoolSettings.staticallySized(1))
                 .setAttemptDirectPath(true)
                 .setAttemptDirectPathXds()
+                .setAllowNonDefaultServiceAccount(true)
                 .build();
 
     if (transportProvider.needsEndpoint()) {
diff --git a/java-bigtable/google-cloud-bigtable/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/bigtable/data/v2/internal/compat/GaxDirectAccessChannelProviderTest.java b/java-bigtable/google-cloud-bigtable/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/bigtable/data/v2/internal/compat/GaxDirectAccessChannelProviderTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e86b64e09137
--- /dev/null
+++ b/java-bigtable/google-cloud-bigtable/src/test/java/com/google/cloud/bigtable/data/v2/internal/compat/GaxDirectAccessChannelProviderTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2026 Google LLC
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package com.google.cloud.bigtable.data.v2.internal.compat;
+
+import static com.google.common.truth.Truth.assertThat;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.withSettings;
+
+import com.google.api.gax.grpc.InstantiatingGrpcChannelProvider;
+import com.google.auth.Credentials;
+import com.google.bigtable.v2.FeatureFlags;
+import com.google.cloud.bigtable.data.v2.internal.api.ChannelProviders.ChannelProvider;
+import java.lang.reflect.Field;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+class GaxDirectAccessChannelProviderTest {
+
+  private String originalOsName;
+  private String originalProductName;
+
+  @BeforeEach
+  void setUp() throws Exception {
+    originalOsName = System.getProperty("os.name");
+    originalProductName =
+        (String) getStaticField(InstantiatingGrpcChannelProvider.class, "systemProductName");
+  }
+
+  @AfterEach
+  void tearDown() throws Exception {
+    if (originalOsName != null) {
+      System.setProperty("os.name", originalOsName);
+    }
+    setStaticField(
+        InstantiatingGrpcChannelProvider.class, "systemProductName", originalProductName);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  void create_withNonDefaultServiceAccountOnGce_enablesDirectAccess() throws Exception {
+    System.setProperty("os.name", "Linux");
+    setStaticField(
+        InstantiatingGrpcChannelProvider.class, "systemProductName", "Google Compute Engine");
+
+    Credentials nonDefaultSaCredentials =
+        mock(Credentials.class, withSettings().withoutAnnotations());
+    InstantiatingGrpcChannelProvider outer =
+        InstantiatingGrpcChannelProvider.newBuilder()
+            .setEndpoint("bigtable.googleapis.com:443")
+            .setCredentials(nonDefaultSaCredentials)
+            .build();
+
+    ChannelProvider directChannelProvider =
+        GaxDirectAccessChannelProvider.create(outer, nonDefaultSaCredentials);
+    assertThat(directChannelProvider).isInstanceOf(GaxDirectAccessChannelProvider.class);
+    FeatureFlags flags =
+        directChannelProvider.updateFeatureFlags(FeatureFlags.getDefaultInstance());
+    assertThat(flags.getDirectAccessRequested()).isTrue();
+    assertThat(flags.getTrafficDirectorEnabled()).isTrue();
+    assertThat(directChannelProvider.getFallback()).isEmpty();
+
+    ChannelProvider fallbackChannelProvider =
+        GaxDirectAccessChannelProvider.createWithFallback(outer, nonDefaultSaCredentials);
+    assertThat(fallbackChannelProvider).isInstanceOf(GaxDirectAccessChannelProvider.class);
+    assertThat(fallbackChannelProvider.getFallback()).isPresent();
+    assertThat(fallbackChannelProvider.getFallback().get())
+        .isInstanceOf(GaxBasicChannelProvider.class);
+  }
+
+  private static Object getStaticField(Class<?> clazz, String fieldName) throws Exception {
+    Field field = clazz.getDeclaredField(fieldName);
+    field.setAccessible(true);
+    return field.get(null);
+  }
+
+  private static void setStaticField(Class<?> clazz, String fieldName, Object value)
+      throws Exception {
+    Field field = clazz.getDeclaredField(fieldName);
+    field.setAccessible(true);
+    field.set(null, value);
+  }
+}