T-Mobile has acknowledged an issue that has blocked some subscribers from using Apple’s iCloud Private Relay via cellular connection. In a statement, T-Mobile said the issue was due to a bug in iOS 15.2.
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay is designed to protect your privacy by ensuring that when you browse the web in Safari, no single party — not even Apple — can see both who you are and what sites you’re visiting.
When Private Relay is enabled, your requests are sent through two separate, secure internet relays. Your IP address is visible to your network provider and to the first relay, which is operated by Apple. Your DNS records are encrypted, so neither party can see the address of the website you’re trying to visit. The second relay, which is operated by a third-party content provider, generates a temporary IP address, decrypts the name of the website you requested and connects you to the site. All of this is done using the latest internet standards to maintain a high-performance browsing experience while protecting your privacy.
This bug is not only affecting T-Mobile subscribers… Instead, it’s a bug that seems to affect iOS 15.2 broadly rather than T-Mobile specifically. The issue is also still present in the latest release of iOS 15.3 beta.
The full statement reads:
Overnight our team identified that in the 15.2 iOS release, some device settings default to the feature being toggled off. We have shared this with Apple. This is not specific to T-Mobile. Again though, we have not broadly blocked iCloud Phone Relay.
In a separate statement, T-Mobile explained:
Customers who chose plans and features with content filtering (e.g. parent controls) do not have access to the iCloud Private Relay to allow these services to work as designed. All other customers have no restrictions.
MacDailyNews Note: 9to5Mac offers a solution to the problem: Go to Settings > Cellular, then choose your plan and ensure that “Limit IP Address Tracking” is enabled. Make sure to complete these steps while WiFi is disabled and you are connected to your cellular network.
Turn on iCloud Private Relay to protect your IP address and browsing activity in Safari:
• On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Apple ID. Select iCloud > Private Relay.
• On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Private Relay.
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