In the iOS 15.3 Beta 2 update released today, Apple adjusted the wording of iCloud Private Relay being disabled on some cellular networks or WiFi networks, clarifying that the lack of carrier support is not the only reason for the feature to be turned off. In the new wording, Apple said either because the phone doesn't support it or it has been disabled in the phone's settings.
In iOS 15.2 and previous iOS 15.3 betas, if iCloud Private Relay was disabled in the phone plan, Apple would push all the blame on the carrier. Here's the wording from before.
The Private Relay feature of your cellular plan is turned off. Your phone plan doesn't support iCloud Private Relay. With Private Relay turned off, this network can monitor your Internet activity and your IP address will not be hidden by known trackers or websites.
Now Apple modified it to
Based on your current phone plan, the Private Relay feature has been turned off. The reason may be that your phone plan doesn't support iCloud Private Relay, or it may have been turned off in your phone settings. With iCloud Private Relay turned off, this network can monitor your Internet activity and your IP address won't be hidden by known trackers or websites.
Apple's current wording doesn't allow for the possibility that iCloud Private Relay won't work because it's turned off in the Settings app. iCloud Private Relay can be turned on or off for specific WiFi and cellular networks, and there may be an iOS 15.2 error that causes some users to disable these settings by default.
Entering the phone settings and switching to "Restrict IP Address Tracking" will ensure that iCloud Private Relay is activated in the cellular network, while entering WiFi, clicking on the "i" button next to the network and switching to "Restrict IP Address Tracking", if your WiFi network is not already enabled, it will be turned on.
Earlier this week, Apple's vague iCloud Private Relay rhetoric left T-Mobile in some of the woes. The carrier has been accused of disabling the iCloud private relay feature for its users, making it impossible for them to use this privacy-enhancing feature. Even if iCloud Private Relay was only disabled due to being turned off in the Settings app, Apple's messages put the blame on T-Mobile.
Major U.S. carriers, including T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T, have all confirmed that they are not blocking iCloud's private relay and have no plans to do so. For T-Mobile users with content filtering features such as parental controls enabled, iCloud Private Relay will be disabled because these services cannot run with the feature turned on.