Dozens of times a day I get the error above when browsing. It is NOT my network connection. It is NOT the websites I am visiting being down. Because google and edge work just fine.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Okay, so that’s probably routing related, or maybe a DNS problem. Or maybe an extension in Safari.
As an initial test, temporarily disable Private Relay, and test again.
Use iCloud Private Relay on Mac - Apple Support
Some technical background, if you’re operating the local network:
Prepare your network or web server for iCloud Private Relay - iCloud - Apple Developer
This should all be transparent in most networks, but the issues you’re reporting could point to local restrictions or to a local network issue with QUIC or ODoH network traffic.
Given everything is showing this issue, I’d assume that the local network either has IP or traffic or VPN restrictions configured, or the local Wi-Fi gear has issues.
Check for and apply any available Wi-Fi router firmware updates too, if this is your network.
Yes, there are similar posts with similar content, but there are no solutions that work in the myriad I have reviewed.
The problem occurs on iPhone 14Pro, iPhone 11 Pro (both running iOS 18.1.1) and on a 14-in 2023 MacBook Pro on M2 running MacOS 15.1.1.
Choosing some generic content, here is the comparison from Safari and from Chrome.
In contrast to the Chrome result:
Private relay was already off.
I can believe the issue is related to the local network, which are 2 ASUS routers in a mesh network (there is a wired backhaul but for some reason the router does not use the wired connection, rather the 6 GHz wireless backhaul).
Since the issue is not related to private relay, does it make sense to "prepare the network for Private Relay"?
There are no VPN or IP restrictions configured. There are two Wi-Fi routers (Asus Zen Wifi Pro ET12) in a mesh network. The wireless connection is weak (RSSI -82 db), but for some reason the router is no longer using the wired backhaul (despite being plugged in to an Ethernet cable).
Test elsewhere, and see if the issue persists. If not, the problems are seemingly isolated to your local wiring or your local boxes including the Asus gear, or ISP connection.
From what you report, -82 dB is deep down into the range with packet loss. Preferred is -65 dB or stronger, with -70 dB being considered marginal. (This decibel measurement stuff is also log-scale measurement too, so the difference in strength is way more than might seem. A tenth of the signal strength is -10 dB, a hundredth is -20 dB, and a thousandth is -30 dB. Signal drops fast.)
If the Wi-Fi wired backhaul is somehow also not working, there are seemingly larger issues with the local network.
In an inauspicious turn of events, went looking for Asus firmware and doc, got a few pages of data from Asus, and then got:
PS: If Private Relay is off everywhere, there’s no need to prepare for it.
Our hosts retitled the thread, so I’m unclear about the error message or diagnostic shown.
Please (re)post the error message or diagnostics reported by Safari.
Also, which iOS, iPadOS, or macOS version?
If you have add-on coffee-shop VPN apps, or add-on Safari extensions, or add-on anti-malware apps, please remove all of those, restart, and test again.
There are similar messages for different cases.
Please post the text of the message, when it next arises
Or screenshot the Safari message when it happens, expunge anything sensitive, and post the image.
Take a screenshot on iPhone - Apple Support
Any add-on security apps, add-on ‘coffee shop” VPNs, add-on ad-blocker extensions, or similar, installed here?
The problem occurs frequently on my iPhone 14 Pro and my wife’s iPhone 11 Pro, both running iOS 18.1.1.
which was the error statement. It was something generic like “Safari cannot connect to the website.”
[Edited by Moderator]
Thank you very much for the replies.
We have learned that Safari is incompatible with my network, but unfortunately without a fix for this, the "answer" simply drives me to switch to Chrome.
As the problem persists after trying a few different network changes, Chrome is now my new default browser. I don't really have any viable alternative to dozens of failed internet searches per day. Simply "trying" new routers without an idea of what DOES work is about $1000 wasted and a lot of effort.
rl94107 wrote:
Thank you very much for the replies.
We have learned that Safari is incompatible with my network, but unfortunately without a fix for this,
Wi-Fi gear at -82 dB is not working correctly.
Safari browser error on specific websites, but Google and Edge work
