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user_d9806f
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Tuesday, October 10th, 2023 9:52 AM

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Apple iCloud private relay

Noticed my internet download speed suddenly was < 10% of my subscribed speed.  I determined that performance returns to normal if I disable iCloud Private Relay on my apple devices.  I am using my own cable modem and router (no recent changes to this equipment).  Recently, Xfinity upgraded our neighborhood to the 10g network and my Mac was upgraded to the Sonoma OS.  Anyone know if this issue is an Xfinity or Apple issue?

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2 years ago

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user_d9806f

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2 years ago

Disregard comments regarding Sonoma 14.1 beta 3.  After I few days, the performance thru iCloud Private Relay degraded once again.  I am turning of Private Relay for the time being.

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user_d9806f

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2 years ago

Seems to have been an Apple Issue.  Problem existed in Sonoma 14.0.  I installed Sonoma 14.1 beta 3 and performance is now much better.  Speed test with iCloud Private Relay enabled is now 226 Mbps (56% of subscribed rate).  It is understood that there will be some degradation when using Private Relay.

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CCJessie1

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5.9K Messages

2 years ago

@user_d9806f 

Welcome to the Xfinity Forum and thank you for posting your questions here. Are you having Internet speed/performance issues on any non-Apple products? Have you been able to directly connect to the modem with an ethernet cord and test your speed from there? Comcast (as well as other ISPs) cannot guarantee Internet speed via WiFi as there are many factors that could impact WiFi including iOS operating systems. For an accurate representation of your actual Internet speed, we recommend connecting a device to the modem directly via an ethernet cord, ensure you change the connection type on the device, and then perform a speed test. If you are unable to directly connect to the modem, in the Xfinity app you can also test the Internet connection to the modem. If that connection is strong then the issue is likely related to the WiFi connection or the devices. If related to the WiFi, we recommend reviewing our WiFi troubleshooting help article for additional assistance strengthening that signal. If you do not see the issue on non-Apple devices then the issue is likely related to some type of update/change with those Apple devices. As we cannot troubleshoot those Apple devices, we recommend contacting Apple directly for that additional assistance. 

We hope this addresses your concerns. Please let us know if you have any other questions or comments. 

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user_d9806f

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Seems to have been an Apple Issue.  Problem existed in Sonoma 14.0.  I installed Sonoma 14.1 beta 3 and performance is now much better.  Speed test with iCloud Private Relay enabled is now 226 Mbps (56% of subscribed rate).  It is understood that there will be some degradation when using Private Relay.

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2 years ago

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flatlander3

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1.5K Messages

@user_d9806f​ Apple private relay functions like a VPN.  It hijacks the default route for your data and DNS queries.  It has encryption overhead and that degrades performance depending on processor speed, plus, you added additional hops between you and who you want to contact (increased latency).  Does it buy you anything?

Well, just like a VPN, instead of giving your DNS requests to Xfinity, you are giving them to apple, and you have also introduced a "man-in-the-middle" that can quite clearly see sites you visit and glean data that way.

From a security and privacy perspective, better would be to NOT use Xfinity equipment and change your DNS servers to one that claims to not use your DNS data, and one that also uses DNS encryption.  The option to change DNS servers doesn't exist on Xfinity gear.  Direct point to point to an encrypted web site is ALWAYS more secure than a connection through a 3rd party running a VPN/relay and using their default gateway to the internet instead of your own.  Then it's just you, and the site you contacted that can see your data.

Now that being said, most sites also can contain unencrypted content on their page.  Ads, 3rd party images and templates, tracking cookies...etc, and they can see that part from the web server side.  It's going to depend on your security settings in your browser then and who you "trust".

2 years ago

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