Private Relay Loading On Mac? (Spinning Wheel Won’t Stop?)

Private Relay Loading on Mac

Private Relay Loading on Mac


Is Private Relay Loading on your Mac when you try to access its settings in System Preferences? Does the spinning wheel go on and on, without revealing the Options button, that allows you to make changes?

Private Relay Always Loading On Mac

This is a new feature introduced by Apple alongside macOS Monterey, iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. However, because it required more fine tuning during the beta testing stages, Private Relay was released as a Beta.

And it sure feels like a test version, because it has its fair share of glitches, for a premium Apple service. Yes, Private Relay isn’t free, you have to have an iCloud+ subscription to be able to use it.

One of the common Private Relay issues on Mac is that the service displays as ‘Loading…’ when you try to access it in System Preferences -> Apple ID -> iCloud.

How To Fix Private Relay Loading on Mac

There isn’t a workaround that fits all macOS Monterey users, but you can try the following to fix it:

1. Force Quit System Preferences

  • Right-click on System Preferences icon in the Dock.
  • Go for Quit.
  • Click on System Preferences again and go for Apple ID, available in the top-right area of the window.
  • Make sure that you display the iCloud tab, in the left sidebar. Does Private Relay load now? Is the Options button available?

2. Restart Mac

If Private Relay is stuck on loading, your next option is to reboot your computer. A fresh start might flush any minor glitch that could prevent Private Relay from connecting.

How to: Go for Apple Logo -> Restart. Or, use the force restart combo: cmd (command) + ctrl (Control) keys + Power button until the screen goes black and Mac restarts.

3. Be Patient

private relay turned On in macOS Monterey
If Private Relay still won’t load you have to be patient. The spinning wheel will eventually stop and Options becomes available. Just let System Preferences run in the background and check it back later.

How To Check If Private Relay Works On Mac

how to check if Private Relay is working on Mac
If you enabled Private Relay on your iPhone or iPad, the feature will automatically be turned On on your Mac too.

Nevertheless, if you’re not sure if your IP address is concealed while Private Relay is ‘Loading’ in System Preferences and not showing its activation status, you can perform an IP lookup in Safari:

  • Open Google.com and search for what's my IP
  • Fact: If the result looks like this “2601:41c0:80e0:6::32:43” (an IPv6 address) it means that Private Relay is working.

    If you get a normal IP address like ‘206.71.50.230’ (IPv4 Address) Private Relay could still work, but you have to apply the next tip to be sure.

  • For comparisons sake, open Google Chrome or any other web browser on Mac (not Safari) and perform the same search. If the IP address matches the same from Safari, Private Relay isn’t working!
  • Fact: That’s because Apple’s privacy feature is only available with Safari and Chrome shows your real IP (if you don’t use a VPN of course.)

Private Relay Unavailable On Mac?

private relay issue confirmed as resolved
Did a notification pop up on your Mac informing you that Private Relay is unavailable and that the feature will automatically turn back On when it’s available?

This issue occurred before and is most likely caused by a global Private Relay downtime. If Apple’s servers that handle this service, experience an outage, the privacy service is automatically disabled until the servers get back online.

All you need to do in this case is to be patient and check Apple’s System Status Page to find out if the issue was resolved or not.

Fact: Are you getting Unable to load remote content privately in Mail? This issue is most likely caused by the Private Relay downtime! Be patient and it will fix itself, when Apple’s servers get back online!

Are you facing Private Relay issues on Mac? Share your feedback in the comment section. We will try to help you out.

Related: Another iCloud privacy feature included in macOS Monterey is Hide My Email!