iCloud.com encountered an error while trying to connect to the server

I did some research and testing after reading a post yesterday by Hahn.

I overrode the DNS settings in Edge and Chrome and the wireless network connection I am using to one of the DNS options provided by Hahn. Specifically, I switched from using the DNS provided by my local internet service provider to Google. After making the changes late last night, I began to experience some improved results using Edge and Chrome, but there are still too many failures to connect. Firefox never failed going to iCloud.

Unfortunately, all the testing has now corrupted my calendar on my iPhone that was synced to my Outlook calendar. I will deal with the duplicate calendar entries after (if) I get a reliable connection to iCloud.

Again, Firefox never missed a beat. I connected to iCloud 100% of the time.

Again, what is it about Firefox that makes it successful over Edge or Chrome in this situation? I think it now has to do with DNS.

After reading lots of stuff last night, it appears Firefox, by default, uses a special and dedicated DNS. If I read an article correctly, I think it is Cloudflare.

Attempts to use various DNS in Chrome and Edge have not yet yielded a 100% success rate. Sure wish there was a way to log things as you tried to connect to iCloud using either Edge or Chrome. Such info might yield a solution.

This is super insightful. Thanks for taking time to investigate the root cause.

BTW, I too tried the DNS options suggested by Hahn but no success.

Hoping an expert from Microsoft will help here on how to capture the logs while connecting to iCloud.

I did some research and testing after reading a post yesterday by Hahn.

I overrode the DNS settings in Edge and Chrome and the wireless network connection I am using to one of the DNS options provided by Hahn. Specifically, I switched from using the DNS provided by my local internet service provider to Google. After making the changes late last night, I began to experience some improved results using Edge and Chrome, but there are still too many failures to connect. Firefox never failed going to iCloud.

Unfortunately, all the testing has now corrupted my calendar on my iPhone that was synced to my Outlook calendar. I will deal with the duplicate calendar entries after (if) I get a reliable connection to iCloud.

Again, Firefox never missed a beat. I connected to iCloud 100% of the time.

Again, what is it about Firefox that makes it successful over Edge or Chrome in this situation? I think it now has to do with DNS.

After reading lots of stuff last night, it appears Firefox, by default, uses a special and dedicated DNS. If I read an article correctly, I think it is Cloudflare.

Attempts to use various DNS in Chrome and Edge have not yet yielded a 100% success rate. Sure wish there was a way to log things as you tried to connect to iCloud using either Edge or Chrome. Such info might yield a solution.

Hi SRoy_260, gwiljr,

Sometimes, DNS resolution problems can lead to issues accessing specific websites. Try flushing your DNS cache or using a different DNS server to see if that makes a difference.

To clear the DNS cache:

1. Open a command prompt. You can either type "cmd" in the Windows search box and press Enter, or press Win + R and then type "cmd" and press Enter.
2. In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter: ipconfig /flushdns
3. Wait a few seconds and you will receive a message indicating that the DNS cache was successfully flushed.

To change the DNS server:

1. Right-click on your network connection icon (usually located in the lower-right corner of the taskbar) and select "Open Network and Sharing Center".
2. In the left navigation bar, click "Change Adapter Settings".
3. Locate the network connection you are currently using (usually a Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection), right-click on it, and select "Properties".
4. In the Connection Properties window, find "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)", select it, and then click the "Properties" button.
5. In the "General" tab, select "Use the following DNS server address".
6. Enter an available DNS server address. You can use Google's public DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) or Cloudflare's DNS servers (1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1), for example. When you have finished typing, click OK.
7. Close all open windows, then reopen your browser and try to access iCloud.com.

Please note that changing your DNS servers may affect the speed and security of your Internet connection, so make sure you understand the possible effects of these changes before you make them.

Also, is it possible that differences in browser kernels may be a contributing factor? Different browsers may use different rendering engines and technologies to process web content, which may cause certain websites to work properly on one browser and have problems on another. Chrome and Edge both use the Blink kernel, while Firefox uses the Gecko kernel, which is based on an offshoot of the WebKit kernel, which is the kernel of the Safari browser. The Gecko kernel is a standalone kernel developed by Mozilla, which is also used in other Firefox-based browsers. It is also used in other Firefox-based browsers.

If this issue persists and none of the above solutions work, it might be worth reaching out to Apple Support for further assistance, as they would have the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding compatibility and known issues with iCloud.com.

Your Sincerely

Hahn - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

This is strange!

Following up on something you said in a early post, I find I cannot access iCloud.com using Chrome or Edge, but can with FireFox.

What is unique about Firefox on a Windows 10 system that allows it to access iCloud.com but Edge and Chrome cannot?

That’s the weird bit I don’t understand. Not sure how Firefox is connecting differently to iCloud.com on Windows 11. All settings are set to their ‘default’ values on both Edge and Firefox.