NextDNS and Apple HomeKit

I was struggling for weeks to get HomeKit auomations to work. Turn off lights when I leave home, unlock doors when I arrive, and etc. I found a solution: there is a conflict between NextDNS and HomeKit. I thought I'd post this here to help others who might have the same problem.

Before I set up HomeKit I would see random DNS calls to apple.com or icloud.com. I say random because I was not using an Apple endpoint (iPad, iPhone, or Mac), yet there were DNS calls to these domains. I set NextDNS to block known Apple/iCould telemetry and Ad domains.

I figured NextDNS may be blocking some required services. Since I was not sure which list or service was blocking HomeKit, I did the following:

• I removed Apple from Privacy - Native Tacking Protection.
• I enabled all apple.com and icloud.com domains in DNS.
• I left all all my other block lists in place.

This fixed the issue, but I'm just letting all apple.com and icloud.com. Is there a list of domains I can block or allow that will allow HomKit and other Apple functionality to work while block ad and tracking domains?