My iPhone does not show its actual device name in my WIFi router but a UUID instead. Why does it do that and how can I cause the device to show up with an actual name and the same name and MAC address as every time instead of coming up with a new UUID as a device name and completely random MAC address?
iPhone SE, iOS 18
What happens if you turn off the Private Wi-Fi Address option......(which is designed to hide info about your iPhone)...... on the iPhone?
Settings > Wi-Fi
Type on the blue "i" next to the name of the Wi-Fi network
Scroll down and turn off Private Wi-Fi Address
What happens if you turn off the Private Wi-Fi Address option......(which is designed to hide info about your iPhone)...... on the iPhone?
Settings > Wi-Fi
Type on the blue "i" next to the name of the Wi-Fi network
Scroll down and turn off Private Wi-Fi Address
The iPhone does have a hostname. What you call "for trusted services" is actually broadcast on private networks via Bonjour. The hostname (and thus device name) is no secure private information, but available in clear text on the network. This is integral part of many network based technologies.
All my other devices (incl. iPhones and Macs) do not show this behavior and are properly named in the router
I actually suspected that too. But as it turns out it's not the culprit...
A router does not and cannot "fetch" the name you have given your iPhone in its settings (e.g., "Julian's iPhone").
This is an intentional privacy and security feature designed by Apple. Here’s a detailed explanation of why this happens and what the router sees instead.
Why Your iPhone's Name is Kept Private
The name you set in Settings > General > About > Name is primarily for your personal convenience and for trusted Apple services. It's used for:
Broadcasting this personal name to every Wi-Fi network you connect to would be a significant privacy risk. It could allow network operators to easily identify you and track your presence. To prevent this, iOS does not send this name to the router during the connection process.
iPhone showing up as wrong name in WiFi router
