172.20.10.1 - iPhone Personal Hotspot Gateway
172.20.10.1 is the gateway that iPhone assigns to its Personal Hotspot. If you see this as your default gateway, your device is connected to someone's iPhone hotspot rather than a router.
What Uses 172.20.10.1
172.20.10.1 is the default gateway assigned by iPhone Personal Hotspot. Devices connected to your iPhone hotspot use this as their gateway. No web admin panel exists here - manage hotspot in iPhone Settings.
All iPhones use 172.20.10.1 as the hotspot gateway. This is consistent across iOS versions and iPhone models.
iPads with mobile data use the same 172.20.10.x range for Personal Hotspot.
Uses 192.168.43.1 instead - a completely different address range from iPhone.
Uses 192.168.137.1 - another different range.
How to Log In at 172.20.10.1
Connect your device via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable. You must be on the local network - mobile data or other networks will not work.
http://172.20.10.1
Type the address with http:// explicitly. Modern browsers default to HTTPS, which will fail on a router without an SSL certificate.
Enter the username and password for your router. Check the label on the device for the current credentials, or use the defaults from the table below.
Default Credentials for Devices Using 172.20.10.1
| Brand / Model | Admin IP | Username | Password |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone (all models, all iOS versions) | 172.20.10.1 | - | No admin panel - managed in iPhone Settings → Personal Hotspot |
| iPad with Cellular | 172.20.10.1 | - | Settings → Personal Hotspot |
Troubleshooting
Go to iPhone Settings → Personal Hotspot. Tap "Wi-Fi Password" to change the hotspot password. The hotspot SSID is your iPhone's name - change it in Settings → General → About → Name.
Ensure mobile data is enabled and working on the iPhone. Check if your carrier plan includes hotspot/tethering - many plans restrict this or require an add-on.
FAQ
Is 172.20.10.1 safe to open in a browser?
Typing 172.20.10.1 in a browser while connected to an iPhone hotspot will fail with a connection refused error - iPhones do not run a web server on the hotspot network. There are no settings accessible via this address.
Why does iPhone use 172.20.10.1 instead of 192.168.1.1?
Apple chose the 172.20.10.0/24 range (which falls within the RFC 1918 172.16.0.0-172.31.255.255 private range) for Personal Hotspot to avoid conflicts with common home router addresses. Most home routers use 192.168.x.x, so connecting your iPhone-hotspot-connected laptop to a home network later would not cause a routing conflict.