1

It seems as if there’s a lot of interfaces considering I’m not on a VPN.

iPhone $ ifconfig
lo0: flags=8049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 16384 index 1
    options=1203<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,TXSTATUS,SW_TIMESTAMP>
    inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000 
XHC0: flags=0<> mtu 0 index 2
pdp_ip2: flags=8010<POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST> mtu 1440 index 3
    options=6463<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,TSO4,TSO6,CHANNEL_IO,PARTIAL_CSUM,ZEROINVERT_CSUM>
pdp_ip0: flags=80d1<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,NOARP,MULTICAST> mtu 1440 index 4
    options=6463<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,TSO4,TSO6,CHANNEL_IO,PARTIAL_CSUM,ZEROINVERT_CSUM>
    inet 192.0.0.2 --> 192.0.0.2 netmask 0xffffffff 
pdp_ip3: flags=8010<POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 5
    options=400<CHANNEL_IO>
pdp_ip1: flags=8051<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 1440 index 6
    options=6463<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,TSO4,TSO6,CHANNEL_IO,PARTIAL_CSUM,ZEROINVERT_CSUM>
pdp_ip5: flags=8010<POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 7
    options=400<CHANNEL_IO>
pdp_ip4: flags=8010<POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 8
    options=400<CHANNEL_IO>
pdp_ip6: flags=8010<POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 9
    options=400<CHANNEL_IO>
pdp_ip7: flags=8010<POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 10
    options=400<CHANNEL_IO>
utun0: flags=8051<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 11
ipsec0: flags=8051<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 50000 index 12
ipsec1: flags=8051<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 13
ipsec2: flags=8051<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 14
ap1: flags=8822<BROADCAST,SMART,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 15
    options=400<CHANNEL_IO>
    ether 02:00:00:00:00:00 
en0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 16
    options=6463<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,TSO4,TSO6,CHANNEL_IO,PARTIAL_CSUM,ZEROINVERT_CSUM>
    ether 02:00:00:00:00:00 
    inet 192.168.1.244 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.1.255
anpi0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 17
    options=400<CHANNEL_IO>
    ether 02:00:00:00:00:00 
en1: flags=8822<BROADCAST,SMART,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 18
    options=400<CHANNEL_IO>
    ether 02:00:00:00:00:00 
en2: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 19
    options=400<CHANNEL_IO>
    ether 02:00:00:00:00:00 
awdl0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 20
    options=6463<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,TSO4,TSO6,CHANNEL_IO,PARTIAL_CSUM,ZEROINVERT_CSUM>
    ether 02:00:00:00:00:00 
llw0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 index 21
    options=400<CHANNEL_IO>
    ether 02:00:00:00:00:00 
utun1: flags=8051<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 1380 index 22
utun2: flags=8051<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 2000 index 23
utun3: flags=8051<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 1000 index 24
utun4: flags=8051<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 1200 index 25
    options=6463<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,TSO4,TSO6,CHANNEL_IO,PARTIAL_CSUM,ZEROINVERT_CSUM>
ipsec3: flags=8051<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 2000 index 54
ipsec4: flags=8051<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 2000 index 55
Improve this question
2
  • This is not a dupe. This is about iOS while the linked post is about macOS. There is lots of overlap, but there are significant differences. See my answer below.
    – Allan
    Commented Jan 31, 2023 at 4:19
  • The reason why there are lots of interfaces is the same, the difference is in the details of what each interface type is for.
    – Barmar
    Commented Feb 3, 2023 at 0:44

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

Since iOS and macOS are based on the same kernel, a number of these interfaces are addressed in the existing post Surprisingly many network interfaces on macOS: are these legitimate?

As this is a mobile device, there are some additional interfaces not present in macOS:

  • ap1 is an Access Point interface. This is if you turn it into a hotspot
  • llw0 is Low Latency WAN link. It is part of the (highly undocumented) SkyWalk subsystem
  • ipsecX are VPN links. While you aren’t using VPN currently, iOS is capable of VPN connectivity and these would be the interfaces used
  • pdp_ipX are cellular network interfaces like 5G, LTE, etc.
  • XHC0 is a USB interface likely for tethering
Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .