UUID-like hostnames shown instead of device names

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Hi everyone,

I’m running into a strange client naming issue with Pi-hole and Apple devices and would like to understand if this is expected behavior or a misconfiguration.

Setup:

  • Pi-hole v6 in Docker Portainer (host network)

  • FRITZ!Box as DHCP server (IPv4 + IPv6 enabled)

  • FRITZ!Box distributes Pi-hole as DNS for IPv4 and IPv6

  • Conditional Forwarding enabled (router = FRITZ!Box)

Problem:

For multiple clients, Pi-hole shows a UUID-like hostname (e.g. ddc0672f-ef9f-48c7-9b35-4bbae07f872d.fritz.box) even for the IPv4 address.

At the same time:

  • The FRITZ!Box always shows the correct, human-readable device names

  • IPv6 addresses are sometimes resolved correctly to the real hostname

  • After a DHCP lease renew on my Mac, Pi-hole briefly shows the correct hostname, but after some time it switches back to the UUID again (Mac Terminal also)

Question:

Is this expected behavior with Apple devices (macOS/iOS, IPv6, privacy features), or is there a recommended Pi-hole configuration to keep stable, readable hostnames without manually setting HostName on each client?

Thanks in advance!