diff --git a/src/lib/__tests__/geo.test.ts b/src/lib/__tests__/geo.test.ts
index 63af5bb27..172b2a799 100644
--- a/src/lib/__tests__/geo.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/__tests__/geo.test.ts
@@ -84,14 +84,15 @@ describe("lookupIpLocation IP-geolocation HTTPS guard", () => {
     );
   }
 
-  it("uses the ip-api.com HTTPS endpoint by default", async () => {
-    // v1.18.11 (W3): default provider is ip-api.com (ipwho.is 403s on
-    // datacentre egress). The wire URL must be the ip-api.com JSON path
-    // and the parser must accept its `status`/`countryCode` shape.
+  it("uses the ipwho.is HTTPS endpoint by default", async () => {
+    // v1.25.5: ipwho.is is the default provider again. The wire URL must be
+    // the ipwho.is path and the parser must accept its `success`/`country_code`
+    // shape. (Operators whose egress ipwho.is rejects override IP_GEO_LOOKUP_URL
+    // to ip-api.com — the parser still accepts that shape; covered below.)
     const fetchSpy = vi
       .fn()
       .mockResolvedValue(
-        jsonOk({ status: "success", city: "Berlin", countryCode: "DE" }),
+        jsonOk({ success: true, city: "Berlin", country_code: "DE" }),
       );
     vi.stubGlobal("fetch", fetchSpy);
     const { lookupIpLocation } = await import("../geo");
@@ -99,7 +100,7 @@ describe("lookupIpLocation IP-geolocation HTTPS guard", () => {
     expect(await lookupIpLocation("8.8.8.8")).toBe("Berlin, DE");
     const url = fetchSpy.mock.calls[0]?.[0] as string;
     expect(url.startsWith("https://")).toBe(true);
-    expect(url).toBe("https://ip-api.com/json/8.8.8.8");
+    expect(url).toBe("https://ipwho.is/8.8.8.8");
   });
 
   it("refuses to call non-HTTPS configured providers", async () => {
diff --git a/src/lib/geo.ts b/src/lib/geo.ts
index c3bfc95a9..1f15b8320 100644
--- a/src/lib/geo.ts
+++ b/src/lib/geo.ts
@@ -90,16 +90,16 @@ type GeoResponse = IpwhoIsResponse & IpApiProResponse;
 const PRIVATE_IP =
   /^(127\.|10\.|172\.(1[6-9]|2\d|3[01])\.|192\.168\.|::1|fc|fd|fe80|localhost|unknown)/;
 
-// v1.18.11 (W3) — the default online provider is ip-api.com, not ipwho.is.
-// ipwho.is rejects datacentre / free-plan server egress with a 403
-// ("CORS is not supported on the Free plan"), which silently produced the
-// "—" location on prod (every server-side lookup failed). The base is
-// `https://ip-api.com/json`; `buildLookupUrl` appends `/<ip>` so the wire
-// URL is `https://ip-api.com/json/<ip>`. The parser already accepts the
-// ip-api.com shape (`status:"success"` + `countryCode`). Operators who need
-// a different / keyed provider override via `IP_GEO_LOOKUP_URL`; the HTTPS
-// egress guard in `buildLookupUrl` still applies to any override.
-const DEFAULT_GEO_URL = "https://ip-api.com/json";
+// v1.25.5 — ipwho.is is the default online provider again (free, no key, no
+// per-minute cap on the standard endpoint). The base is `https://ipwho.is`;
+// `buildLookupUrl` appends `/<ip>` so the wire URL is `https://ipwho.is/<ip>`.
+// The parser accepts BOTH the ipwho.is shape (`success` + `country_code`) and
+// the ip-api.com shape (`status` + `countryCode`), so operators whose egress
+// ipwho.is rejects can point `IP_GEO_LOOKUP_URL` at `https://ip-api.com/json`
+// (or any keyed provider matching one of those shapes) with no code change.
+// The offline GeoLite2 MMDB tier stays OPTIONAL — consulted only when the
+// online lookup misses, and skipped entirely when the databases are absent.
+const DEFAULT_GEO_URL = "https://ipwho.is";
 
 function geoLiteDir(): string {
   return process.env.GEOLITE2_DIR ?? "/opt/geolite2";