diff --git a/pkg/hostagent/hostagent.go b/pkg/hostagent/hostagent.go
index 98d0922a0bd..a064f6dcfac 100644
--- a/pkg/hostagent/hostagent.go
+++ b/pkg/hostagent/hostagent.go
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/lima-vm/lima/v2/pkg/sshutil"
 	"github.com/lima-vm/lima/v2/pkg/store"
 	"github.com/lima-vm/lima/v2/pkg/store/filenames"
+	"github.com/lima-vm/lima/v2/pkg/version/versionutil"
 )
 
 type HostAgent struct {
@@ -110,8 +111,16 @@ func New(instName string, stdout io.Writer, signalCh chan os.Signal, opts ...Opt
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
+	var limaVersion string
+	limaVersionFile := filepath.Join(inst.Dir, filenames.LimaVersion)
+	if b, err := os.ReadFile(limaVersionFile); err == nil {
+		limaVersion = strings.TrimSpace(string(b))
+	} else if !errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+		logrus.WithError(err).Warnf("Failed to read %q", limaVersionFile)
+	}
+
 	// inst.Config is loaded with FillDefault() already, so no need to care about nil pointers.
-	sshLocalPort, err := determineSSHLocalPort(*inst.Config.SSH.LocalPort, instName)
+	sshLocalPort, err := determineSSHLocalPort(*inst.Config.SSH.LocalPort, instName, limaVersion)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -237,14 +246,14 @@ func writeSSHConfigFile(sshPath, instName, instDir, instSSHAddress string, sshLo
 	return os.WriteFile(fileName, b.Bytes(), 0o600)
 }
 
-func determineSSHLocalPort(confLocalPort int, instName string) (int, error) {
+func determineSSHLocalPort(confLocalPort int, instName, limaVersion string) (int, error) {
 	if confLocalPort > 0 {
 		return confLocalPort, nil
 	}
 	if confLocalPort < 0 {
 		return 0, fmt.Errorf("invalid ssh local port %d", confLocalPort)
 	}
-	if instName == "default" {
+	if versionutil.LessThan(limaVersion, "2.0.0") && instName == "default" {
 		// use hard-coded value for "default" instance, for backward compatibility
 		return 60022, nil
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/version/versionutil/versionutil.go b/pkg/version/versionutil/versionutil.go
index 36efcebada9..323a8fcba38 100644
--- a/pkg/version/versionutil/versionutil.go
+++ b/pkg/version/versionutil/versionutil.go
@@ -51,3 +51,8 @@ func GreaterThan(limaVersion, oldVersion string) bool {
 func GreaterEqual(limaVersion, oldVersion string) bool {
 	return compare(limaVersion, oldVersion) >= 0
 }
+
+// LessThan returns true if limaVersion < oldVersion.
+func LessThan(limaVersion, oldVersion string) bool {
+	return compare(limaVersion, oldVersion) < 0
+}
diff --git a/templates/default.yaml b/templates/default.yaml
index 8b27aa99374..2aa5c4077d1 100644
--- a/templates/default.yaml
+++ b/templates/default.yaml
@@ -122,8 +122,6 @@ additionalDisks:
 ssh:
   # A localhost port of the host. Forwarded to port 22 of the guest.
   # 🟢 Builtin default: 0 (automatically assigned to a free port)
-  # NOTE: when the instance name is "default", the builtin default value is set to
-  # 60022 for backward compatibility.
   localPort: null
   # Load ~/.ssh/*.pub in addition to $LIMA_HOME/_config/user.pub .
   # This option is useful when you want to use other SSH-based
diff --git a/website/content/en/docs/config/_index.md b/website/content/en/docs/config/_index.md
index 99469c1471a..097fca1176b 100644
--- a/website/content/en/docs/config/_index.md
+++ b/website/content/en/docs/config/_index.md
@@ -11,6 +11,6 @@ The current default spec:
 - Memory: 4 GiB
 - Disk: 100 GiB
 - Mounts: `~` (read-only), `/tmp/lima` (writable)
-- SSH: 127.0.0.1:60022
+- SSH: 127.0.0.1:<Random port>
 
 For environment variables, see [Environment Variables](./environment-variables/).
diff --git a/website/content/en/docs/faq/_index.md b/website/content/en/docs/faq/_index.md
index 824949514dc..0b02ca23289 100644
--- a/website/content/en/docs/faq/_index.md
+++ b/website/content/en/docs/faq/_index.md
@@ -50,7 +50,12 @@ weight: 6
 Password is disabled and locked by default.
 You have to use `limactl shell bash` (or `lima bash`) to open a shell.
 
-Alternatively, you may also directly ssh into the guest: `ssh -p 60022 -i ~/.lima/_config/user -o NoHostAuthenticationForLocalhost=yes 127.0.0.1`.
+Alternatively, you may also directly ssh into the guest: `ssh -p <PORT> -i ~/.lima/_config/user -o NoHostAuthenticationForLocalhost=yes 127.0.0.1`.
+The port number can be inspected by running `limactl list`.
+e.g.,
+```bash
+limactl list --format '{{ .SSHLocalPort }}' default
+```
 
 #### "Does Lima work on ARM Mac?"
 Yes