diff --git a/cmd/nerdctl/login/login_linux_test.go b/cmd/nerdctl/login/login_linux_test.go
index 6d851d2e731..3c294b1b390 100644
--- a/cmd/nerdctl/login/login_linux_test.go
+++ b/cmd/nerdctl/login/login_linux_test.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 package login
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"strconv"
@@ -344,10 +345,19 @@ func TestLoginAgainstVariants(t *testing.T) {
 
 						// TODO: remove specialization when we fix the localhost mess
 						if !rl.IsLocalhost() || !tc.tls {
-							c.Cmd(helpers, "http://"+regHost).Run(&test.Expected{ExitCode: expect.ExitCodeSuccess})
-							c.Cmd(helpers, "https://"+regHost).Run(&test.Expected{ExitCode: expect.ExitCodeSuccess})
-							c.Cmd(helpers, "http://"+regHost+"/whatever?foo=bar;foo:bar#foo=bar").Run(&test.Expected{ExitCode: expect.ExitCodeSuccess})
-							c.Cmd(helpers, "https://"+regHost+"/whatever?foo=bar&bar=foo;foo=foo+bar:bar#foo=bar").Run(&test.Expected{ExitCode: expect.ExitCodeSuccess})
+							// Providing an explicit scheme succeeds, but a warning telling the
+							// user that the scheme is ignored must be displayed
+							// (https://github.com/containerd/nerdctl/issues/3052)
+							schemeWarned := func() *test.Expected {
+								return &test.Expected{
+									ExitCode: expect.ExitCodeSuccess,
+									Errors:   []error{errors.New("accepted only as a convenience")},
+								}
+							}
+							c.Cmd(helpers, "http://"+regHost).Run(schemeWarned())
+							c.Cmd(helpers, "https://"+regHost).Run(schemeWarned())
+							c.Cmd(helpers, "http://"+regHost+"/whatever?foo=bar;foo:bar#foo=bar").Run(schemeWarned())
+							c.Cmd(helpers, "https://"+regHost+"/whatever?foo=bar&bar=foo;foo=foo+bar:bar#foo=bar").Run(schemeWarned())
 						}
 					}
 
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/login/login.go b/pkg/cmd/login/login.go
index 773bf8edc76..7b1105ad3a6 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/login/login.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/login/login.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/url"
+	"strings"
 
 	"golang.org/x/net/context/ctxhttp"
 
@@ -41,7 +42,28 @@ Configure a credential helper to remove this warning. See
 https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/login/#credentials-store
 `
 
+// schemeWarning returns a warning message if the provided server address contains an explicit
+// http or https scheme, and an empty string otherwise.
+// Accepting a scheme in the server address is only a convenience: the scheme itself is ignored
+// (see dockerconfigresolver.Parse), which may surprise users (https://github.com/containerd/nerdctl/issues/3052).
+func schemeWarning(serverAddress string) string {
+	sch, _, found := strings.Cut(serverAddress, "://")
+	if !found || (sch != "http" && sch != "https") {
+		return ""
+	}
+	warning := fmt.Sprintf("The %s:// scheme in the provided server address %q is accepted only as a convenience, "+
+		"and is otherwise ignored: connections to registries are made over https by default.", sch, serverAddress)
+	if sch == "http" {
+		warning += " To log in to a registry served over plain http, use the global --insecure-registry flag instead."
+	}
+	return warning
+}
+
 func Login(ctx context.Context, options types.LoginCommandOptions, stdout io.Writer) error {
+	if warning := schemeWarning(options.ServerAddress); warning != "" {
+		log.G(ctx).Warn(warning)
+	}
+
 	registryURL, err := dockerconfigresolver.Parse(options.ServerAddress)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/login/login_test.go b/pkg/cmd/login/login_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..de90a3c7f70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/cmd/login/login_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+/*
+   Copyright The containerd Authors.
+
+   Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+   you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+   You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+   Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+   distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+   WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+   limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package login
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"gotest.tools/v3/assert"
+)
+
+func TestSchemeWarning(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name        string
+		address     string
+		wantWarning bool
+		wantHint    bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name:    "empty address",
+			address: "",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "no scheme",
+			address: "index.docker.io",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "hostname with port but no scheme",
+			address: "localhost:5000",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "https scheme",
+			address:     "https://index.docker.io/v1/",
+			wantWarning: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "https scheme with port",
+			address:     "https://localhost:5000",
+			wantWarning: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "http scheme",
+			address:     "http://localhost:5000",
+			wantWarning: true,
+			wantHint:    true,
+		},
+		{
+			// Unsupported schemes are rejected with an explicit error by
+			// dockerconfigresolver.Parse, so no warning is needed.
+			name:    "unsupported scheme",
+			address: "oci://registry.example.com",
+		},
+		{
+			// The experimental scheme is meaningful and not ignored, so no warning.
+			name:    "experimental scheme",
+			address: "nerdctl-experimental://index.docker.io/v1/",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			warning := schemeWarning(tc.address)
+			assert.Equal(t, warning != "", tc.wantWarning)
+			if tc.wantWarning {
+				assert.Assert(t, strings.Contains(warning, "ignored"))
+			}
+			assert.Equal(t, strings.Contains(warning, "--insecure-registry"), tc.wantHint)
+		})
+	}
+}