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How to Find Your MAC Address

Every network interface on your computer, phone, or other device has a unique MAC address. This guide shows you how to find the MAC address on various operating systems and devices.

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Finding Your MAC Address on Windows

In Windows, MAC addresses are often referred to as "Physical Addresses." Here are several methods to find your MAC address:

Method 1: Using Command Prompt

  • Open Command Prompt by searching for cmd in the Start menu
  • Type the following command and press Enter:
    ipconfig /all
  • Look for the network connection you're using (like "Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi" or "Ethernet adapter")
  • Find the line labeled Physical Address - this is your MAC address
    Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi:
      Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : local
      Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz
      Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1A-2B-3C-4D-5E
      DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
      Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Method 2: Using Settings (Windows 10/11)

  • Go to Settings (press Win+I)
  • Click on Network & Internet
  • Select Wi-Fi or Ethernet depending on your connection
  • Click on your active network connection
  • Scroll down to find Physical address (MAC)

Method 3: Using Control Panel

  • Open Control Panel
  • Go to Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center
  • Click on your active connection (like "Wi-Fi" or "Ethernet")
  • In the connection status window, click Details
  • Look for Physical Address in the Network Connection Details window

Tip

If your computer has multiple network adapters (like both Wi-Fi and Ethernet), each will have its own unique MAC address. Make sure you're looking at the correct adapter for your current connection.

Finding Your MAC Address on macOS

Apple refers to MAC addresses as "Wi-Fi Address" or "Ethernet ID" depending on the connection type. Here's how to find it:

Method 1: Using System Preferences

  • Click the Apple menu () in the top-left corner and select System Preferences (or System Settings in macOS Ventura)
  • Click on Network
  • Select your network connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) from the left sidebar
  • Click the Advanced button in the lower-right corner
  • Go to the Hardware tab
  • Your MAC address is listed as the MAC Address (or "Wi-Fi Address")

Method 2: Using Terminal

  • Open Terminal (from Applications > Utilities or using Spotlight)
  • For Wi-Fi, type the following command and press Enter:
    ifconfig en0 | grep ether
  • For Ethernet, use:
    ifconfig en1 | grep ether
  • Your MAC address will appear next to "ether":
    ether 00:1a:2b:3c:4d:5e

Method 3: About This Mac

  • Click the Apple menu () and select About This Mac
  • Click System Report or More Info
  • In the sidebar, select Network or Wi-Fi
  • Look for MAC Address in the details pane

Tip

On newer macOS versions, your device may use MAC address randomization for privacy when connecting to Wi-Fi networks. The MAC address shown in System Preferences is your device's actual hardware address, while the randomized address is what's presented to the network.

Finding Your MAC Address on Linux

Linux provides several command-line utilities to find your MAC address:

Method 1: Using ip Command

  • Open Terminal
  • Type the following command and press Enter:
    ip addr
    or
    ip link
  • Look for your network interface (like wlan0 for Wi-Fi or eth0 for Ethernet)
  • Find the line with "link/ether" followed by your MAC address:
    2: wlan0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP group default qlen 1000
        link/ether 00:1a:2b:3c:4d:5e brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

Method 2: Using ifconfig Command

  • Open Terminal
  • Type the following command and press Enter:
    ifconfig
    If the command is not found, try:
    sudo apt install net-tools
    or
    /sbin/ifconfig
  • Look for your network interface (like wlan0 or eth0)
  • Find the "ether" line which shows your MAC address:
    wlan0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.1.5 netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast 192.168.1.255
        inet6 fe80::1a93:deff:fe32:6c73 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether 00:1a:2b:3c:4d:5e txqueuelen 1000 (Ethernet)

Method 3: Using System Files

  • Open Terminal
  • Type the following command and press Enter:
    cat /sys/class/net/*/address
  • This will display the MAC addresses for all network interfaces:
    00:1a:2b:3c:4d:5e
    00:00:00:00:00:00

Method 4: Using Desktop Environment

  • Open Settings or System Settings
  • Go to Network or Network Connections
  • Select your active connection
  • Click the gear icon (⚙️) or Details button
  • Look for Hardware Address or MAC Address

Finding Your MAC Address on Android

The exact steps may vary slightly depending on your Android version and device manufacturer:

Method 1: Using Settings

  • Open the Settings app
  • Tap About phone or About device
  • Look for Status or Phone status
  • Find Wi-Fi MAC address or WLAN MAC address

Method 2: From Wi-Fi Settings

  • Open the Settings app
  • Tap Network & Internet or Connections
  • Tap Wi-Fi
  • Tap the gear icon (⚙️) or the three dots menu (⋮)
  • Tap Advanced
  • Look for MAC address or Wi-Fi MAC address

Method 3: Device Information

  • Open the Settings app
  • Tap About phone
  • Tap Hardware information (if available)
  • Find Wi-Fi MAC address

Note about MAC Randomization

Modern Android devices (Android 10 and newer) use MAC randomization by default to enhance privacy. This means the MAC address shown in settings may be your device's actual hardware address, while a different randomized address is used when connecting to Wi-Fi networks.

Finding Your MAC Address on iOS (iPhone/iPad)

Apple refers to the MAC address as "Wi-Fi Address" on iOS devices:

Method 1: Using Settings

  • Open the Settings app
  • Tap General
  • Tap About
  • Scroll down to find Wi-Fi Address - this is your MAC address

Method 2: From Wi-Fi Settings

  • Open the Settings app
  • Tap Wi-Fi
  • Tap the i (information) icon next to your connected network
  • Scroll down to see your MAC Address (may not be shown on all iOS versions)

Note about Private Wi-Fi Address

iOS 14 and later use a feature called "Private Wi-Fi Address" which uses a different MAC address for each Wi-Fi network to enhance privacy. To see or toggle this feature:

  1. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi
  2. Tap the i icon next to a network
  3. Look for the Private Wi-Fi Address toggle

When this is enabled, the address shown in the General > About section is your device's actual hardware address, not the one being used on networks.

Finding MAC Address on Routers

Most home routers have multiple network interfaces, each with its own MAC address:

Router Web Interface

  • Connect to your router's network
  • Open a web browser and enter your router's IP address (typically 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1)
  • Log in with your admin credentials
  • Look for System Information, Status, or Router Information
  • Find the MAC address for the desired interface (WAN, LAN, WLAN, etc.)

Physical Label

  • Check the bottom or back of your router
  • Look for a label with information about the device
  • Find entries labeled "MAC," "MAC Address," "Wi-Fi MAC," or "Wireless MAC"

Finding MAC Address on Printers

Network printers have MAC addresses for their wired or wireless interfaces:

Printer Control Panel

  • Access your printer's control panel or touchscreen
  • Navigate to Settings or System
  • Select Network Settings or Network Information
  • Look for MAC Address, Hardware Address, or Ethernet Address

Print Configuration Page

  • Access your printer's control panel
  • Find the option to print a Configuration Page or Network Configuration Report
  • Look for the MAC address in the printed report, often under network information

Finding MAC Addresses Using Network Tools

You can discover MAC addresses of other devices on your network using various tools:

Using ARP

  • Open Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (macOS/Linux)
  • Type the following command:
    arp -a
  • This will display a list of devices on your network with their IP and MAC addresses:
    Interface: 192.168.1.5 --- 0x8
      Internet Address    Physical Address    Type
      192.168.1.1        00-1a-2b-3c-4d-5e    dynamic
      192.168.1.15       01-23-45-67-89-ab    dynamic

MAC Address Format

MAC addresses are typically displayed in one of these formats:

  • Colon-separated: 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E
  • Hyphen-separated: 00-1A-2B-3C-4D-5E
  • Period-separated (Cisco): 001A.2B3C.4D5E

All formats represent the same address, just with different separators. For more information, see our MAC Address Format Guide.

What To Do After Finding Your MAC Address

Once you've found your MAC address, you might want to:

  • Look up the manufacturer to confirm the authenticity of your device
  • Use it for MAC filtering on your router
  • Configure DHCP reservations for static IP address assignment
  • Troubleshoot network connectivity issues
  • Register the device on a network that controls access based on MAC addresses

Remember that MAC addresses are unique hardware identifiers, so they should be handled with care to protect your privacy and security.

OUI Lookup Guide MAC Address Security