How to Find the MAC Address of an Xbox (All Models)

Whether you're setting up network filtering, configuring a router's access control list, or troubleshooting a connectivity issue, knowing your Xbox's MAC address is sometimes a necessary step. The good news: finding it takes less than two minutes once you know where to look.

What Is a MAC Address and Why Does It Matter?

A MAC address (Media Access Control address) is a unique 12-character identifier assigned to a network interface — essentially a hardware fingerprint for your device on a network. It looks something like this: A1:B2:C3:D4:E5:F6.

Unlike an IP address, which can change depending on your network, a MAC address is burned into the hardware itself and stays fixed. Routers and network administrators use MAC addresses for tasks like:

• Parental controls and device filtering — blocking or allowing specific devices
• Static IP assignment — giving a device the same IP address every time it connects
• Network troubleshooting — identifying which device is which on a crowded network

It's worth noting that wireless (Wi-Fi) and wired (Ethernet) connections each have their own MAC address. If your Xbox connects via both, they'll have different identifiers.

Finding the MAC Address on Xbox Series X and Series S

Microsoft has kept the settings menu fairly consistent across recent generations, so this applies to both current-gen consoles. 🎮

1. Press the Xbox button on your controller to open the guide
2. Navigate to Profile & system → Settings
3. Select General → Network settings
4. Choose Advanced settings

On the Advanced settings screen, you'll see two MAC addresses listed:

• Wireless MAC address — used when connected via Wi-Fi
• Wired MAC address — used when connected via an Ethernet cable

Write down or photograph whichever one applies to your setup.

Finding the MAC Address on Xbox One (All Variants)

The path is nearly identical on Xbox One, Xbox One S, and Xbox One X:

1. Press the Xbox button to open the guide
2. Go to Settings (gear icon) → All Settings
3. Select Network → Network settings
4. Open Advanced settings

The same two MAC addresses — wireless and wired — will appear at the bottom of the screen.

Finding the MAC Address on Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 handles this slightly differently depending on whether you're looking for a wired or wireless address.

For wired connections:

1. Go to My Xbox → System Settings
2. Select Network Settings → Wired Network (or your named network)
3. Choose Configure Network → Additional Settings → Advanced Settings

For wireless connections: The path is the same, but select Wireless Network instead of Wired.

The MAC address will be displayed at the bottom of the Advanced Settings screen.

Quick Reference: Where to Find It by Console

Wired vs. Wireless: Which MAC Address Do You Need?

This depends entirely on how your Xbox is connected to your network — and this is where people sometimes get tripped up.

• If your Xbox connects to your router via an Ethernet cable, use the wired MAC address
• If it connects over Wi-Fi, use the wireless MAC address
• If you're planning to use both at different times, you may need to register both with your router

Some routers display connected devices by name and make this obvious. Others show only MAC addresses, which can make it hard to know which entry belongs to your Xbox. Cross-referencing the MAC address from the console's settings with the router's device list is the reliable way to confirm you've got the right one.

A Note on MAC Address Filtering

MAC address filtering is a feature available on most home routers that lets you control which devices can connect to your network. It's commonly used for parental controls or as a basic layer of network access management.

However, it's worth understanding that MAC filtering alone isn't a strong security measure — it's relatively easy for a technically-minded person to spoof a MAC address. It works well for household device management, but shouldn't be treated as a security wall on its own.

Variables That Affect Your Setup

The straightforward part is finding the address — the less straightforward part is knowing what to do with it. A few factors shape how this plays out in practice:

• Router brand and firmware — the interface for entering MAC addresses varies widely between manufacturers like Netgear, Asus, TP-Link, and others
• Whether you use wired or wireless — or both, which means managing two addresses
• Network configuration goals — static IP assignment, filtering, and QoS (quality of service) prioritization each use the MAC address differently
• Parental control software — some third-party parental control tools have their own device registration process that may or may not use MAC addresses directly

What you do once you have the address depends on which of these scenarios you're working through — and each router's admin panel handles that part differently.