How to Change a MAC Address on Any Device

Every device that connects to a network has a MAC address — a unique identifier burned into its network hardware. But "burned in" doesn't mean permanent. You can change what your device broadcasts as its MAC address, and there are legitimate reasons to do so. Here's how it works, what varies by platform, and what you need to think through before making changes.

What Is a MAC Address (and Why Change It)?

A MAC address (Media Access Control address) is a 12-character hexadecimal identifier assigned to a network interface — your Wi-Fi card, Ethernet adapter, or Bluetooth chip. It looks something like A4:C3:F0:85:7D:22.

Unlike an IP address, which is assigned dynamically by a router, a MAC address is embedded by the manufacturer at the hardware level. However, operating systems can spoof a different MAC address in software, overriding what the hardware actually broadcasts.

Common reasons people change or spoof a MAC address:

Privacy: Preventing tracking across public Wi-Fi networks
Network troubleshooting: Resolving conflicts or testing network behavior
Bypassing MAC filtering: Accessing a network that restricts by hardware address
Re-registering on ISP networks: Some ISPs bind service to a specific MAC address

How MAC Address Changing Works 🔧

When you "change" a MAC address, you're not rewriting the chip — you're telling the OS to broadcast a different value. This is called MAC spoofing. The original hardware address (sometimes called the burned-in address or BIA) stays intact. When you revert the change, it comes right back.

The spoofed address persists only until:

You revert it manually
The OS resets the adapter
You restart the device (depending on how the change was applied)

Some modern operating systems now randomize MAC addresses automatically for each Wi-Fi network — iOS 14+, Android 10+, and Windows 10/11 all support this by default or as an opt-in feature.

Changing a MAC Address by Operating System

Windows

Open Device Manager → find your network adapter under Network Adapters
Right-click → Properties → Advanced tab
Look for Network Address or Locally Administered Address in the property list
Select Value, enter your new 12-character hex address (no colons or dashes), click OK

Alternatively, tools like Technitium MAC Address Changer handle this through a GUI. Some adapters don't expose the property in Device Manager — this is a hardware/driver limitation, not a Windows bug.

macOS