Where to Find Your MAC Address on Any Device

Every device that connects to a network has a MAC address — a unique identifier burned into its network hardware. Whether you're setting up router filters, troubleshooting a connection, or registering a device on a managed network, knowing where to find this value is a practical skill worth having.

Here's what you need to know about MAC addresses and exactly where to locate them across different devices and operating systems.

What Is a MAC Address?

A MAC address (Media Access Control address) is a 12-character alphanumeric identifier assigned to a network interface controller (NIC). It typically looks like this:

00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E or 00-1A-2B-3C-4D-5E

The first six characters identify the manufacturer (known as the OUI — Organizationally Unique Identifier). The last six are unique to the specific device hardware.

A few important distinctions:

• MAC addresses operate at Layer 2 of the network model (the data link layer), which is below IP addresses
• They are hardware-level identifiers, not assigned by your router or ISP
• Modern operating systems support MAC address randomization, which means the address your device broadcasts may differ from its permanent hardware MAC — relevant for privacy-conscious users and network admins alike
• A device with both Wi-Fi and Ethernet will have a separate MAC address for each interface

Where to Find Your MAC Address by Device 🔍

Windows

1. Open Settings → Network & Internet → Wi-Fi (or Ethernet)
2. Click your active connection, then scroll to Properties
3. Look for Physical address (MAC)

Alternatively, open Command Prompt and type:

Find your network adapter listed and look for the Physical Address field.

macOS

1. Go to Apple Menu → System Settings (or System Preferences on older versions)
2. Navigate to Network
3. Select your active connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet), then click Details or Advanced
4. The MAC address appears under the Hardware tab

Via Terminal:

en0 is typically Wi-Fi; en1 may be Ethernet depending on your Mac model.

iPhone and iPad (iOS/iPadOS)

1. Open Settings → General → About
2. Scroll to Wi-Fi Address

Note: If Private Wi-Fi Address is enabled (it is by default in iOS 14+), the address shown may be a randomized MAC, not your device's permanent hardware address. To see the permanent address, disable this toggle per network under Settings → Wi-Fi → [Network Name].

Android

Steps vary slightly by manufacturer, but generally:

1. Go to Settings → About Phone → Status
2. Look for Wi-Fi MAC address

On some Android versions with MAC randomization enabled, you may see a randomized address rather than the factory address. This setting is typically found under Wi-Fi → Advanced or within individual network settings.

Linux

Open a terminal and run:

Each network interface (e.g., eth0, wlan0) will display a link/ether line with its MAC address. You can also use:

Routers and Network Devices

To find the MAC address of your router itself:

• Check the label on the bottom or back of the device — most routers print the MAC address directly on the hardware
• Log into the router's admin panel (usually at 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1) and look under Status or Device Info

To see MAC addresses of connected devices on your network, check your router's DHCP client list or connected devices table in the admin interface.

A Quick Reference Table

Variables That Affect Which MAC Address You See 🖧

Finding the "right" MAC address isn't always straightforward. Several factors change what you're looking at:

MAC randomization is now standard on iOS, Android, Windows 11, and many Linux distros. This feature rotates your device's broadcast MAC to improve privacy on public networks. For home networks or managed environments, you may need to disable randomization to get a consistent, registerable address.

Multiple interfaces mean multiple addresses. A laptop with Wi-Fi and Ethernet has at least two MACs. A device with a USB-to-Ethernet adapter will add a third. Knowing which interface you need to identify — and why — changes which address you should copy.

Virtual machines and containers generate their own virtual MAC addresses, separate from the host machine's hardware. If you're in a dev environment, this distinction matters when filtering by MAC at the network level.

Firmware and OS version affect where exactly the setting lives in a menu. The path on iOS 14 differs from iOS 17; Android menus shift between manufacturers and Android versions.

Why the Specific Steps Matter for Your Situation

Most people looking for a MAC address have a specific reason: whitelisting a device on a router, configuring a static DHCP lease, diagnosing a network conflict, or meeting a requirement from an IT department or ISP.

Each of those scenarios carries different requirements. A network admin setting up MAC filtering needs the permanent hardware address, not a randomized one. A developer testing a web application on a local network may only need a quick reference. Someone troubleshooting a connectivity issue may need to check the MAC on both the device and the router's connected-devices list to confirm they match.

The steps above get you to the right place — but which address matters, and whether randomization needs to be disabled, depends entirely on what you're trying to accomplish with that address once you have it. 🔧