How to Find Your MAC Address

A MAC address is the unique hardware identifier of a device’s network adapter, and you will need it for things like router MAC filtering, registering a device with your ISP, or troubleshooting a connection. This guide shows exactly where to find it on Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android, plus a shortcut for finding another device’s MAC from your router. It also covers the private-address feature that can show you a randomized MAC instead of the real one.

A MAC address is written as six pairs of characters separated by colons or dashes, like 3A:1F:9C:44:0B:E2. Most devices have more than one, a separate address for Wi-Fi and for wired Ethernet, so make sure you are reading the one for the connection you are using.

Find Your MAC Address on Windows 11

The quickest way is through Settings.

1. Open Settings, then click Network & Internet.
2. Click Wi-Fi (or Ethernet if you are wired).
3. Click Hardware properties.
4. Read the value next to Physical address (MAC). That is your MAC address.

If you prefer the command line, it is even faster:

1. Press Windows + R, type cmd, and press Enter.
2. Type ipconfig /all and press Enter.
3. Find your adapter in the list and read the Physical Address line.

The command getmac /v /fo list also shows the MAC for every adapter in a clean list.

Find Your MAC Address on a Mac

On macOS, the address lives in the network settings.

1. Open System Settings (called System Preferences on older versions).
2. Click Network, then select Wi-Fi.
3. Click Details next to your connected network (or Advanced on older versions).
4. Open the Hardware tab, or look for the Wi-Fi Address field. That is your MAC address.

There is also a shortcut: hold the Option key and click the Wi-Fi icon in the top menu bar. The dropdown shows your Wi-Fi address directly, without opening settings.

Find Your MAC Address on an iPhone or iPad

On iOS and iPadOS, the true hardware address is in the About screen.

1. Open the Settings app and tap General.
2. Tap About.
3. Scroll down to Wi-Fi Address. That is your device’s real MAC address.

Be aware that the address shown under Settings, Wi-Fi, then your network may be a private address rather than the real one, which is covered in the randomization section below.

Find Your MAC Address on Android

Android wording varies by brand and version, but the path is usually similar.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap About phone (sometimes About device).
3. Tap Status (sometimes Status information).
4. Read the value under Wi-Fi MAC address.

Alternatively, go to Settings, then Network & Internet, then Wi-Fi, tap the connected network or its gear icon, and look for the MAC address in the network details.

Find Another Device’s MAC From Your Router

If you need the MAC of a device you cannot easily open, like a smart TV, printer, or camera, the router is the easiest source.

1. Log in to your router’s admin panel by typing its IP, usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1, into a browser.
2. Open the list of connected devices, often called Connected Devices, DHCP Clients, Device List, or Attached Devices.
3. Find the device by name and read its MAC address from the list.

This is also the fastest way to gather the MAC addresses of several devices at once, since they are all listed in one place.

Watch Out for Private or Randomized Addresses

Modern phones and computers can show a randomized MAC address instead of the real one, as a privacy feature that stops networks from tracking your device. This is useful, but it causes problems when you need the true hardware address, for example to set up MAC filtering or register a device with your ISP.

On an iPhone, the network you are connected to may use a Private Wi-Fi Address. To see or use the real one, go to Settings, then Wi-Fi, tap your network, and turn off Private Wi-Fi Address, or read the true address under General, then About, then Wi-Fi Address.

On Android, open your Wi-Fi network’s settings and look for a Privacy or MAC address type option. Switch it from Randomized MAC to Use device MAC (sometimes called Phone MAC) to use the real hardware address on that network.

On Windows, the random hardware address option is under Settings, then Network & Internet, then Wi-Fi, then your network’s properties. Turn off random hardware addresses there if you need the device to use its true MAC.

If a device keeps getting blocked by a MAC filter even though you added its address, a randomized MAC is almost always the reason.

Conclusion

Finding your MAC address takes only a few taps once you know where to look: Hardware properties on Windows, the Wi-Fi details on a Mac, the About screen on an iPhone, and the Status screen on Android. When you need another device’s address, your router’s connected-devices list is the quickest source. And if an address you found does not seem to work, check whether the device is using a private or randomized MAC, since switching that off reveals the true hardware address.