How to Find the MAC Address of Any Device

4 min read  ·  iPhone · Android · Windows · Mac

A MAC address (Media Access Control address) is a unique identifier assigned to every network adapter in a device. It looks like this: A4:C3:F0:85:AC:2D — six pairs of numbers and letters separated by colons or dashes. Routers use MAC addresses for device management, parental controls, and network filtering.

On iPhone

1

Open Settings and tap General

From your Home screen, tap the Settings app (the grey gear icon), then scroll down and tap General.

2

Tap About

The very first item in General is About. Tap it to open the device information screen.

3

Scroll down to find Wi-Fi Address

Scroll down the About screen until you see Wi-Fi Address. The value next to it — in the format XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX — is your iPhone's MAC address for its Wi-Fi adapter.

Private MAC address note: Starting with iOS 14, iPhones use a randomized "private Wi-Fi address" for each network to protect your privacy. The address shown in Settings under About is your device's real MAC address. The randomized address shown under Settings → Wi-Fi → (network name) is what your router actually sees unless you disable Private Address for that network.

On Android

1

Open Settings and tap About Phone

Open the Settings app and scroll to the bottom to find About Phone (also called "About Device" on some models). Tap it.

2

Look for Status or Hardware Information

On most Android phones, you'll see a Status or Hardware Information option inside About Phone. Tap it. On Samsung devices, tap Status information.

3

Find Wi-Fi MAC Address

Scroll down to find Wi-Fi MAC address. The 12-character alphanumeric string is your device's MAC address. On some phones it may be listed as simply "MAC address."

Alternative method on Android — through Wi-Fi settings

1

Open Settings and tap Wi-Fi or Connections

Go to Settings → Wi-Fi (or Connections → Wi-Fi on Samsung). Make sure you're connected to a network.

2

Tap the gear icon or network name next to your connected network

Tap the gear icon or the name of the network you're connected to to open its details page.

3

Find MAC address in the network details

Scroll down in the network details to find MAC address or MAC type. If it shows "Randomized," tap the field to switch to "Device MAC" to see your real hardware address.

On Windows

1

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell

Press Windows + R, type cmd, and press Enter. Alternatively, search "Command Prompt" in the Start menu and open it.

2

Type ipconfig /all and press Enter

In the Command Prompt window, type ipconfig /all exactly as shown and press Enter. A large list of network information appears.

3

Find Physical Address under your active adapter

Look for your active network adapter — either Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi (for wireless) or Ethernet adapter Ethernet (for wired). The Physical Address line under it is your MAC address, formatted like A4-C3-F0-85-AC-2D.

Alternative on Windows — through Settings

1

Open Settings → Network & Internet

Press Windows + I to open Settings, then click Network & Internet.

2

Click Wi-Fi or Ethernet, then click your connection

Click Wi-Fi in the left panel, then click your connected network name. Or click Ethernet if you're wired in, then click your connection.

3

Scroll down to Physical address (MAC)

Scroll to the bottom of the network properties page. You'll see Physical address (MAC) with the 12-character address listed next to it.

On Mac

1

Click the Apple menu and open System Settings (or System Preferences)

Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen, then click System Settings (macOS Ventura and later) or System Preferences (macOS Monterey and earlier).

2

Click Network in the sidebar

In System Settings, click Network in the left sidebar. A list of your network connections (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, etc.) appears.

3

Click your active connection, then click Details

Click on the network you're using (e.g., Wi-Fi), then click the Details button next to it. A sheet slides down with detailed network information.

4

Click the Hardware tab to see the MAC address

In the Details sheet, click the Hardware tab. Your MAC address appears at the top, listed as MAC Address in the format a4:c3:f0:85:ac:2d.

Quick method on Mac — using Terminal

1

Open Terminal

Press Command + Space to open Spotlight, type Terminal, and press Enter to open it.

2

Type the command and press Enter

For Wi-Fi, type: ifconfig en0 | grep ether and press Enter. For Ethernet (if connected), try: ifconfig en1 | grep ether. The line beginning with ether is your MAC address.

What the MAC address is used for: Router administrators use MAC addresses to assign permanent local IP addresses (DHCP reservations), set up parental controls, or allow/block specific devices from the network. If you need to whitelist your device on a school or office network, this is the address you'll be asked to provide.

Still stuck? Talk to Koda.

Describe exactly where you're getting stopped and Koda will walk you through it step by step.

Get instant help from Koda →