How to Find Your MAC Address on Windows 11 & Mac

On Windows 11, go to Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi (or Ethernet) > Advanced network settings > Hardware and Connection Properties and look for Physical address (MAC). On a Mac, open System Settings > Network > Wi-Fi > Details > Hardware for the MAC Address.

What is a MAC address?

A MAC (Media Access Control) address is a 12-character hardware ID burned into every network adapter, written as six pairs of hex digits separated by colons or dashes — for example, 3C:22:FB:8A:11:9D. It identifies the physical network hardware, while an IP address identifies where that device sits on a specific network and changes when you switch networks or routers. The "MAC" here has nothing to do with Apple's Mac computers — the abbreviation predates the product line and applies to every device with a network chip, Windows, Android, or otherwise.

Each MAC address includes an OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier) — the first three byte-pairs — which identifies the hardware manufacturer, so a MAC address can reveal whether an adapter was made by Intel, Apple, Realtek, and so on.

Windows 11: find your MAC address

Settings (fastest)

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
2. Click Network & internet, then select Wi-Fi or Ethernet, depending on your connection.
3. Click Advanced network settings.
4. Under Hardware and Connection Properties, find your adapter and look for Physical address (MAC).

This works the same way on current Windows 11 builds (24H2/25H2); Microsoft moved MAC address lookup into this consolidated Hardware and Connection Properties panel a few feature updates back, replacing the older per-adapter status dialog.

Command Prompt

Open Command Prompt and run:

ipconfig /all

Look for Physical Address under your active adapter (Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi, or Ethernet adapter). For a shorter list, use getmac /v instead.

Note: wmic is gone. Microsoft has removed the legacy WMIC command-line tool from current Windows 11 releases (fully stripped out starting with 25H2), so wmic nic get macaddress no longer works. Stick with ipconfig /all, getmac, or PowerShell.

PowerShell

Get-NetAdapter | Select Name, MacAddress

This lists every network adapter on the laptop along with its MAC address in one line, and works whether or not you're connected to Wi-Fi.

On an HP laptop (or any Windows 11 laptop)

The steps above are identical regardless of brand — HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, and every other Windows 11 laptop uses the same Settings app and Physical address (MAC) label, since it's a Windows OS feature, not something manufacturers customize.

Mac: find your MAC address

System Settings

1. Click the Apple menu > System Settings.
2. Select Network in the sidebar, then choose Wi-Fi (or your active connection).
3. Click Details next to the network, then open the Hardware tab (or TCP/IP on some macOS versions) to see MAC Address (also called the Wi-Fi Address).

Option-click the Wi-Fi menu bar icon

Hold Option and click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar; the pop-up shows the address labeled Address.

Terminal

networksetup -getmacaddress en0

This returns the actual hardware MAC address even on current macOS (Sequoia and later), where the Wi-Fi menu and network preferences may otherwise display a private, randomized address instead of the physical one.

Chromebook

1. Click the time in the bottom-right corner to open Quick Settings, then click the gear icon for Settings.
2. Go to Network > Wi-Fi, and click the network you're connected to.
3. Open the network details and look for MAC address or Hardware address.

Android

1. Open Settings > About phone > Status information (wording varies slightly by manufacturer — on some devices it's Settings > System > About phone > Status).
2. Look for Wi-Fi MAC address.

Since Android 10, phones use a randomized MAC address per Wi-Fi network by default (see below), so the number shown in a network's details may differ from the device's permanent hardware MAC listed under About phone.

iPhone and iPad

1. Go to Settings > General > About.
2. Scroll to Wi-Fi Address for the hardware MAC.

For the address a specific network actually sees, check Settings > Wi-Fi, tap the (i) next to the network, and look under Private Wi-Fi Address — see the next section for what those settings mean.

Finding it without booting the laptop

• Bottom-of-laptop sticker or box label: Some manufacturers print the Ethernet/Wi-Fi MAC address on a service-tag sticker or the original packaging, though this is increasingly rare on modern ultrabooks.
• Router's connected-devices list: Log into your router's admin page and check the client list (often labeled Attached Devices, DHCP Clients, or similar); it lists the MAC address next to each device's assigned IP and hostname.
• BIOS/UEFI setup: Some laptops show a network MAC address under a Network or About screen in the BIOS, though not all models expose it there.

MAC randomization: why the address your router sees may not match

This is the part most older guides skip, and it now affects almost every modern device. Instead of always broadcasting the same permanent hardware MAC, phones, laptops, and tablets increasingly generate a different, randomized address for each Wi-Fi network:

• iOS/iPadOS and macOS Sequoia+: Apple replaced the older "Private Wi-Fi Address" toggle with Rotate Wi-Fi Address, offering three choices per network — Off (use the real hardware MAC), Fixed (one private address per network that doesn't change), and Rotating (a private address that changes automatically, roughly every two weeks). Devices default to Rotating on open or weak-security networks and Fixed on WPA2/WPA3-secured networks.
• Android: Since Android 10, phones use a randomized MAC address by default for every Wi-Fi network, persistent per network unless you change it. You can toggle this per network in the Wi-Fi network's details screen.
• Windows 11: Under Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi, a Random hardware addresses toggle applies randomization globally; per-network control lives under Manage known networks, where each saved network can be set to On, Off, or Change daily.

Why this matters: if you're setting up MAC address filtering or a static DHCP reservation for a device, and the device has randomization turned on, the MAC address your router sees will not match the permanent hardware address you found in system settings — and it may keep changing. To make a device reliably identifiable on a trusted home network, either turn off randomization for that specific network (recommended, since it only affects that one network) or use the router's DHCP reservation against the "fixed" or actual hardware MAC, not a rotating one.

Why you might need your MAC address

• DHCP reservation: Assigning a device the same local IP address every time it connects, useful for laptops running local servers, printers, or smart-home hubs.
• MAC address filtering: Restricting which devices can join a Wi-Fi network by allow-listing their MAC addresses. This is a mild deterrent, not real security — MAC addresses are visible to anyone monitoring nearby traffic and can be spoofed with freely available software, so don't rely on it in place of a strong Wi-Fi password.
• Hotel, dorm, or corporate network registration: Many captive-portal networks require you to register a device's MAC address before granting access.
• Parental controls or network monitoring: Identifying and managing specific devices on a home network.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to share my MAC address? Generally yes for routine use, like registering a device on a school or hotel network. A MAC address alone can't be used to log into accounts or access personal files, but it can be used to track a specific device's presence on a network over time, which is exactly what randomization is designed to prevent on public Wi-Fi.

Can I change my MAC address? Yes. Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS all support changing or randomizing the address a device presents to a network, either through built-in randomization settings or manual MAC spoofing tools. The underlying hardware address is still burned into the adapter and can usually be restored.

Is a MAC address the same as an IP address? No. The MAC address is a fixed hardware identifier assigned by the manufacturer; the IP address is a network-layer identifier assigned by whatever network (or router) the device connects to, and it changes when the device moves between networks.

Why does my MAC address keep changing? This is almost always MAC randomization working as intended — iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS all now generate a rotating or per-network private address by default on many connections. If you need a stable address for DHCP reservations or filtering, turn randomization off for that one trusted network rather than disabling it system-wide.

The final verdict

Finding your MAC address takes under a minute once you know where to look — Settings on Windows and Mac, or the network details screen on mobile — but modern privacy features mean the address your router sees isn't always the permanent hardware one. If you're trying to identify a laptop on your network for filtering or reservations, check out What Laptop Do I Have? to confirm the exact model first, and if you're troubleshooting a missing Wi-Fi adapter altogether, see What Is a USB Wi-Fi Adapter? or How to Get Internet on a Laptop Without Wi-Fi for alternative ways to get online.