Search results
People also ask
Why do I need to know my MAC address?
Why is MAC address important in a network?
How do MAC addresses work?
What is MAC address example?
Are MAC addresses permanent?
Why do we use MAC address instead of IP address?
Jan 31, 2019 · What is a MAC address? How do you find a MAC address? Why should you care about a MAC address in the first place? We have the answers you’re looking for. Here’s what you need to know about MAC addresses: Question 1: What is a MAC address? A MAC address is a unique identifier for a device that accesses the internet.
- What Is a MAC Address?
- How Does a MAC Address Work?
- How Are MAC Addresses Used?
- How Do I Find My MAC Address?
- The Best Tech Newsletter Around
Multiple hardware and software elements work together every day to connect us to the internet and get data to our devices. Hardware devices like routers and cables transmit the data we need, while software like border gateway protocol (BGP) and internet protocol (IP) addresses direct those data packets to and from those devices. Without both working together, we couldn't get online.
One of those critical elements is the media access control (MAC) address. MAC addresses are associated with specific devices and assigned to them by the manufacturer.
Other names used for MAC addresses include:
•Networking hardware address
•Burned-in address (BIA)
•Physical address
When data packets from the internet hit your router, that router needs to be able to send them to the right device on its network. It does this using MAC addresses, assigning a private IP address to each network-connected device based on that device's MAC address. This is different from the IP address your internet service provider (ISP) assigns you---that's your public IP address.
Your router tracks outbound data requests so that when the data comes back, it can attach the correct private IP to the data packets, then send them along to whichever device's MAC address matches that private IP.
Devices can have more than one MAC address because they get one for every place they can connect to the internet. If your laptop has an ethernet port and Wi-Fi, for example, it would have different MAC addresses for the Wi-Fi connection and the Ethernet connection. Bluetooth also uses its own MAC address.
Related: Wi-Fi vs. Ethernet: How Much Better Is a Wired Connection?
In addition to sending your data to the right place, your wireless router also uses MAC addresses to secure your connection by only accepting traffic from devices with MAC addresses that it recognizes. This is called MAC filtering.
Related: Internet Connection Not Working? 10 Troubleshooting Tips
If you need to find the MAC address for your device, you can usually do it by going into the settings menu. You can follow our guide to finding the MAC addresses on your Windows device, whether by the Settings app or by the command prompt.
It's also easy to find the MAC address on a Mac computer. In System Preferences, click the Network icon, select the interface you want to use, then click Advanced. You'll see the MAC address listed under the Hardware tab.
Many more devices, including smart TVs, game consoles, and smartphones have their own MAC addresses that you can find.
If you want to, it's also possible to change or "spoof" your MAC address.
By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.
Share Share Share Share Share
Copy
Email
Share
Share Share Share Share Share
Sep 3, 2013 · What are MAC addresses used for? MAC addresses are the low level basics that make your ethernet based network work. Network cards each have a unique MAC address. Packets that are sent on the ethernet are always coming from a MAC address and sent to a MAC address.
- Jason Fitzpatrick
- Editor-In-Chief
Feb 20, 2019 · The Physical Address of your network card, aka MAC address. MAC addresses are a string of six groups of two digits or characters which are separated by colons or dashes. A regular MAC address might very well look like this: 10-C0-A3-29-FB-C7 or 94-DE-80-0B-94-31.
Jul 31, 2015 · MAC is required for a couple of reasons, the biggest of which is that IP addresses are not (necessarily) unique. Before a computer has an IP address, it typically requests one on the network by using a service called DHCP.
The full address is required when you do anything beyond your street (your local network). Data transfers on a local network use MAC addresses to identify source and destination of traffic. This type of communication happens at a lower level on the networking stack than IP addressing and routing.
Oct 30, 2023 · Sometimes you need to know the physical hardware address, or MAC address (short for "Media Access Control"), of your network adapter on a Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC. Here are several ways to find it.
