How to Change MAC Address

In computer networking, the Media Access Control (MAC) address is every bit as important as an IP address. Learn in this article how MAC addresses work and how to find the MAC addresses being used by a computer...

What Is a MAC Address?

The MAC address is a unique value associated with a network adapter. MAC addresses are also known as hardware addresses or physical addresses. They uniquely identify an adapter on a LAN.

MAC addresses are 12-digit hexadecimal numbers (48 bits in length). By convention, MAC addresses are usually written in one of the following two formats:

MM:MM:MM:SS:SS:SS

MM-MM-MM-SS-SS-SS

The first half of a MAC address contains the ID number of the adapter manufacturer. These IDs are regulated by an Internet standards body. The second half of a MAC address represents the serial number assigned to the adapter by the manufacturer. In the example,

00:A0:C9:14:C8:29

The prefix

00A0C9

indicates the manufacturer is Intel Corporation.

How to find MAC Address?

Go to start -> Run ->Type cmd and press Enter

A DOS window will appear. This is also commonly called a Command Prompt

Now type IPCONFIG /ALL at the command prompt and hit ENTER. This window will now display the configuration of all of your network adapters. If you have multiple network adapters in your PC you'll see multiple addresses. The MAC Address you're looking for will be listed under the heading Ethernet Adapter

Now look for the Physical Address. It should look something like 00-50-BA-D1-BA-71

To close the window when you are finished, type EXIT at the command prompt and hit the ENTER key

How to change MAC Address?

Go to Start > Control panel > Network and Internet connections , then right click on the that network connection whose network card’s MAC address you want to change and click Properties.

In the General tab, click on the Configure button.

Then click on the Advanced tab.

In the Property section, you have to see an option saying Network Address or Locally Administered Address. Select it and change the radio button to Value ( Not present means that your network card will use the default MAC address programmed by the manufacturer ).

Now type in a new MAC address and click OK.

Restart the computer.

To make sure that the change is successful go to command prompt ( Start > Run, type in cmd and click OK ) then type in ipconfig /all.