How to find, change your MAC address on your Apple PC: A step-by-step guide

A MAC address or Media Access Control address is a unique code that is assigned to the network interface of a computer. On Mac, this code belongs to the WiFi or Ethernet card that is inside the machine. Every device has a different MAC address because if two devices on the same network have the same MAC address, the network will get confused and not work properly.  Also Read: Apple iPad Pro Launched In India With New M5 Chip, Ultra Retina XDR Display: Price, Specs

Since the MAC address is fixed and tied to the hardware, it is often used to block a certain device from using the network. For instance, in home WiFi, users can configure their router to only let specific MAC addresses join, so even if someone knows a WiFi password, but their MAC address is not allowed, they cannot use the network.  Also Read: Apple Launches 14-inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip And Up To 24-Hour Battery Life: Check Price And Availability

If you want to bypass a router that has rejected your Mac’s MAC address, here is a step-by-step guide on how to find and change the MAC address on your Mac. Also Read: iPhone 13 vs iPhone 14 vs iPhone 15: Best Deal To Grab This Diwali Under Rs 50000

A step-by-step guide on how to find and change MAC address on your Apple PC

How to find MAC address on your Apple PC

Step 1: To find your MAC address, press the Alt or Option key on your keyboard and click the Wi-Fi icon on the top bar of the macOS. 

Step 2: Look for the MAC address in the Wi-Fi part of the menu that appears.

Note down the Interface name too and save both of these for future reference.

How to change your MAC address

Step 1: Open the in-built Terminal app on the macOS.

Step 2: To generate a random MAC address enter the following line and press Enter. 

openssl rand -hex 6 | sed ‘s/\(..\)/\1:/g; s/.$//’

A hexadecimal number will appear in the next line.

Step 3: Disconnect your internet connection.

Step 4: Enter the following line into Terminal and hit Enter. Replace <interface name> with the Interface name. Replace <MAC address> with the Mac address created by Terminal in step 2.

sudo ifconfig <interface name> ether <MAC address>

After you type your Mac’s password, your MAC address will change. You can join a Wi-Fi network again.