What is MAC Address
MAC or Media Access Control Address is a unique string of 12 hexadecimal digits (0 to 9, a to f or A to F) which is assigned to a NIC (Network Interface Controller) which works as a network address in various communications within a given network segment. This use is very common among IEEE 802 networking technologies which includes Ethernet, Bluetooth etc.
MAC addresses are assigned by device manufacturers. Each address is stored in hardware such as RAM or by any other firmware mechanism. Some network interfaces do allow to change the MAC address. The MAC Address typically includes a manufacturer’s OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier).
MAC addresses are formed according to the principles of two numbering spaces based on EUI (Extended Unique Identifiers) which is managed by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers).
The original MAC Address of IEEE 802 comes from the Xerox Network Systems’ Ethernet addressing scheme. The 48 bit address space of MAC potentially contains 248 (281,474,976,710,656 ~ 281 trillion) possible MAC addresses.
3.Click on “About”
4.Find your MAC Address listed as Wi-Fi Address
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs MAC Address)
Q : Why is it called MAC Address ?
A : MAC stands for Media Access Control… so calling it MAC is short and convenient.
Q : Why is MAC Address important ?
A : It is important because it uniquely identifies a computer on the LAN.
Q : What is MAC Address used for ?
A : MAC Addresses are mainly used to internally communicate between a network and to externally authenticate a network on some ISPs
Q : Can I change MAC Address on Windows ?
A : Yes, changing MAC on windows is fairly simple.
Q : What are the types of MAC Address ?
A : The two types of MAC addresses are static and dynamic MAC Address.
Q : What is MAC Address spoofing ?
A : MAC Address spoofing is a technique for changing your MAC address that was assigned to the network interface or network device by the manufacturing factory. It is usually done to change the devices’ identity.
Q : Can MAC spoofing be detected ?
A : Unfortunately, MAC spoofing is very hard to detect. Most of the spoofing detectors use Sequence Number(SN) tracking technique.
Q : Is Wi–Fi Address the same as MAC Address
A : Yes, your devices’ Wi-Fi address is your devices’ unique static MAC Address.
Q : Can my ISP see my MAC Address?
A : No, the ISP will not know the MAC address of the client.
Q : Does MAC filtering provide extra security to the network ?
A : No, it does not provide any real security, but it does provide a false sense of security which should be considered harmful. If you need to limit the access to certain devices then it is advisable to use WPA2.
Q : Is it dangerous to give out your MAC Address ?
A : Probably NOT. Sometimes your device has been granted access to some secured network based on MAC Filtering .. even in that case giving it out should not be a problem whatsoever.
Q : Can 2 devices have same MAC Address?
A : Usually, NO. In order for a network device to communicate properly with other devices, the MAC Address must be unique. If two devices somehow have the same MAC Address then neither system can communicate properly as it will cause a lot of network communication collisoons.
Q : Can Police track my MAC Address?
A : Not necessarily. The local police does not track your MAC Address but they track your phone based on signal which helps them to locate the device, except some special organizations like the FBI etc. which can gather your phone information from your phone’s company itself.
We sincerely hope that you found this article to be clear, concise and informative. Let’s see what we learnt from this article.
First of all we learnt about MAC Addresses and its origin. We saw how it functions with other network devices to provide you a seamless and hassle-free service.
Then we looked at how to find MAC Address on iPhone, which was a piece of cake.
Finally we took some of the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding MAC Addresses and answered them to the best of our knowledge. But, if there is anything you are still unsure about, ask us in the comments and out team will gladly answer each query as soon as possible. Thank you for reading, have a great day.