Change or Spoof a MAC Address in Windows or OS X

8/17/2019 Change or Spoof a MAC Address in Windows or OS X

1/14

2/21/16, 6:4hange or Spoof a MAC Address in Windows or OS X

Page 1ttp://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-change-mac-address/

!

Windo

Windows

Window

WindowWindows V

Windows

T

Computer T

Google T

Internet Explorer T

MS O!ce T

Mac OWeb Site T

Softw

Revie

Free Downlo

Ot

Cool Webs

Gadg

SmartphoFun S

Change or Spoof a MAC Address in Windows or OS X

Every NIC (Network Interface Card) has a unique MAC address (Media Access Control). This

applies to all types of network cards, including Ethernet cards and WiFi cards. The MAC

Address is a six-byte number or 12-digit hexadecimal number that is used to uniquelyidentify a host on a network.

An example of a MAC address is 1F-2E-3D-4C-5B-6A and it falls into the Layer 2 networking

protocol of the OSI model. In today’s networks, ARP, or Address Resolution Protocol converts

a MAC address to a Layer 3 protocol address, such as an IP address. A MAC address can also

be called a Physical Address. Read my post on how to find your MAC address if you don’t

Search this website

http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/windows-vista/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/windows-8/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/windows-10/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-determine-or-find-your-mac-address/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/fun-stuff/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/smartphones/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/gadgets/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/cool-websites/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/free-software-downloads/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/software-reviews/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/web-site-tips/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/mac-os-x/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/ms-office-tips/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/internet-explorer-tips/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/google-softwaretips/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/computer-tips/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/windows-xp/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/windows-vista/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/windows-7/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/windows-8/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/windows-10/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/


2/14



know it.

All MAC addresses are hard-coded into a network card and can never be changed. However,

you can change or spoof the MAC address in the operating system itself using a few simple

tricks.

So why would you want to change your MAC address? Well there are many reasons for this,

mostly related to bypassing some kind of MAC address filter set on a modem, router or

firewall. Changing the MAC Address can help you bypass certain network restrictions by

emulating an unrestricted MAC Address or by spoofing a MAC address that is already

authorized.

For example, a WiFi network may allow only authorized computers to connect to the network

and filters out computers based on the MAC address. If you can sni" out a legitimate MAC

address, you can then spoof your MAC address and gain access to the WiFi network.

Service Desk Software

freshservice.com/IT-ServiceDesk

Simple, Efficient & ITIL-ready. Setup your Service

Desk in 2 mins!

Download Cleaner for Mac

Start Download

Best Help Desk Software

http://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=CgVpn7lfKVv7TJKeDwQHh_K_4Bezpj5cIhNPigdIBgIe61hEQBCDc85YFKARgyd7ohsijkBmgAbmntP8DyAEBqAMByAPDBKoEsAFP0BgIutEbOaLg2QvkICVGi3fVZ0zV8gf5IQMmUrWFcWEYHn219Gpwhqiw4_64LC4eiIhWf1OIBRBZiY1BNDOFTTeNAJFQvowS9hizHyizp6TQxn2blemex1KuNzsPU-eZ5BUSS3uBUXAs5vKWaYoGTfC5oI8bR33ZHioJ8DTV8syrIbweo2wQV3woTARvLRsXhPVltw8E0JLTWJ083BJ1f9srQA0yTK3yvfuqZuL2UogGAYAHr9hLqAemvhvYBwE&num=4&cid=5GjCu5G74MmI3lZGvyOulMNE&sig=AOD64_01bz5mW6upS2oMp3HB4lfPI61NwQ&client=ca-pub-1045480802991839&adurl=http://www.manageengine.com/products/service-desk/index.htmlhttp://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=Cmdfd7lfKVv7TJKeDwQHh_K_4BefcsYsIn7_UnqsC77LU_pgEEAMg3POWBSgEYMne6IbIo5AZoAGBgZnFA8gBAagDAcgDwwSqBLEBT9A4Ee3RHDmi4NkL5CAlRot31WdM1fIH-SEDJlK1hXFhGB59tfRqcIaosOP-uCwuHoiIVn9TiAUQWYmNQTQzhU03jQCRUL6MEvYYsx8os6ek0MZ9m5XpnsdSrjc7D1PnmeQVEkt7gVFwLObylmmKBk3wuaCPG0d92R4qCfA00fLMwGbhWKNsEFd8KEwEby0bF4T1ZbcPBNCS01idPNwSdX_bK0ANMkyt8r37qmaCqI46iAYBgAfn_uY6qAemvhvYBwHYEwg&num=3&cid=5GjCu5G74MmI3lZGvyOulMNE&sig=AOD64_1gQQRvXpkBbIr2Bvqt2ToFuxqMew&client=ca-pub-1045480802991839&adurl=http://www.zipdevil.com/fast_zippinghttp://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=CKuCt7lfKVv7TJKeDwQHh_K_4Bd_-1J0Il52D968BwI23ARACINzzlgUoBGDJ3uiGyKOQGaABmf_61APIAQGoAwHIA8MEqgSuAU_QKCCZ0R05ouDZC-QgJUaLd9VnTNXyB_khAyZStYVxYRgefbX0anCGqLDj_rgsLh6IiFZ_U4gFEFmJjUE0M4VNN40AkVC-jBL2GLMfKLOnpNDGfZuV6Z7HUq43Ow9T55nkFRJLe4FRcCzm8pZpigZN8LmgjxtHfdkeKgn4NCOGLQQzb7VJh6SKkd6QAZou2-KHtZC0n_HTg6ZTnEnXEoBy295NTMdP7BK7BPePXogGAYAHz4CFK6gHpr4b2AcB&num=2&cid=5GjCu5G74MmI3lZGvyOulMNE&sig=AOD64_017oI6tkFvb9Hui7EnviU2o7TxWw&client=ca-pub-1045480802991839&adurl=http://mackeeperapp.mackeeper.com/paramss%3Dphexafdfced8b5b5c1ac92979faa9a9cd2e8cb90dae3d4d4ced6e08ecbd4db9cd7d4dca6cedba0a9cdcae9eacdc5dba2cbd4d28ee4ded392d1e7a4a894d2d2d4e6e6c2dd8fd9dacc94d5dfdf90cadaa8%26trt%3D29_333451156%26tid_ext%3D8000002235001%3Badgr%3Dmac_keys_text%7Cwww.online-tech-tips.comhttp://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=CzFDM7lfKVv7TJKeDwQHh_K_4Bf3suLoIjYPj5P4BwI23ARABINzzlgUoBGDJ3uiGyKOQGaAB8-vV0gPIAQGoAwHIA8MEqgSuAU_QKGyK0R45ouDZC-QgJUaLd9VnTNXyB_khAyZStYVxYRgefbX0anCGqLDj_rgsLh6IiFZ_U4gFEFmJjUE0M4VNN40AkVC-jBL2GLMfKLOnpNDGfZuV6Z7HUq43Ow9T55nkFRJLe4FRcCzm8pZpigZN8LmgjxtHfdkeKgn4NDHObxczb7VJh6SKkd6QAZou2-KHtZC0n_HTg6ZTnEnXEoBy295NTMdP7BK7bv7UW4gGAYAH9ZOqLagHpr4b2AcB2BMI&num=1&cid=5GjCu5G74MmI3lZGvyOulMNE&sig=AOD64_3EgbE3HnV9uum2W0ntZFoLTdPhZw&client=ca-pub-1045480802991839&adurl=http://freshservice.com/free-service-desk%3F_bt%3D68654411357%26_bk%3Dit%2520service%2520desk%2520software%26_bm%3Dhttp://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=CzFDM7lfKVv7TJKeDwQHh_K_4Bf3suLoIjYPj5P4BwI23ARABINzzlgUoBGDJ3uiGyKOQGaAB8-vV0gPIAQGoAwHIA8MEqgSuAU_QKGyK0R45ouDZC-QgJUaLd9VnTNXyB_khAyZStYVxYRgefbX0anCGqLDj_rgsLh6IiFZ_U4gFEFmJjUE0M4VNN40AkVC-jBL2GLMfKLOnpNDGfZuV6Z7HUq43Ow9T55nkFRJLe4FRcCzm8pZpigZN8LmgjxtHfdkeKgn4NDHObxczb7VJh6SKkd6QAZou2-KHtZC0n_HTg6ZTnEnXEoBy295NTMdP7BK7bv7UW4gGAYAH9ZOqLagHpr4b2AcB2BMI&num=1&cid=5GjCu5G74MmI3lZGvyOulMNE&sig=AOD64_3EgbE3HnV9uum2W0ntZFoLTdPhZw&client=ca-pub-1045480802991839&adurl=http://freshservice.com/free-service-desk%3F_bt%3D68654411357%26_bk%3Dit%2520service%2520desk%2520software%26_bm%3Dhttp://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=CzFDM7lfKVv7TJKeDwQHh_K_4Bf3suLoIjYPj5P4BwI23ARABINzzlgUoBGDJ3uiGyKOQGaAB8-vV0gPIAQGoAwHIA8MEqgSuAU_QKGyK0R45ouDZC-QgJUaLd9VnTNXyB_khAyZStYVxYRgefbX0anCGqLDj_rgsLh6IiFZ_U4gFEFmJjUE0M4VNN40AkVC-jBL2GLMfKLOnpNDGfZuV6Z7HUq43Ow9T55nkFRJLe4FRcCzm8pZpigZN8LmgjxtHfdkeKgn4NDHObxczb7VJh6SKkd6QAZou2-KHtZC0n_HTg6ZTnEnXEoBy295NTMdP7BK7bv7UW4gGAYAH9ZOqLagHpr4b2AcB2BMI&num=1&cid=5GjCu5G74MmI3lZGvyOulMNE&sig=AOD64_3EgbE3HnV9uum2W0ntZFoLTdPhZw&client=ca-pub-1045480802991839&adurl=http://freshservice.com/free-service-desk%3F_bt%3D68654411357%26_bk%3Dit%2520service%2520desk%2520software%26_bm%3Dhttp://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=CzFDM7lfKVv7TJKeDwQHh_K_4Bf3suLoIjYPj5P4BwI23ARABINzzlgUoBGDJ3uiGyKOQGaAB8-vV0gPIAQGoAwHIA8MEqgSuAU_QKGyK0R45ouDZC-QgJUaLd9VnTNXyB_khAyZStYVxYRgefbX0anCGqLDj_rgsLh6IiFZ_U4gFEFmJjUE0M4VNN40AkVC-jBL2GLMfKLOnpNDGfZuV6Z7HUq43Ow9T55nkFRJLe4FRcCzm8pZpigZN8LmgjxtHfdkeKgn4NDHObxczb7VJh6SKkd6QAZou2-KHtZC0n_HTg6ZTnEnXEoBy295NTMdP7BK7bv7UW4gGAYAH9ZOqLagHpr4b2AcB2BMI&num=1&cid=5GjCu5G74MmI3lZGvyOulMNE&sig=AOD64_3EgbE3HnV9uum2W0ntZFoLTdPhZw&client=ca-pub-1045480802991839&adurl=http://freshservice.com/free-service-desk%3F_bt%3D68654411357%26_bk%3Dit%2520service%2520desk%2520software%26_bm%3Dhttp://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/mac-address.jpg


3/14



Another example is if you have an ISP that allows only a certain number of computers to

connect to the Internet from your home. If you have more computers that need to connect,

you can spoof the MAC address of an authorized computer and connect from a di" erent

computer.

Change Windows MAC AddressYou can change the MAC address for the network card in Windows pretty easily following thesteps below.

Step 1: Click on Start, then Control Panel, then Network Connections, and right-click on th

network connection you want to change the MAC address for and select Properties. It will

normally either be Local Area Connection or Wireless Network Connection.

If you are using Windows Vista, Windows 7 or higher, you have to go to Control Panel, then

Network and Internet, then Network and Sharing Center, and then click on Manage

Network Connections or Change adapter settings.

http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/localareaconnection.png


4/14



Then you can right-click on the adapter and choose Properties.

Step 2: On the General or Networking tab, click the Configure button.

Step 3: Now click on the Advanced tab and click on the Locally Administered

Address property or the Network Address property.

http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/configure-network-adapter.jpghttp://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/change-adpater-settings.jpg


5/14



By default, the Not Present value is selected. Go ahead and click on the Value radio button

and enter in a new MAC address. The MAC address is a combination of 6 pairs of numbers

and characters, i.e. 40-A2-D9-82-9F-F2. You should enter the MAC address without the

dashes.

You can go to the command prompt and type in IPCONFIG /ALL to check that the MAC

address has been changed. Go ahead and restart the computer in order for the changes to

take e"

ect.

This is the simplest way to change your MAC address in Windows. You can also do so via the

registry, but it’s much more technical and probably not required by most people.

Change OS X MAC AddressChanging the MAC address on OS X is definitely not as easy as it is on Windows. Firstly, you

http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/mac-address-change.jpghttp://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/locally-administered-address.jpg


6/14



have to use Terminal (similar to command prompt in Windows) to actually change the MAC

address.

Secondly, you need to manually figure out the technical name of the adapter before you can

change the settings. I’ll explain everything below step by step, but it gets a bit complicated a

times.

To start, let’s find out the current MAC address for your Mac. You can do this in one of two

ways: via System Preferences or via Terminal. Open System Preferences, click on Network

and then click on the Advanced button. Make sure to select the appropriate interface first

(WiFi, Ethernet, etc) in the listbox on the left.

Click on the Hardware tab and you will see the first line is MAC Address. I thought you could

simply choose Manually from the Configure dropdown, but that doesn’t allow you to edit the

MAC address.

http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/network-hardware-mac.jpghttp://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/os-x-network-advanced.jpg


7/14



In Terminal, you can get the MAC address by typing in the following command:

ifconfig en0 | grep ether

This will give you the MAC address for the en0 interface. Depending on how many interfaces

you have on your computer, you might need to run this command several times adding 1 to

the number each time. For example, I ran the following commands below until I reached an

interface that didn’t exist.

Now you can simply compare the MAC addresses listed here with the one you saw via System

Preferences. In my case, my WiFi MAC address of f8:1e:df:d8:9d:8a matches with en1, so that

is the interface I have to use for the next commands.

Before we change the MAC address, you can use a useful command in Terminal to generate a

random MAC address if you need one.

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

Now that you have a new MAC address, you can change the current one using the following

command below. Replace XX with the actual MAC address you want to use.

sudo ifconfig en0 ether xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx

In order to do this, you need to be logged in as an Administrator or you have to enable the

root account in OS X. By default, root is disabled and it’s better to leave it disabled if you can

Just login as an admin and you should be able to run the command just fine. It will ask you fo

your password, though, before changing the MAC address.

Also, the address won’t change if you are still connected to a WiFi network. You need to first

http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/terminal-os-x-ifconfig.jpg


8/14



disconnect from any networks and then run the command. Surprisingly, disconnecting from a

wireless network in OS X is not intuitive at all. You have to press and hold the Option key and

then click on the WiFi icon to see the disconnect option.

So here is a rundown of all the commands I ran in order to get the current MAC address,

generate a random one, update the MAC address and then verify to make sure it had actually

changed.

http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/disconnect-from-wifi-os-x.jpg


9/14



As I mentioned earlier, this is definitely not as straightforward as the process is on Windows,

but you should be able to do it if you simply copy and paste the commands above. If you hav

any questions, feel free to post a comment. Enjoy!

http://11986-presscdn-0-77.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/mac-address-change-os-x.jpg


10/14



April 2nd, 2015 by Aseem Kishore File in: Computer TipsThere are 0 comments, care to add yours?

# Tweet $ Like % Google+

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Post Comment

http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-change-mac-address/#respondhttp://www.online-tech-tips.com/category/computer-tips/http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-change-mac-address/http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-change-mac-address/&t=Change%20or%20Spoof%20a%20MAC%20Address%20in%20Windows%20or%20OS%20Xhttp://twitter.com/share?url=http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-change-mac-address/&text=Change%20or%20Spoof%20a%20MAC%20Address%20in%20Windows%20or%20OS%20X&via=akishore


11/14



Daily Email Newsletter

Enter your email and hit enter !

& % $ # '

Online Tech Tips on

Featured Posts

How to Check if Your VPN Connection is Actually Encrypted

The Best Free Apps for a New iPhone

View Saved Wi-Fi (WPA, WEP) Passwords on OS X

8 Tools for Creating Perfectly Sized Images for Social Media Sites

http://www.online-tech-tips.com/cool-websites/8-tools-creating-perfectly-sized-images-social-media-sites/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/mac-os-x/view-saved-wi-fi-wpa-wep-passwords-os-x/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/smartphones/best-free-apps-new-iphone/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/check-vpn-connection-actually-encrypted/http://plus.google.com/116817773084272661914?prsrc=3http://www.online-tech-tips.com/feed/http://twitter.com/akishorehttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Online-Tech-Tips/94959006140https://plus.google.com/116817773084272661914/postmailto:[email protected]://www.online-tech-tips.com/cool-websites/8-tools-creating-perfectly-sized-images-social-media-sites/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/mac-os-x/view-saved-wi-fi-wpa-wep-passwords-os-x/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/smartphones/best-free-apps-new-iphone/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/check-vpn-connection-actually-encrypted/


12/14



http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/start-in-private-browsing-mode-in-chrome-firefox-ie-8-and-opera-by-default/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/hide-your-facebook-status-from-specific-friends/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/customize-autoplay-settings/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/gadgets/convert-video-to-ipad-format/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/start-in-private-browsing-mode-in-chrome-firefox-ie-8-and-opera-by-default/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/hide-your-facebook-status-from-specific-friends/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/customize-autoplay-settings/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/gadgets/convert-video-to-ipad-format/


13/14



How to Format External Hard Drive to FAT32 in Windows

Wireless Tips – Does Your Wireless Router Keep Disconnecting or Dropping the

Connection?

Thumbnail Previews Not Showing in Windows 8 Explorer?

HP O"ceJet Pro 8500 (A909n) Premier Review

ASEEM KISHORE

Founder of Online Tech Tips and managing editor. He began blogging in 2007 and quit his job in 2010 to blog

full-time.

DAILY EMAIL NEWSLETTER

Enter your email and hit ent !

CONNECT WITH US

& % $ # '

ABOUT ONLINE TECH TIPS

Welcome to Online Tech Tips – A blog that provide readers with daily computer tutorials, technology news, software reviews,

and personal computing tips. My name is Aseem Kishore and I am a professional blogger living in Dallas, TX. I graduated from

Emory University in Atlanta, GA in 2002 with a degree in Computer Science and Mathematics.

Read More

http://www.online-tech-tips.com/abouthttp://www.online-tech-tips.com/gadgets/hp-officejet-pro-8500-a909n-premier-review/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/windows-8/thumbnail-previews-not-showing-in-windows-8-explorer/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/wireless-tips-does-your-wireless-router-keep-disconnecting-or-dropping-the-connection/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/formatting-external-hard-drive-to-fat-32/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/feed/http://twitter.com/akishorehttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Online-Tech-Tips/94959006140https://plus.google.com/116817773084272661914/postmailto:[email protected]://www.online-tech-tips.com/gadgets/hp-officejet-pro-8500-a909n-premier-review/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/windows-8/thumbnail-previews-not-showing-in-windows-8-explorer/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/wireless-tips-does-your-wireless-router-keep-disconnecting-or-dropping-the-connection/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/formatting-external-hard-drive-to-fat-32/


14/14



Home About Contact Privacy Policy
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/privacy-policy/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/contact/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/about/http://www.online-tech-tips.com/

Documents

Change or Spoof a MAC Address in Windows or OS X