MAC address
A Media Access Control address or MAC address is a unique identifier attached to most forms of networking equipment that is found in computers and newer video games consoles.
Please note that a device may have more than one MAC address. Most devices will have two: one for the wired and one for the wireless ethernet card.
A MAC address is a 12-character hexadecimal code (0-9 and A-F). A sample MAC address would look like this: (01-23-45-67-89-ab).
Contents
Finding Your Computers MAC Address
Windows
Wired (Ethernet)
To find your MAC address on a windows based computer/laptop, open up the Command Prompt application. This application is usually located in the Start Menu under All Programs in the Accessories folder.
Once the application is open, type this text.
ipconfig/all
This command will pull up a large amount of information, but you will be looking for Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:. From there, look just below it for your Physical Address. The Physical Address is your MAC address, and should look something like this: (01-23-45-67-89-ab)
Wireless (Wifi)
To find your MAC address on a windows based computer/laptop, open up the Command Prompt application. This application is usually located in the Start Menu under All Programs in the Accessories folder.
Once the application is open, type this text.
ipconfig/all
This command will pull up a large amount of information, but you will be looking for Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:. From there, look just below it for your Physical Address. The Physical Address is your MAC address, and should look something like this: (01-23-45-67-89-ab)
Mac OS X
Wired (Ethernet)
To find the MAC address on your Mac OS X based computer/laptop, start by clicking on the little 'apple' symbol in the upper left-hand corner and select About This Mac. From there, click More Info.... Near the bottom, locate and click on the button System Report....
Under the Network heading on the left sidebar, select Locations. You should then be able to scroll down and locate the MAC address under the Ethernet heading. It should look something like this: Hardware(MAC) Address: 01-23-45-67-89-ab
Wireless (Wifi)
To find the MAC address on your Mac OS X based computer/laptop, start by clicking on the little 'apple' symbol in the upper left-hand corner and select About This Mac. From there, click More Info.... On the left hand side you should see a menu... locate and click on the word Network. From here, select AirPort in the new menu that appears. You should then be able to see the MAC address, and it should look something like this: (01-23-45-67-89-ab)