This post shows how to check the Windows MAC address, or ethernet hardware address, on all major Windows systems.
In a command prompt window, you’ll see 2 headers:
- The Physical Address: The 12-digit hardware address.
- The Transport Name: The location of the network adapter.
Table of Contents
Check the Windows MAC Address on All Systems
Windows Vista/7
1. Open command prompt
2. Type getmac –v or getmac /v
3. Look for Local Area Connection
Windows XP
1. Open command prompt
2. Type ipconfig /all
3. Look for Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection
Other Systems
What is a MAC Address?
The media access control address, or MAC address, is a unique sequence of hex values separated into pairs by colons, hyphens, or other characters.
Example: 00:00:00:AB:C1:23
It is made up of manufacturer and other identifiable information. Every network enabled device, including computers with multiple network devices, has a unique MAC address.
MAC addresses are used by network access devices for blacklisting or whitelisting (MAC address filtering) specific devices.
More on Network Security with MAC Addresses
MAC address filtering can be used to fine tune the allowed devices on the network. Unfortunately, MAC addresses can be spoofed so this security requirement could easily be beaten. Furthermore, some devices may have compatibility issues with MAC address filtering and other network settings, like hidden SSID. This happens sometimes with game consoles.
