Do you have a hard time learning how to find MAC Address on Windows 10? There are many options for you to get the information you need. In this article, we will share some methods so that you can easily find and follow the one that is the most suitable for you.
Keep reading our post until you discover useful information for your uncertainties about finding your MAC address.
The Meaning Of MAC Address
MAC stands for “Media Access Control Address.” The MAC Address is a unique number that helps users identify devices when using the network. The manufacturer of a Network Interface Controller takes responsibility for assigning the Address, and this Address stays in the hardware.
The NIC means a computer circuit card, and NIC can connect a computer to a network. When communicating on the network system, the Address Resolution Protocol or the Neighbor Discovery Protocol will convert the IP. After that, the IP becomes a NIC.
There are many devices on the network, so each one needs its own MAC address. The Address includes six numbers in two-digit hexadecimal form, and there are hyphens separating each number.
Read more: How Many Bits Are In A Mac Address?
How To Find MAC Address On Windows 10
Command Prompt
Using the Command Prompt is the fastest and easiest way to find your MAC address. The number of steps to follow is the least. Still, you have to manually provide the information to the Command Prompt feature and see all the results.
Firstly, you can select the Command Prompt option after clicking the Start menu with the mouse’s left button. When the Command Prompt window shows up, you need to type “ipconfig/all,” then hit Enter. After that, you can see the network configuration settings window.
Next, you need to scroll down the page, stop at the “Wireless LAN Adapter WiFi” section, and find your network adapter data.
Finally, you can see your MAC address at the input beside the Physical Address title.
Taskbar
This is one of the quick ways that shows you your MAC address. To see the address, you need to click on the network icon on your taskbar; the icon sits near the clock. This action will open a list of all available connections near you; click on the Properties option in your connection.
The new window will appear next. In this window, find the line “Physical address” your MAC address belongs to this line.
Network Connection Settings
Although using this method requires few more steps than using the Command Prompt method, you don’t have to see all the results to find the information you want by using Network Connection Settings to find the MAC address more easily. However, this way is less simple.
First, you have to open the taskbar, then type “View network status and tasks,” click the icon next. On the other hand, you can head to the Control Panel, click on Network and Internet, next, choose Network and Sharing Center.
In the new window, choose your network connection. Then select the button named “Details.” As a result, the Network Connection Details window appears.
You can see lots of information in this window, but the only thing you need here is your MAC address. The address stays right on the fourth row.
System Information
On the Start menu, search “System Information” and choose the result on the highest line. Open the Component section, then open Network, finally, click on “Adapter.” Find the line called MAC address in the list.
Getmac Command From Powershell
Firstly, you need to open PowerShell, type “getmac,” then press Enter. This command will show your network adapters list, including each MAC address. You can check the information in the column named Physical Address.
However, this command only shows the addresses for the adapters that are enabled. So, to find the addresses of the disabled ones, you have to allow all of them to be active.
Get-NetAdapter Command From PowerShell
The Get-NetAdapter Command will show you some key features of your adapters that are available on your computer. You can find the MAC address in the column that has the same name.
The amazing thing about this command is that it can display all the addresses for you, even with the disabled adapters. You can see the status, the MAC address, and other details of each network adapter.
IPCONFIG Command From PowerShell
This command can show you thorough details about your connections and adapters. First, run PowerShell. Then, type ipconfig/all and press Enter. All the TCP/IP network connections and addresses will appear. To find your MAC address, try to find the adapter’s name and look at the Physical Address section.
WMIC NIC GET Command From PowerShell
WMIC NIC GET command also belongs to PowerShell and can show all the adapters’ addresses.
Settings App
Finding your MAC addresses in the Settings app of Windows 10 is also a good idea. In this app, click on Network&Internet. Next, choose Wi-Fi, then select the connected network that you are using.
With the wired network connection, click on Ethernet and tap the connected network.
The new window will show you a list of all active connections full of settings and information. Scroll and find the Properties option. The Physical address line is the last one on the list, and it will show you your MAC address.
Control Panel
If you want to find your MAC address in the old-fashioned way, try Control Panel. Open the program, and choose “View network status and tasks.” This action will open The Network and Sharing Center. It would help if you found the “View your active networks” option.
After that, you can see a list of all the active network connection names and their details. Click on the link in the Connections section, and you will open the network status window. Select the Details option.
The new window will show you all the information about your connection. Look at the line “Physical Address”; it indicates your MAC Address.
Differences Between MAC Address And IP
People are often confused about these two addresses. Although TCP/IP networks use both of them, the purposes are different.
With the MAC address, the manufacturer assigns it, and it always stays unchanged. This is a 48-bit address – a physical address, and it runs at OSI Layer 2.
With the IP address, it will change each time when the users change their network. This is a 32-bit address – a logical address, and it runs at OSI Layer 3.
See also: How To Find IP Address On Chromebook?
The Purposes Of Using MAC Address
2 MAC addresses are surprisingly important in some aspects.
Identifying particular devices is one of the popular ways when using MAC addresses. For instance, a company or business can use this filter function with MAC addresses to determine if any device intends to access their network illegally or see the data usage.
Moreover, you can even stop the outsiders from using your wireless network by setting and choosing any device you allow to access your system, like your other devices, roommates, or family members’ devices.
Scanning your system, with the assistance of third-party software, you can see the names of hard-coded files on your devices, even if you delete those files accidentally.
One of the most wonderful things is that you can often keep an eye on your devices by using MAC addresses and find them when they are missing, or someone stole them from you.
All you have to do is use the MAC addresses lookup, search your address, and you can see the location of your device(s) on the virtual map.
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Problems About Security
If you don’t turn off the Wi-Fi function on your devices, they will find all the available connections near you. The MAC address belongs to your device, so when it sends the requests, your device will transmit the MAC address for everyone that stays in the range of the Wi-Fi.
This broadcasting function can track all your devices’ activity, including your locations during a day and the time. The information also can help the advertisers enhance their ads thanks to your frequent visits to certain places.
All the hackers have to do is scan your Wi-Fi traffic, analyze it to see your MAC address, change their address’sdevice with yours, and then connect where your device stays.
Final thoughts
Hopefully, you have a great time reading our post and find some helpful answers to the inquiry “How to find MAC address on Windows 10?”. Besides knowing different ways to find the address, we expect you can equip yourself with knowledge about MAC addresses.
If you have other ways to find the MAC Address, please do not hesitate to share your experience with us and everybody else in the comment down below.
Thank you, and see you soon!
