Each connected network device has its own unique MAC address. Here are some simple ways to find the MAC address in Windows 10.
Every network device or interface connected to your system has its own unique physical address called MAC (Media Access Control) address. This applies to both hardware network interfaces and software network interfaces like VMware and VirtualBox network adapters. This MAC address serves as a unique identifier in network communications. For instance, when you send or receive data between two devices, the ethernet compares the originating and destination MAC addresses for proper communication. In case you are wondering, the MAC addresses are assigned directly by the device manufacturers and are generally burned-in or hardcoded into the read-only memory. This means, more often than not, you cannot change the MAC address.
Knowing the MAC address of a network interface has quite a few advantages. Some of the most common ways a MAC address is used is to bind local IP addresses to a device in the router settings page, block WiFi or network access to a particular device, etc. If you are interested, here’s a great read on what exactly a MAC address is used for.
In this quick tutorial, let me show some of the easiest ways to find MAC address in Windows 10.
Jump to:
1] via the Settings App
Though not easy that user-friendly, it is pretty simple to find the MAC address of any network interface in the Settings app.
1. First, press Win + I to open the PC Settings app. Once opened, go to the “Network & Internet” page.
2. On the right panel, select “Wi-Fi” if you are connected to a WiFi network or “Ethernet” if you are connected to a wired network.
3. If you selected the Wi-Fi page, click on the “Hardware Properties” link. If you’ve selected the Ethernet page, click on the connected network name.
4. You can find the MAC address right next to the “Physical address” under the “Properties” section.
2] Find MAC Address via Command Prompt
If you are looking for a much simpler way, Windows has a simple command to find the MAC address. All you have to do is execute said command in the Command Prompt window.
1. First, open the Command Prompt window by searching for “cmd” in the start menu.
2. After opening the Command Prompt window, execute the below command.
getmac /v
3. As soon as you execute the command, Windows will list all the MAC addresses of the available network interfaces. You can see the MAC addresses under the “Physical Address” column.
If needed, you can copy any MAC address by simply selecting it with your mouse and right-clicking.
(Alternative) You can also use the below command. As you can see, it is pretty much the same command but displays the information in a different way. The /fo switch helps specify the list format.
getmac /v /fo list
3] PowerShell Command
If you are more of a PowerShell guy, you can use the PowerShell command to get the MAC address. In fact, it is very similar to the Command Prompt method albeit with a different command.
1. Open the PowerShell window by searching for it in the start menu.
2. After opening the PowerShell window, execute the below cmdlet.
get-netadapter
3. As soon as you execute the cmdlet, it will list all the MAC addresses for your connected network interfaces, just like Command Prompt.
That is all. I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible. If you like this article, do check out how to configure and see network data usage in Windows 10.
