One day you may need to change the MAC address of your computer's network interface. The MAC address (standing for “Media Access Control address”) is a unique identifier used to recognize your network adapter. Changing this address can be useful for diagnosing network problems or possibly for a bit of fun.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Use Device Manager
Step 1. Open the device manager
You can access it from the control panel which is located in the "system and security" section if you are using the category view mode.
Step 2. Expand the Network Adapters section
You will see in Device Manager a list of all the hardware installed on your computer. They are sorted by categories. Expand the section of network adapters to see the complete list of those installed on your machine.
If you are unsure of which adapter you are using, see Step 1 at the beginning of this article for how to find your device description
Step 3. Right click on the line corresponding to your interface
Select Properties from the drop-down menu to open the settings window for your network adapter.
Step 4. Click the Advanced tab
Find the entry Network address Where Local address administration. Select it and you will see a field labeled "Value" appear on the right. Click on the radio button to validate it.
Not all adapters can be changed in this way. If you cannot find either of these two entries, you will need to use one of the other methods described in this article
Step 5. Enter your new MAC address
MAC addresses are made up of 12 digits each representing a hexadecimal value and between which must not be included either colons (“:”) or dashes (“-”). If you read on a document or a label a MAC address written in the form "2A: 1B: 4C: 3D: 6E: 5F", you will have to enter it by removing the colons: "2A1B4C3D6E5F".
Step 6. Restart your computer to apply the changes
You can also deactivate and then reactivate your network interface from Windows so that the changes are taken into account and become effective without having to restart your system, but simply activate the mini-switch for controlling the WiFi interface existing on some laptops. (ThinkPad, VAIO, etc.) will not be sufficient to correctly take into account the modifications made.
Step 7. Check that the changes have been taken into account
When you have restarted your computer open the command console then enter
ipconfig / all
and write down the physical address of your network interface. It should match your new MAC address.
Method 2 of 2: Use the Registry Editor
Step 1. Find the identifying information for your network adapter
You will need to get some basic information about your network adapter from the control console so that you can easily identify it. You can open it by entering cmd in the program execution window which you can access by simultaneously pressing the keys Windows and R on your keyboard.
- Come in
ipconfig / allthen press Entrance. Write down the description and physical address of your active network interface. Disregard devices marked “Media disconnected” or “Media not connected” that are not active. - Come in
net config rdrthen press Entrance. Note the GUID, which is displayed between the braces {} following the physical address that we noted earlier.
Step 2. Open Registry Editor
You can launch it by opening the program execution window (by simultaneously pressing the keys Window and R on your keyboard) then by entering it Regedit. This program will allow you to change the settings of your network interface.
Making incorrect registry changes can cause your system to malfunction seriously
Step 3. Navigate to the registry key
Find the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Class {4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} and expand it by clicking on its arrow.
Step 4. Find your adapter
You will find several folders named "0000", "0001", etc. Open them in turn and compare the field titled Value (Driver Descriptor) with the description you wrote down in step one. To be completely sure, compare the field named "NetCfgInstanceID" and verify that it matches the GUID that you also wrote down in the first step.
Step 5. Right click on the folder whose items match your interface
If, for example, the folder named "0001" is appropriate, right-click on it. Then select New → String value. Name the new value as "NetworkAddress".
Step 6. Then double-click on the NetworkAddress entry
Enter your new MAC address in the Value field. A MAC address is made up of 12 digits each representing a hexadecimal value and between which must not be included either colons (“:”) or dashes (“-”). If you read on a document or a label a MAC address written in the form "2A: 1B: 4C: 3D: 6E: 5F", you will have to enter it by removing the colons: "2A1B4C3D6E5F".
Step 7. Verify that you entered the MAC address in the correct format
Some adapters (WiFi cards in particular) will not forgive you for modifying the second digit of the first byte of the MAC address. This peculiarity dates back to Windows XP and requires it to be formatted as follows:
- D2XXXXXXXXXX
- D6XXXXXXXXXX
- DAXXXXXXXXXX
- DEXXXXXXXXXX
Step 8. Restart your computer to apply the changes
You can also deactivate and then reactivate your network interface from Windows so that the changes are taken into account and become effective without having to restart your system, but simply activate the mini-switch for controlling the WiFi interface existing on some laptops. (ThinkPad, VAIO, etc.) will not suffice for the modifications made to be correctly taken into account.
Step 9. Make sure the changes have been taken into account
When you have restarted your computer open the command console then enter
ipconfig / all
and write down the physical address of your network interface. It should match your new MAC address.
