Regardless of the way it would possibly sound, a MAC deal with is not unique to Apple merchandise. It truly stands for Media Entry Management deal with, and it is a distinctive, 12-digit quantity assigned to units linked to a community. The primary six digits of a MAC deal with are tied to the system’s producer, and the final six digits are distinctive to that system.
Consider it like an IP deal with however assigned to particular person items of {hardware} on a selected community. No two units on the identical community will share a MAC deal with, and a tool could even have multiple MAC deal with if it is linked to the community in a number of methods (i.e. a laptop computer linked through ethernet and Wi-Fi).
As for why a MAC deal with is required, it is basically, effectively, an deal with. It provides the system an id on the community, and it helps the community determine the place precisely to ship particular chunks of information. It is also an vital instrument you should utilize to permit particular units to hook up with your community or flag particular units (or something that is unfamiliar) to forestall them from connecting.
Discovering your MAC deal with in Home windows 11
The best means to determine your pc’s MAC deal with in Home windows 11 is to undergo Settings.
- Open the Settings app and choose Community & web from the aspect menu.
- Select both Ethernet (wired connection) or Wi-Fi (wi-fi connection).
- Choose {Hardware} properties to view your community connection particulars.
- Search for Bodily deal with (MAC) on the backside of the record. The related 12-digit quantity is your pc’s MAC deal with.
As beforehand talked about, totally different sorts of connections (Wi-Fi, ethernet, VPN, and so on) may have their very own MAC addresses, even when they’re tied to the identical system. If it is advisable to discover the MAC deal with for a particular type of connection:
- Open the Settings app and choose Community & web from the aspect menu.
- From the Community web page, choose Superior community settings.
- Select Extra settings, then open the {Hardware} and connection properties tab.
- Discover the configuration you need within the Description part, then find Bodily deal with (MAC) on the backside of the record in your connection’s MAC deal with.
Or in the event you’d reasonably use the Home windows Management Panel:
- Open Management Panel and choose Community and Web.
- Choose Community and Sharing Heart, then select Change adapter settings and double-click the connection you wish to verify.
- Choose Particulars, then find the Bodily Handle discipline (in direction of the highest of the record) to search out your MAC deal with.