How to Easily Change the MAC Address on Your MacBook or Mac in macOS

Learn how to quickly change the MAC address on your Mac or MacBook.

How to change the MAC address
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yubal-fernandez

Yúbal Fernández

Writer
yubal-fernandez

Yúbal Fernández

Writer

Tech journalist with over eight years of experience. I specialize in mobile devices, PCs and consumer tech, as well as software and apps. Head of Xataka Basics, where everyone can find complex tech topics explained in an easy and accessible manner. LinkedIn

97 publications by Yúbal Fernández

This guide explains how to change the MAC address in macOS, whether you’re using a Mac desktop or a MacBook. The MAC address is a unique identifier assigned to a device’s network card by its manufacturer.

Don’t confuse the MAC address with an IP address. While a MAC address is fixed and identifies the network chip in your computer, an IP address can change. The IP identifies a device within a specific network—either a private IP for home use or a public IP when connected to the internet.

In simple terms, the MAC address acts as your device’s ID, while the IP address is its gateway to the internet. Although MAC addresses are typically fixed, you can change them using specific methods. Here’s how to do it easily on a Mac.

How to Change the MAC Address in macOS

MAC address

To change your computer’s MAC address, first disconnect it from the internet. Then, open the Terminal app on your Mac or MacBook, type the following command, and press Enter:

sudo ifconfig en0 ether $(openssl rand -hex 6 | sed 's/(..)/\1:/g; s/.$//')

Enter your administrator password when prompted. Once entered, your MAC address will change to a random one.

If you prefer to set a custom MAC address, use the following command instead, replacing [new address] with your desired MAC address. Make sure the new MAC address follows the format a1:b1:c1:d1:e1:f1.

Image | Dmitry Chernyshov (Unsplash) edited by Xataka On

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