Enter any MAC address below to instantly identify the device manufacturer. The tool reads the first 6 hex characters — the OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier) — and matches it against our vendor database to reveal who made the hardware.
A MAC address (Media Access Control address) is a unique 48-bit hardware identifier permanently assigned to every network interface — Ethernet cards, WiFi adapters, Bluetooth chips, and more. Unlike an IP address, which changes based on your network, a MAC address is burned into the hardware at the factory and stays with the device for its entire life.
MAC addresses are written as 12 hexadecimal characters in groups of two, separated by colons, dashes, or nothing at all:
AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF — colon notation (most common on Linux and macOS)AA-BB-CC-DD-EE-FF — dash notation (Windows default)AABBCCDDEEFF — flat notation (used in some configuration tools)The 12 characters are split into two halves. The first 6 characters (first 3 octets) form the OUI, which identifies the manufacturer. The last 6 characters are assigned by that manufacturer to make each device unique. With 281 trillion possible combinations, every MAC address on Earth is theoretically unique — though in practice, MAC address filtering and spoofing complicate that assumption.
| Segment | Characters | Example | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| OUI (first 3 octets) | 6 hex chars | 3C:22:FB | Identifies the manufacturer (IEEE-registered) |
| NIC Identifier (last 3 octets) | 6 hex chars | A1:B2:C3 | Unique device serial assigned by the vendor |
The OUI is assigned by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) to each hardware manufacturer. There are over 34,000 registered OUI blocks in the official IEEE OUI registry. Large companies like Apple, Cisco, and TP-Link hold dozens of OUI blocks, each corresponding to a different product line, factory, or acquisition. When you look up a MAC address and see "Apple," the tool matched that 3-byte prefix to Apple's registered range.
MAC addresses are less revealing than IP addresses, but they still carry identifying information that's useful for network management and security:
| Information | Visible? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Device Manufacturer | Yes | Via OUI lookup — what this tool does |
| Device Type / Product Line | Sometimes | Some vendors encode model details in the NIC half |
| Network Interface Type | Sometimes | Vendor databases may specify Ethernet vs WiFi vs Bluetooth |
| Physical Location | No | MAC addresses never leave your local network segment |
| User Identity | No | No personal data is tied to a MAC address |
| Internet Activity | No | MACs are stripped at the router — invisible outside your LAN |
| IP Address | No | Different protocol — use What Is My IP? for that |
A key fact that surprises many users: MAC addresses only travel within your local network segment. When your data leaves your router and crosses the internet, your MAC address is stripped away entirely and replaced with your router's public IP address. This is why a MAC address can't be used to track you across websites — unlike your IP address.
Not all MAC addresses work the same way. The first two bits of the first octet encode the address type and assignment method:
| Bit | Value | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bit 0 (LSB) = 0 | Even first octet | Unicast | Delivered to one specific device — normal traffic |
| Bit 0 (LSB) = 1 | Odd first octet | Multicast | Delivered to a group of devices (e.g., 01:00:5E:xx:xx:xx for IPv4) |
| All 1s | FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF | Broadcast | Sent to every device on the local network (used by ARP) |
| Bit 1 (U/L) = 0 | Factory-set | Globally Unique (UAA) | Burned in at the factory — guaranteed worldwide unique |
| Bit 1 (U/L) = 1 | Software-set | Locally Administered (LAA) | Manually assigned or randomized by the operating system |
The lookup result above tells you whether a MAC is Globally Unique (factory-burned, reliable for manufacturer identification) or Locally Administered (set by software). A locally administered result typically means you're looking at a privacy-randomized address from a phone or modern laptop, or a virtual machine's generated address.
You'll often need your own MAC address to set up MAC address filtering on your router or to troubleshoot a device that's not getting an IP from DHCP. Here's how to find it on every platform:
Open Command Prompt and run:
ipconfig /all
Look for Physical Address under your active adapter — either Ethernet adapter or Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi. It's shown in XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX dash format. To see all adapters at once including virtual ones, run getmac /v.
Open Terminal and run:
ifconfig | grep ether
Or navigate to System Settings → Network → (your adapter) → Details → Hardware to see the MAC in the GUI. The Airport/WiFi adapter and Ethernet port each have their own separate MAC address.
Go to Settings → WiFi, tap your connected network name, and look for Wi-Fi Address (iOS) or MAC address (Android). If Private Address is enabled (iOS) or Randomized MAC is shown (Android), the value shown is a per-network random address — not the hardware MAC burned into the chip.
Once you have the MAC address of a device, you can use your router's admin panel to assign it a permanent IP or block it from the network. Our guide on how to check who's on your WiFi walks through reading the device list on every major router brand.
People often confuse MAC and IP addresses because both identify devices on a network — but they operate at completely different layers and serve different purposes:
| Property | MAC Address | IP Address |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 48 bits (12 hex characters) | 32-bit (IPv4) or 128-bit (IPv6) |
| Assignment | Burned in at the factory | Assigned by DHCP or manually configured |
| Scope | Local network segment only | Global internet routing |
| Changes? | Rarely (unless spoofed or randomized) | Frequently (dynamic IPs change often) |
| OSI Layer | Layer 2 — Data Link | Layer 3 — Network |
| Used By | Switches, ARP protocol, DHCP server | Routers, internet traffic routing |
| Reveals | Manufacturer (via OUI) | Approximate location and ISP |
| Privacy risk | Local only — not visible on internet | Visible to every site you visit |
Think of it this way: your MAC address is like the serial number on your network card — fixed and hardware-bound. Your IP address is like your mailing address — it tells the internet where to deliver data, and it can change when you reconnect or move. For a full breakdown, see our guide on what an IP address is.
Here are well-known OUI prefixes you're likely to encounter on a home or office network. If you run across one of these in your router's device list, you'll know exactly what it is:
| Prefix (OUI) | Manufacturer | Common Devices |
|---|---|---|
3C:22:FB | Apple | iPhones, MacBooks, iPads |
A4:83:E7 | Apple | iMacs, MacBook Pro (older) |
00:17:F2 | Apple | AirPort Extreme, Time Capsule |
AC:84:C6 | TP-Link | Home routers, WiFi extenders |
14:CC:20 | TP-Link | Archer series routers |
C0:25:E9 | TP-Link | Deco mesh systems |
C8:3A:35 | Netgear | Nighthawk routers, Orbi |
00:1E:58 | D-Link | DIR series routers |
00:50:56 | VMware | VMware ESXi virtual machines |
00:0C:29 | VMware | VMware Workstation / Player VMs |
B8:27:EB | Raspberry Pi Foundation | Raspberry Pi (original, Pi 2, Pi 3) |
DC:A6:32 | Raspberry Pi Foundation | Raspberry Pi 4, Pi 400, Pi Zero 2 |
F4:F5:D8 | Google Home, Chromecast, Nest WiFi | |
18:B4:30 | Nest Labs (Google) | Nest Thermostat, Nest Cam |
1C:B7:2C | ASUSTek | ASUS routers, motherboard NICs |
FC:EC:DA | Ubiquiti | UniFi access points, EdgeRouters |
78:8A:20 | Ubiquiti | UniFi switches, Dream Machine |
00:1A:70 | Cisco | Enterprise switches, ISR routers |
00:14:BF | Linksys (Cisco) | WRT series routers |
Pro Tip: Spotted an unfamiliar MAC address in your router's device list? You can block it using MAC address filtering — most routers support this in the admin panel under Wireless or Access Control. See our complete MAC address filtering guide for step-by-step instructions on every major brand. Then run a full check of who's on your WiFi to make sure no unauthorized devices remain.
Key Takeaways
No. A MAC address never travels beyond your local network segment. Unlike your IP address — which is visible to every website you visit — your MAC address is stripped at your router and never reaches the internet. It can identify the device manufacturer, but cannot reveal your city, ISP, or real-world identity.
A locally administered MAC address has been set by software rather than burned in at the factory. The second-least-significant bit of the first octet is set to 1. This is the case when a device uses MAC randomization — like iPhones on iOS 14+ or Android 10+ devices — or when an administrator manually assigns an address. These won't match any OUI in the manufacturer database.
Yes — this is called MAC spoofing. On Windows, open Device Manager, find your network adapter, go to Properties → Advanced, and look for a "Network Address" or "Locally Administered Address" field. On Linux, run sudo ip link set dev eth0 address XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX. On macOS, use sudo ifconfig en0 ether XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX. This resets on reboot unless made persistent. Note that MAC spoofing may violate your ISP's terms of service.
MAC address filtering is a router feature that only allows devices with pre-approved MAC addresses to connect to your WiFi. It adds a layer of access control, but it's not foolproof — attackers can spoof a whitelisted MAC address by sniffing network traffic. It's best used as one layer in a multi-layered security approach, not as the only defense. See our MAC address filtering setup guide.
This tool uses a local OUI database. "Unknown" typically means: (1) the device is using a randomized or locally administered MAC address, (2) the OUI was registered with the IEEE after our last database update, or (3) it belongs to a rare vendor not in our dataset. For a complete, up-to-date lookup, check the official IEEE OUI registry.
A multicast MAC address has the least-significant bit of the first octet set to 1, giving it an odd first byte. For example, 01:00:5E:xx:xx:xx is the standard range for IPv4 multicast traffic, and 33:33:xx:xx:xx:xx is used for IPv6 multicast. The broadcast address FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF is a special all-1s case used by protocols like ARP to broadcast to every device on the local network simultaneously.
Yes. Every virtual network adapter in a VM gets its own MAC address, typically assigned by the hypervisor (VMware, VirtualBox, Hyper-V, etc.). VMware VMs typically start with 00:50:56 or 00:0C:29, which is why those prefixes appear so commonly in enterprise network scans. If you see these prefixes on a device list at home, it usually means someone is running virtualization software on that machine.
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About Tommy N.
Tommy is the founder of RouterHax and a network engineer with 10+ years of experience in home and enterprise networking. He specializes in router configuration, WiFi optimization, and network security. When not writing guides, he's testing the latest mesh WiFi systems and helping readers troubleshoot their home networks.
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