3 Ways to Change a Computer's MAC Address in Windows

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Changing your PC's MAC address with or without a program

Written by Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: December 30, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Using Device Manager
|
• Editing the Registry
|
• Using Technitium
|
• Video
|
• Q&A
|
• Warnings

|Show more |Show less

There might be a time when you want to change the MAC address of your network adapter. The MAC address (Media Access Control address) is a unique identifier used to identify your computer within a network. Changing it can help you diagnose network issues, browse outside a school or your organization's allowed list of sites, or just have a little fun with a silly name. This wikiHow article teaches you how to change a computer's MAC address in Windows 10 and 11.

Ways to Change Your PC's MAC Address

• Use the Device Manager to change the properties of your network adapter.
• Use Registry Editor to change the MAC address registry.
• Use a third-party program to easily change your MAC address.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using Device Manager

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1. 
   1
   Open Device Manager. To do this, right-click on the Windows button in your taskbar and click Device Manager. You can also search "device manager" in the taskbar search bar.
2. 
   2
   Expand the Network Adapters section. In your Device Manager, you will see a list of all of the hardware installed on your computer. These are sorted into categories. Expand the Network Adapters section to see all of your installed network adapters.
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3. 
   3
   Right-click on your adapter and select Properties. The network adapter's Properties window will open.

   • If you have a lot of options under the "network adapters" section, choose the one that ends with "network" or "ethernet connection."
4. 
   4
   Click the Advanced tab. You'll see this tab along the top of the window.
5. 
   5
   Select the "Network Address" or "Locally Administered Address" entry. The wording will depend on the type of network adapter you have.

   • Selecting it will reveal options on the right side of the window.
   • Not all adapters can be changed this way. If you can't find either of these entries, you need to use one of the other methods in this article.
6. 
   6
   Click the radio button to enable the "Value" field.
7. 
   7
   Enter your new MAC address. MAC addresses are 12-digit values and should be entered without any dashes or colons. For example, if you want to make the MAC address "2A:1B:4C:3D:6E:5F", you would enter "2A1B4C3D6E5F".
8. 
   8
   Reboot your computer to enable the changes. You can also disable and re-enable your adapter within Windows for the change to take effect without needing a reboot. Just sliding the Wi-Fi's On/Off switch like the slider found on ThinkPads and VaiOs won't satisfactorily disable/re-enable the card.
9. 
   9
   Check that the changes took effect. Once you've rebooted the computer, open the Command Prompt and enter ipconfig /all, and note the Physical Address of your adapter. It should be your new MAC address.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Editing the Registry

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1. 
   1
   Find your network adapter's ID information. In order to easily identify your network adapter in the Windows Registry, you'll want to gather some basic information about it through the Command Prompt. You can open the Command Prompt by typing "cmd" into the Run box (Windows key + R).

   • Type ipconfig /all and press Enter. Note the Description and Physical Address for the active network device. Ignore devices that aren't active (Media Disconnected).
   • Type net config rdr and press ↵ Enter. Note the GUID, which is displayed between the "{ }" brackets next to the Physical Address you recorded earlier.
2. 
   2
   Open the Registry Editor. You can start the Registry Editor by opening the Run dialog box (Windows key + R) and typing "regedit". This will open the Registry Editor, which will allow you to change the settings for your network card.

   • Making incorrect changes to the registry can cause your system to malfunction.
3. 
   3
   Navigate to the registry key. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}. Expand it by clicking the arrow.
4. 
   4
   Find your adapter. There will be several folders labeled "0000", "0001", etc. Open each of these and compare the DriverDesc field to the Description you noted in the first step. To be completely sure, check the NetCfgInstanceID field and match it with the GUID from the first step.
5. 
   5
   Right-click on the folder that matches your device. For example, if the "0001" folder matches your device, right-click on the folder. Select New → String Value. Name the new value "NetworkAddress".
6. 
   6
   Double-click the new Network Address entry. In the "Value data" field, enter your new MAC address. MAC addresses are 12-digit values, and should be entered without any dashes or colons. For example, if you want to make the MAC address "2A:1B:4C:3D:6E:5F", you would enter "2A1B4C3D6E5F".
7. 
   7
   Ensure that the MAC address is formatted properly. Some adapters (especially Wi-Fi cards) are unforgiving of MAC address changes if the first octet's second half is not D2, D6, DA, or DE, or begins with a zero. This requirement has been observed as far back as Windows XP and is formatted as:

   • D2XXXXXXXXXX
   • D6XXXXXXXXXX
   • DAXXXXXXXXXX
   • DEXXXXXXXXXX
8. 
   8
   Reboot your computer to enable the changes. You can also disable and re-enable your adapter within Windows for the change to take effect without needing a reboot.
9. 
   9
   Check that the changes took effect. Once you've rebooted the computer, open the Command Prompt and enter ipconfig /all and note the Physical Address of your adapter. It should be your new MAC address.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Technitium

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1. 
   1
   Go to technitium.com/tmac and download the software. Technitium is a third-party program, but it allows you to easily change your MAC address without having to edit anything you may not be comfortable with.
2. 
   2
   Open Technitium and select your network adapter. You'll see more details for your network adapter at the bottom of the window.
3. 
   3
   Enter a new MAC address under the "Change MAC address" field. If you don't see this, make sure the Information tab is active.

   • Click "Random MAC address" if you don't know one and the field will fill automatically.
4. 
   4
   Click Change Now!. You'll see this button become interactable once you enter a new MAC address.

   • You can easily return to your original MAC address by clicking the Restore Original button.
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Community Q&A

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• Question

  How do I know which MAC addrress can I use and is it safe ? Should I do a system backup ?

  

  Community Answer

  There are many MAC addresses in the world, so the chances of having the same one on the same network are slim. Don't worry about it unless you have changed two devices to that MAC address. You don't have to do a backup because it's something that will reset if you delete the entry and then restart your computer.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 15 Helpful 33
• Question

  If I change this MAC address, will it change the MAC address on my iPad and iPhone?

  

  Allan Cramer

  Community Answer

  No, the MAC address is unique to each device. I'm not even sure you can change Apple MAC addresses, but if you can, you'll have to do that with each one.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 6 Helpful 21
• Question

  If I delete the new registry entry I create, will the original Mac address be used again?

  

  Community Answer

  No, the Mac address that you set is permanent and you'll have to do a hard reset to get the original address back.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 44 Helpful 10

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Warnings

• Don't use a MAC address that is already in use, as this will prevent one of the machines from connecting to the network.
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