Question
I have been asked to find the MAC address of my Apple computer for wireless configuration. Where do I look to find it, and what's a MAC address, anyway?
Solution
The Media Access Control address (MAC address; no relation to Apple or Macintosh computers) is a unique identifier for computing devices on a network. A MAC address is somewhat like a serial number.
Every device that has an Internet connection must have a unique MAC Address. Modern computers will have two MAC Addresses: one wireless local area network (Wireless LAN) adapter and one Ethernet adapter.
MAC address is synonymous with Ethernet Hardware Address, Hardware Address, Physical Address, and Burned-in Address.
Here is the step-by-step for finding your MAC address on macOS.
1. Click on the Wi-Fi Icon at the top of the screen. When the drop-down menu appears, select Open Network Preferences...
![Click on the Wi-Fi symbol in top right of device. Scroll to the bottom of the list for network preferences.](https://service.uoregon.edu/TDPortal/Images/Viewer?fileName=a3f77c02-c941-4bed-a2ae-8cff6a370584.png)
2. In the Network window select the adapter that the computer is connected through to the network, Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Then click on Advanced.
![Select your connected network in the top left. Then in the bottom right of the new window that pops up, select "Advanced"](https://service.uoregon.edu/TDPortal/Images/Viewer?fileName=a7aa0076-5aeb-49af-a885-ea18175574af.png)
3. Once the advanced adapter settings have opened, select Hardware.
![In the properties window that opens, select Hardware in the far right tab.](https://service.uoregon.edu/TDPortal/Images/Viewer?fileName=ada918cb-4d52-4d14-8a6c-6dcf9455b830.png)
4. At the top of the settings shown under the Hardware tab, the MAC Address is visible.
![The MAC address will be listed below](https://service.uoregon.edu/TDPortal/Images/Viewer?fileName=c469a022-4ece-4379-9119-9d105dd66ae8.png)