I need the MAC address for my iPhone to set up my WiFi network, but I can’t seem to locate it in the settings. If anyone knows the steps or where to look, I’d really appreciate some help figuring this out. Thanks in advance.
Oh, the infamous hunt for the iPhone MAC address… Welcome to the party, pal! Apple doesn’t exactly make it front-and-center, do they? Here’s what you wanna do:
- Open the “Settings” app (yep, the gray gears one you never go in unless something’s broken).
- Scroll waaay down and tap “General.”
- Hit “About.” You’re getting warmer.
- Look for “Wi-Fi Address”—THAT is your MAC address. It’ll look like six pairs of letters/numbers separated by colons, e.g., 2A:3B:4C:5D:6E:7F.
Just a heads up—starting with iOS 14, Apple made things “interesting” by giving out randomized MAC addresses for networks by default (gotta love privacy, right?). If you need your real MAC address—the one that’s consistent—turn off “Private Address” for your WiFi network:
- Go to Settings > Wi-Fi, tap the little ‘i’ next to your connected network, and flip off the “Private Address” toggle.
- Now your phone will use its actual, hardware MAC address.
Cause, you know, why make it easy when it can be a tiny bit of a scavenger hunt? Hope that helps before your router screams at you again for not recognizing your device.
Sooo @viajeroceleste gave you pretty much the full treasure map, but I’ll just add this little nugget because honestly, Apple’s “Private Address” stuff can make things confusing as heck. If you just want to get your iPhone onto one WiFi network, and don’t care if it uses a random (private) MAC or the original/static one, it seriously doesn’t matter—the router just needs a MAC. But, heads up: a lot of network admins (especially for universities and companies) want your “real” MAC for whitelisting, not the private one that keeps changing.
If you’re doing the old “Device Whitelisting” dance, then yeah, go toggle off the Private Address. But here’s what nobody tells you—if you turn it off, then later turn it back on for the same network, your iPhone will start using another random MAC, and now your administrator is chasing MACs like chasing WiFi gremlins. I’ve had to explain this to confused IT folks way too many times.
Also, fun fact: if you restore your iPhone or set it up as new, sometimes that “real” MAC address can flip on you. Not common, but it happens. Don’t throw your phone out the window if the MAC suddenly “mutates.”
For super-nerdy folks: you can plug your phone into your computer and dig in iTunes/Finder when it shows device info—the MAC’s buried in the device summary too, just in case you can’t touch your phone.
TL;DR—private MAC is for privacy (good for home, annoying for work/school admin), real MAC is for legacy networks or strict routers. Don’t be shocked if Apple moves the setting again in three versions, because…Apple. Hope this adds some context to @viajeroceleste’s instructions!