How to enable private MAC addresses on your device

To improve your privacy, you can have your device use a different Media Access Control (MAC) address with each Wi-Fi network it connects to. Your private address doesn’t affect how you connect to the network.

Note: When completing the steps below, if you do not see the same options, it is possible that your device does not offer randomized MAC addresses. In this case, please see the article

The instructions in this article include the following devices and operating systems:

Android

  1. For many Android devices, Wi-Fi MAC randomization is typically disabled. To check if private Mac addresses are enabled for your Android device, tap on Settings

  2. Tap on Network and Internet

     

  3. Tap on Internet or Wi-Fi

     

  4. Tap on the gear icon next to the Wi-Fi you are currently on

  5. Tap on MAC address type. If you would like to turn on a private MAC address tap on Use randomized MAC. If you want private address turned off, tap on Use device MAC (Note, if you don't see this setting, it's most likely because Wi-Fi MAC randomization is not available on your device). If you choose to disable your private MAC address, then your MAC address shared with this network will default to your actual device MAC address, which can be found using this article: 

iOS

  1. To check if private Mac addresses are enabled for you on iOS, tap on Settings

     

  2. Tap on Wi-Fi

     

  3. Tap on the (i) next to the Wi-Fi network you are trying to join

     

  4. Slide Private Address to ON (Note, if you don't see this setting, it's most likely because Wi-Fi MAC randomization is not available on your device). If you choose to turn this off, your MAC address for this network will default to the one found in the “About” settings of your iPhone, which can be found following the steps in this article: .

     

     

  5. If you choose to disable the private address when prompted press Rejoin to be reconnected to your Wi-Fi network.

Need help?

Contact the IST Service Desk online or 519-888-4567 ext. 44357.

Article feedback

If you’d like to share any feedback about this article, please let us know.