Determining your MAC or IP address

Last updated: April 10, 2024

On a computer network, a media access control (MAC) address is your computer’s unique identification number used by the network to identify your device, and your IP address is the online network address for your computer. The UW’s Network Portal displays basic information about your network connection, and should contain your MAC and IP addresses. The following methods will help you manually determine what your MAC and IP addresses are depending on the operating system you are running.

Windows

  1. Click to open the Start menu
  2. Select “Run” if available, or click into the search box on the start menu itself
  3. Type “cmd” into the dialog box that appears, and click “Okay”
  4. Within the command prompt, type “ipconfig/all”
    C:\>ipconfig/all
  5. The command will return information that looks like the following:
    Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
    Description . . . . . . . . : 3Com 3C90x Ethernet Adapter
    Physical Address. . . . . . : 00-C0-4F-72-DC-2C
    DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
    IP Address. . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.9
    Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
    Default Gateway . . . . . . : 192.168.2.8
    Primary WINS Server . . . . : 128.95.4.18
    Secondary WINS Server . . . : 198.95.4.19
  6. Your MAC address is the Physical Address listed, and your IP address is the IP address listed.

OSX

  1. From the Apple menu, select “System Preferences”
  2. Click on the “Network” icon
  3. From the list on the left, highlight the option desired, e.g., “Wi-Fi” or “Ethernet”
  4. From the options to the right, click the “Advanced” button
    1. For your MAC address, from the tabs on the top, select “Hardware”. Your MAC will be listed on this page
    2. For your IP address, from the tabs on the top, select “TCP/IP”. Your IP address will be listed on this page

iOS

  1. Tap to open the “Settings” app
  2. Select “General”
  3. Select “About”
  4. The “Wi-Fi” address listed is your MAC address

Android

  1. Go to your Settings or Settings app
  2. Scroll to the bottom and tap About phone. Your IP and MAC addresses should be on this list
    • Your device may differ. Check your device manufacturers instructions for specific instructions.

Linux

  1. At the Linux command prompt, enter % /sbin/ifconfig eth0
  2. The returned information will include your MAC address, in a format like the following:
    00:A0:CC:23:39:3F