How to change the MAC address of your computer in Windows 10
A MAC Address is the address given to a device by the company. It is the physical address that is unique to every device. You need an address to make a connection between two devices. There are two types of addresses, MAC or Media Access Control and IP address. We need both for the device to function properly. As it is already given when we buy the device we do not have much use of it and do not usually bother about it as it is given from the company itself.
But it might be needed for us to change it at times.
For example:
Nowadays the internet service providers use MAC Address to authenticate a device. However, say your NIC becomes broken and you need to purchase a new one . Then the new address will differ from the old one and will not be recognized by the network. In that case it is best to change the MAC. So that you do not face such issues.
Next is privacy, when we access a local network our MAC address is broadcasted over there. So anyone can use it and perform illegal activities with it. In that case, to protect our devices and life it is best that we change our MAC.
Changing MAC addresses is not a difficult procedure, in fact it is very easy, as I’m going to show you.
I’ll explain step by step.
Procedure 1
Step 1.
Open the Computer and go to the desktop, then press ‘ctrl + X’ . The pop up in the image below will appear.
Step 2.
Then go to ‘Device Manager’ from that Menu and click on it. The window that’s shown below will appear.
Step 3
Next, go to ‘Network Adapters’ and click on it, a drop down menu wil;l appear. Choose your network adapter from there and left click on it. Then select ‘properties’.
The box that will appear, choose advanced and then Choose ‘Network address’ from there.
Step 4
You will see a box on the right hand side. It will have ‘Value’ written on it. Put any 12 character hexadecimal on it. And then click ‘OK’. And now your new MAC address is complete.
It is easy to change it back to your original address too. Just put ‘Not Present’ in Step 5 and it will revert back to your default address.
Procedure 2
Changing the MAC Address by using Registry Editor.
Step 1 .
Open command prompt, you can easily open it by pressing ‘Windows Key + X’ or simply typing ‘Command Prompt’ in your search bar and then choose command prompt from the menu.
Step 2.
After you open ‘Command Prompt’ , type net config rdr in there and press Enter.
Step 3
Locate ‘Workstation active’ from there.
Step 4.
Write down the number or save the number by taking a screenshot. As you will need it.
Step 5.
Press ‘Windows Key + R’. A box will appear. Write, ‘regedit’ and then press ‘Ok’. This will start the Registry Editor.
Step 6.
When it opens, navigate to - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/Current/Control/SetControl/Class/(the number that you got from the Command prompt)
Step 7.
You will see lots of folders with 0000, 0001, etc. Select the folder that has your network adapter from them.
Step 8.
Right click on the folder that has the adapter. And then select , ‘New’ and after that ‘String Value’.
Step 9.
You will see a box pop up, enter the value that you want to put in the ‘Value Data’ box. It has to be a 12 digit hexadecimal number though.
Then select ‘Ok’. And restart the computer. After the computer is restarted, it will automatically change your MAC address.
Procedure 3
Changing MAC by using third party Application.
You can also change the MAC address by using tools. In this way you won’t have a big headache by going through lots of steps.
Here is the list of some that will help you.
Technitium MAC address Changer
It is very easy to use and the interface is simple.So people who are not savvy in technical things can also use it. And above all it is free!
Download Link: https://technitium.com/tmac/
SMAC MAC address Changer
This is another one which is a good tool to change your Mac address. Similar to Technitium MAC Address Changer it also has a very user friendly interface. However it has both a paid and free version. But the free version offers the basic change options so it should not be an issue for the user. However, in depth modifying would need you to spend some penny on this.
Download Link - https://smac-tool.com/
Win 7 Mac Address Changer
This is another MAC address changer which you can use. If you are operating from Windows then this might be a good selection for you. It is a very simple and straightforward software which lets you change it in a few short steps. It is also user friendly and good for first time users who are doing this.
Download Link -https://www.softpedia.com/get/Network-Tools/Misc-Networking-Tools/Win7-MAC-Changer.shtml
Spoof Me Now
This is another MAC changer tool that can spoof or change your address. It is very simple to use and does only what is written. It is a portable software you don’t need to install. You can just put it anywhere in your hard disk and then open it. As it is portable you can carry it anywhere with you via USB device.
Download Link- https://www.softpedia.com/get/PORTABLE-SOFTWARE/Network/Portable-Spoof-Me-Now.shtml
In case you make a mistake while changing it please refer to the Step where I showed how you can again bring back your default address.
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