MAC address means Media Access Control address. It is a string of characters representing the physical address of a network adapter that connects your PC to a network.
The address is a vital element of computer networking. It identifies a computer uniquely on the Local Area Network, and it is an essential component required for network protocols like TCP/IP to function. Finding your MAC address can be tricky, but this post has made things easy. You will learn different ways to find a MAC address in Windows 11.
Locate MAC address in Windows 11
You can find the MAC address using the command prompt, settings app, control panel, and a few more. Let us explore each method.
Method 1: Use Command Prompt
You can view the MAC address in Windows 11 by typing a string of commands in the command prompt.
Here are the steps to take:
- Press the Windows button + R to open the Run dialogue box.
- When the dialogue box displays, type cmd in the Run field and click OK to continue.
- The windows will open the command prompt for you. Type ipconfig /all in the prompt and press the Enter key on your keyboard.
The command prompt will display the Windows IP configuration that includes the physical addresses of all the Network adapters on your system.
Method 2: Settings App
Here are the steps to check the MAC (physical) address on Windows 11 using the Windows Settings app.
Step 1: Open Settings.
To start with, open the settings app on your computer, and you can go about it in many ways. Even if you know how to do this before, it can be profitable to learn other ways also.
One way to open the settings app is to click the start button and select settings from the apps in the pinned app section.
Also, you can right-click on the start button instead. A list of options will display, find settings and open it.
You can also access the PC settings with a keyboard combination. I find it the easiest of the three. Press Windows Key + I, and the settings page will pop up.
Step 2: Network & Ethernet
From the settings page, click on Network & Internet on the sidebar. It is the third option on the list.
Step 3: Wi-Fi or Ethernet
The list of settings relating to network and internet will display on the right pane of the page. Click on Wi-Fi to continue if your PC has a wireless connection.
However, if your computer uses an Ethernet cable, select Ethernet.
The system will display your local network properties. Locate Physical address at the bottom of the list. But if you select Wi-Fi, Go to step 4.
Step 4: Hardware Properties
Scroll down to the last tile on the next page and click on hardware Properties.
Step 5: Scroll to Find Physical Address
The next page will display a list of the hardware Properties. Scroll to find "physical address" at the end of the list. This address is your MAC address.
Method 3: Control Panel
Another option to find the MAC address in Windows 11 is to use the control panel utility. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Open Control Panel
The first step is to open the control panel utility on your PC. Do this by clicking the Windows start button and typing the control panel in the search field. It will display on the right side of the search results page, where you can click the icon to open it.
Step 2: Go to Network Sharing Center
From the control panel, click on view network status and tasks below the “Network and Internet” heading to open the Network Sharing Center.
Step 3: Select Connection Type
The Network Sharing Center lets you view your basic network information and set up connections.
Select your network. You will see a clickable link on the page.
Step 4: Details
The Network status will display on the next window. Click details to continue.
Step 5: Find Physical Address
The following window displays the Network Connection Details. Find the physical address under the property column. The corresponding value to it is your MAC address.
Method 4: System Information
Another way to find the MAC address on Windows 11 is using the System information app. Here is how it works.
Step 1: Open system information
An easy way to open the system information app is to use the Windows search button.
- Click on search from your taskbar.
- Type system information in the search field.
- Click the app to open it.
Step 2: Components
From the app, click on components to display other options in it. Click network, then click Adapter to continue.
Step 3: Find MAC Address
Your system information will load for a few seconds and you will find the MAC address for various networks in results.
Method 5: Windows PowerShell
The last method to find your MAC address in this article is using Windows PowerShell.
PowerShell is a Windows application, and here is how to find a MAC address with it.
Step 1: Open PowerShell
You can open PowerShell by searching for it with the Windows search button. Click the search button on the taskbar, and type PowerShell in the search field. Click on the app when it displays to open it.
The window is similar to the command prompt window.
Step 2: Enter the get-netadapter Command
Type the command "get-netadapter" in the window and press the Enter button on the keyboard.
The app will list the MAC address of every network adapter that connects to your PC. Hold on for a few seconds if you do not see the results immediately.
Conclusion
Yeah! You have the full details on how to check a MAC address on Windows 11. Any one of the methods in this guide will suffice, but using PowerShell seems like the easiest - the one with the shortest steps.
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