How to Change Your MAC Address?

Imagine walking into a café in disguise, but still being recognized by your posture or voice—that’s how hidden identifiers like your MAC address can reveal you online. While not directly exposed, your MAC can affect IPs and leak patterns. In this guide, we’ll show you how to change your MAC address to improve your privacy tests with BrowserScan.

What is a MAC Address?

A MAC address is a unique hardware ID tied to your device’s network adapter, used for identification on local networks. While websites can’t see it, your MAC can still link activity across sessions or networks—making spoofing essential for full privacy protection.

Key Points:

• MAC stands for Media Access Control.

• It’s a unique hardware ID assigned to your device’s network adapter (Wi-Fi or Ethernet).

• A MAC address looks like this: 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E.

• It’s used on local networks to help devices recognize each other.

MAC vs. Other Identifiers

Identifier	What It Means
MAC address	Your device’s permanent ID on a local network (usually fixed, but spoofable).
IP address	Your address on the Internet (assigned by ISP or VPN, can change).
DHCP Client Identifier	The ID your device uses to request an IP from the router (often tied to MAC).
Hostname	Your computer’s name on the network (may leak via WebRTC or local protocols).

Why MAC Address Matters?

At first glance, it might seem like your MAC address has nothing to do with browser fingerprinting—after all, websites can’t directly access it. But under the hood, it can still leave subtle traces.

Impact Local IP

Routers use your MAC address to assign a local IP address. If your MAC stays the same, your device often gets the same local IP—even across sessions.

This local IP can leak through WebRTC and make your device identifiable, especially across multiple browser profiles or tools.

Tied to Network Identity

Many routers and enterprise networks remember devices based on their MAC address. Even if you change your IP, the MAC can silently link your session history, re-identifying you on login portals, captive pages, or office firewalls.

Track You on Public Wi-Fi

Public networks often log MAC addresses to track repeat visitors. Some use them for analytics or ad targeting as well. So without cookies or logins, your device can also be recognized and tracked based solely on its MAC.

Hard to Hide by Default

Unlike cookies or browser settings, the MAC address operates at a lower level in your system—meaning it's often left untouched by privacy tools. That makes it a useful signal for cross-session or cross-network tracking unless it’s intentionally spoofed.

When to Change MAC Address?

There are specific situations you can change your MAC address, in order to protect your identity, avoid tracking, or maintain account separation.

Switching E-commerce Accounts

When you run multiple seller accounts on platforms like Amazon or eBay, changing your MAC address before switching accounts helps prevent platform detection and account linking—especially if you're using the same Internet connection.

Managing Social Profiles

If you manage multiple Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram accounts, rotating your MAC address reduces the risk of being flagged for multi-account activity by keeping each login environment distinct.

Using Public Wi-Fi

Before connecting to public hotspots in airports, cafes, or malls, changing your MAC address can help you avoid passive tracking. Many networks log MAC addresses to monitor returning devices—even without account logins.

Testing Browser Fingerprints

When using tools like BrowserScan to analyze fingerprinting resistance, changing your MAC ensures your test profile appears as a genuinely new device, not just a modified browser on the same machine.

Bypassing Network Restrictions

On enterprise or university networks that track devices over time, you can change your MAC address to slip past internal logs, filters, or restrictions tied to your original hardware identity.

How to Change MAC Address?

Changing your MAC address is easier than it sounds. Below are the basic steps for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Always make sure to disconnect from Wi-Fi before you start, and reconnect after the change is applied.

Windows

📁 Open: Device Manager
⚙️ Find: Your Wi-Fi adapter → Properties → Advanced tab
✏️ Edit: "Network Address" → Enter 12-digit MAC (no colons)
🔄 Apply: Click OK → Restart adapter or PC

MacOS

💻 Open: Terminal
🔍 Check: ifconfig → Note adapter (e.g., en0)
✏️ Change:

bash

sudo ifconfig en0 ether 00:a1:b2:c3:d4:e5

🔁 Note: Reverts on reboot

Linux

💻 Open: Terminal
📋 Run:

bash

sudo ip link set dev wlan0 down  
sudo ip link set dev wlan0 address 00:a1:b2:c3:d4:e5  
sudo ip link set dev wlan0 up

🔍 Check: Replace wlan0 with your real adapter name

ps: Not all devices support MAC address modification.Some wireless adapters or drivers may restrict this feature, especially on laptops. If the option is missing, try updating the driver or using command-line tools—but it may not work on all devices.

You can also try——

MAC Spoofing Tools

• Technitium (Windows): Easy UI, supports random MACs and profiles.

• macchanger (macOS/Linux): Command-line tool, ideal for automation.

• VirtualBox/VMware: Set unique MACs per virtual machine.

• Some VPNs: Offer built-in MAC spoofing for extra privacy.

• Use with BrowserScan: Verify if your identity is truly isolated.

Common Mistakes When Changing MAC Address

Changing your MAC is easy—but small mistakes can ruin its effect. Watch out for these:

Staying Connected
Always disconnect from Wi-Fi or Ethernet before changing your MAC.

Wrong Format
Use six pairs of hex digits (e.g., 00:A1:B2:C3:D4:E5). Avoid typos.

Not Making It Stick
On macOS and Linux, spoofed MACs often reset after reboot. Reapply as needed.

Skipping Verification
Double-check your change with ipconfig, ifconfig, or ip link.

Changing the Wrong Adapter
Only spoof the adapter you're actually using (usually Wi-Fi).

Reusing the Same MAC
Rotate your spoofed MACs—reusing them creates trackable patterns.

Relying Only on VPNs
VPNs hide your IP, not your MAC. Local networks can still see it.

MAC Spoofing Supports BrowserScan

While BrowserScan can’t see your MAC address — since it’s hidden from websites — spoofing it still matters. That’s because the MAC address can silently link your profiles on a local network or advanced detection setups.

BrowserScan helps you verify that each browser profile looks unique on the surface. But to avoid hidden connections behind the scenes, changing your MAC address gives each session a cleaner, more isolated foundation.

By combining MAC spoofing with BrowserScan analysis, you protect both what websites can see and what they can’t. It’s the full picture of digital isolation: one masks your surface, the other scrubs your trail.

Ready to check your fingerprint?
👉 Run a test on BrowserScan and make sure your setup is truly clean.