Many users, when installing a router at home to provide all devices with the Internet and local network, are faced with the same issue - cloning the MAC address. The fact is that some providers, for the purpose of additional protection, register the MAC address of your network card when concluding a service agreement with you. Thus, when you connect the router, your MAC address changes and the Internet becomes inaccessible to you.
You can go two ways: tell your provider your new MAC address, or you can simply change it in the router...
In this article I would like to dwell on the main issues that arise during this process (by the way, some call this operation “cloning” or “emulating” the MAC address).
Method 2: Router Web Interface
To complete the following instructions, you will need to be connected to the router via Wi-Fi or a local network cable, because you will have to log in to the web interface. In almost any implementation of this menu, the process of determining the MAC address is almost the same, and the most important thing now is to enter the Internet center, which you can read about in detail below.
Now we propose, using the example of three different views of web interfaces, to understand how to obtain the information of interest, and also briefly tell you what to do for those users who have cloned the MAC address.
TP-Link
TP-Link is one of the most popular manufacturers of network equipment with the Internet center interface familiar to many, so we focused on its devices first. To determine the local MAC address, you only need to log in to be in the “Status” section
There, pay attention to the lines “LAN”. An example of the location of information is shown in the following screenshot
However, the local address does not always coincide with what is on the sticker of the device itself, because it even states that this parameter refers to the WAN. To determine it, simply go lower in the same “Status” section and find the value of interest in the “WAN” block.
If you have previously cloned a MAC address by assigning the router to a computer, it may not appear in the menu mentioned above, so you will have to do it a little differently.
- Through the left menu, move to “Network”.
Here, select the MAC Address Clone category.
Look at the "WAN MAC Address" field. Now you can restore it if necessary.
After cloning, the MAC in the two fields will be the same.
ZyXEL
Next we will look at the web interface from ZyXEL Keenetic, whose appearance is slightly different from the generally accepted one. After authorization in the Internet center, you are taken to the “Monitor” section. Here, look at the “Home Network” block, where you can determine the MAC address of the device. If necessary, you can copy it without any problems by selecting it and pressing the Ctrl + C key combination.
If any other router is connected to the current router and you know its IP address, just below in the same section, find the “Client MAC Addresses” block. Look at the table present and find the required physical address.
Routers from ASUS have the most advanced and slightly confusing interfaces, so we will also talk about such models. Their main menu is called “Network Map”, and the LAN MAC address is displayed at the bottom right, which shows basic information about the local network.
If necessary, switch to the wireless access point, where you can also view its physical addresses, just keep in mind that some models support operation on two different frequencies simultaneously, and accordingly, the MAC addresses may differ.
The principle of searching for the necessary information in other router models that were not included in the analysis of this method is approximately the same. In most cases, there is no need to go to other sections or menus, because the necessary information is displayed in the main window.
What MAC address should I register on the router?
So, if before purchasing a router your Internet was connected via cable to your PC, then it is from this that you need to clone the MAC address. In order to do this, you need to make an initial connection to the router to the Internet from the exact computer to which the cable came from the service provider.
Thus, by logging into the admin panel of the router, he will see the MAC address from exactly the computer or laptop from which you connected to wifi. All that remains for us to do is to register it automatically using the built-in functionality.
How to view and change the MAC address on a TP-Link router?
To clone a MAC address from a computer to a TP-Link router, you need to go to “Advanced settings” in the main menu. And then open the “Network - Internet” section. Here in the second block we will see the configurations that interest us. Check the box “Use the current MAC address of the computer” and click on the “Save” button.
If your TP-Link router has an old-style control panel, then open the “Network - MAC Address Cloning” section in it and click on the button of the same name to copy from the computer.
There is no need to enter anything manually. The router's MAC address will automatically change by pulling it from the computer. I think that everything is clear with this question. If not, then I recommend that you read the article on the TP-Link technical support blog.
How to view and change the MAC address on an ASUS router
In Asus routers, the setting is located in the “Internet” section. Here you just need to find the corresponding field and click on the “Clone MAC” button.
How to find out and change the MAC address on a Zyxel Keenetic router
In order to change the Internet settings on the Zyxel Keenetic router, we find the “Globe” icon in the bottom menu and switch to the “Connection” tab in this section. The current network connection with the name “Broadband Connection” will be displayed here - click on it.
Detailed settings will open, among which we find the “MAC address” item. From the drop-down list, select “Take from your PC.” Then click on the “Apply” button.
If we talk about the new firmware, the function for changing the MAC address is located in the “Internet - Wired” section. Here you need to find the “IP and DNS Settings” settings block. Select from the drop-down list “Take from your PC”
In case, for some reason, this option does not work, or a computer was linked to the provider that you no longer have for a long time, then you can select “Enter manually” and register it yourself.
In addition to the above, you can also read the official instructions from Zyxel support - for the old firmware and the new one.
MAC cloning on Netis router
In the case of Netis, there is no need to go deep anywhere at all - the function is immediately displayed on the start page of the admin panel. Just check the “MAC Clone” box and the setting we need will be automatically picked up from the host computer.
Changing the MAC address on the Tenda router
To change the MAC in Tenda routers, go to the “System Settings” menu and select “WAN settings” here.
In the new window, in the “MAC address” drop-down list, select “Clone local MAC address”
And click the “Save” button. The router will find and apply to itself the MAC address that is available on the computer from which you logged into the admin area of the router. After the reboot, Internet access will be open.
Changing the MAC address in the Wi-Fi router settings
You can change the MAC address by going to the router settings web interface; this function is located on the Internet connection settings page.
To enter the router settings, you should launch any browser, enter the address 192.168.0.1 (D-Link and TP-Link) or 192.168.1.1 (TP-Link, Zyxel), and then enter the standard login and password (if you do not changed earlier). The address, login and password for entering the settings are almost always available on a sticker on the wireless router itself.
If you needed to change the MAC address for the reason that I described at the beginning of the guide (binding with the provider), then perhaps the article How to find out the MAC address of a computer’s network card will be useful to you, because this address will need to be specified in the parameters.
Now I’ll show you where you can change this address on various brands of Wi-Fi routers. I note that when setting up, you can clone the MAC address in the settings, for which there is a corresponding button, however, I would recommend copying it from Windows or entering it manually, because if you have several devices connected via the LAN interface, the wrong address may be copied.
D-Link
On D-Link DIR-300, DIR-615 and others routers, changing the MAC address is available on the “Network” - “WAN” page (to get there, on new firmware you need to click “Advanced settings” at the bottom, and on older ones - “Manual configuration” on the main page of the web interface). You need to select the Internet connection you are using, its settings will open and there, in the “Ethernet” section, you will see the “MAC” field.
In the Wi-Fi settings of ASUS RT-G32, RT-N10, RT-N12 and others, both with new and old firmware, to change the MAC address, open the “Internet” menu item and fill in the value in the Ethernet section MAC.
TP-Link
On Wi-Fi routers TP-Link TL-WR740N, TL-WR841ND and other versions of the same models, on the main settings page in the menu on the left, open the “Network” item, and then “MAC Address Cloning”.
Zyxel Keenetic
In order to change the MAC address of the Zyxel Keenetic router, after entering the settings, select “Internet” - “Connection” in the menu, and then in the “Use MAC address” field, select “Entered” and below indicate the value of the network card address your computer, then save the settings.
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12/21/2014 at 14:33
My neighbor steals wi-fi, reveals all the complex passwords using some kind of program, when asked to stop stealing, he is silent as a fish, and he established exactly what he is stealing, he threatened to give for it, he tells his friends to complain, he doesn’t want to fight, he can somehow block himself from him. I have a ZyXEL Keenetic 4G II router on the Internet via a Huawei E 3276 MTC Internet modem.
12/22/2014 at 09:38
Valery, first, go to the admin panel of the router and look at the list of clients to see if there are any devices there other than your laptops, phones and tablets. Disable WPS in settings. Set a Wi-Fi password of 20 characters (WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK), large and small, and numbers. It’s possible to simply connect, but if there is no physical access to the router (press the wps button) and if it does not monitor your wireless traffic at the time of changing the password, it is almost impossible, it will take years. All the holes in this type of encryption are known, even new ones sometimes appear, but not one of them allows today to make a program that would connect once or twice.
02.11.2018 at 13:01
You can simply set a new name for the Wi-Fi network and make it hidden. then the network will not be visible to anyone, including you. BUT knowing its parameters it will always be easy for you and your friends to connect to it.
02.11.2018 at 13:41
By the way, hidden wireless networks can be “seen,” albeit not using Windows.
01/15/2015 at 14:59
Hello! Please tell me how to configure the tp-link tl-wr740n router in bridge mode. The fact is that our operator not only binds the mac address, but also issues his access point. To get around the limitation, I decided to buy my own access point, change the mac on it like on a computer, and use the access point itself as a router (something like connectify-me), I did everything according to the instructions, but the idea did not work. Please tell me what could I have missed?
01/16/2015 at 09:15
Hello. If they had told us in more detail how everything was arranged and configured in the standard provider mode (I just haven’t seen anything like that), I think I could have given some advice. In the meantime, it’s just not entirely clear to me how it was and how it became. As for the bridge mode: now the device is not nearby, and I have not configured the bridge on it, but a short search showed that the Bridge mode on regular TP-Links can be selected at least in the quick setup wizard.
Your providers are evil.
03/10/2015 at 23:09
Good afternoon Please tell me what to do if for some reason there is no MAC address cloning menu in the TP-Link router settings, and the provider does not register a new address.
03/11/2015 at 08:21
How so? There they have an item in Network - Mac clone (Network - clone Mac), and, in my opinion, on all modern models.
02/14/2016 at 21:45
On my router, there is also no “MAC Cloning” item in the menu (only “WAN” and “Local Network”)! How can I change the MAC address?
02/15/2016 at 09:49
You didn't even name your router. In general, such items are usually present, maybe in another place in the settings.
05/22/2015 at 11:54
Hello! Please tell me how to configure the router for another operator. When the cable is connected to the laptop via LAN, everything works, but when I connect it to the router, it doesn’t see anything. In general, the idea is for a LAN cable to go to the router (so that the router distributes Wi-Fi) and then the LAN goes out of the router to the desktop computer.
05/23/2015 at 09:38
Well, it depends on what kind of provider it is. If it works on the computer without setting up the connection, just after inserting the cable, then you can simply reset the router to factory settings, insert the cable into it into the WAN (Internet), configure the wireless network security settings and everything will work. Possible nuances: 1) If you have a connection with your provider via MAC, then you should copy the MAC of the laptop’s network card to the router settings. 2) If after you inserted the cable nothing works, try changing the LAN address of the router (if it was 192.168.0.1, set it to 192.168.1.1 or vice versa).
12/23/2015 at 01:36
Thanks for the second option, otherwise I was walking around and didn’t understand where the problem was. The provider solved the problem for an hour and then again.
05/24/2015 at 01:22
Dima! Thank you very much for your work.
05/24/2015 at 08:57
No way, absolutely. Thank you for your feedback.
06/02/2015 at 23:12
Hello, I need help, I have an asus RT-N11P router, the firmware is the latest (standard). The task is to create “Repeater Mode” (you just need your own point to which you can connect as many devices as you like), the provider is evil. Question: how to change the mac address in “Repeater mode”?
06/03/2015 at 10:50
Hello. Right now I can't see what the Asus web interface looks like. But there it’s definitely done in an elementary way, by simply switching the mode (I just don’t remember which page of the web interface), where, among other things, there is the one you need. As far as I understand, manipulations with the Mac address are not required in this case.
06/03/2015 at 12:57
The whole point is that there is Internet - one common wi-fi for the whole house. And they add ONLY 2 devices (computers) per apartment by entering the MAC address into the database.
06/04/2015 at 09:54
I mean, I can't see what page the mode switch is on there (and I don't have it in the screenshots), look it up. And you can take a Mac from a computer that has been added to their database and register it in the router.
07/08/2015 at 22:22
Hello, I have a netis wf2411r router, I tried setting the mas address of the network card in the mas address of the router, but nothing worked. I don’t know why Skype works for me, but it doesn’t open the page, what should I do?
07/09/2015 at 07:39
08/23/2015 at 17:02
When you enter the router address (192.168.0.1) into the address bar of your browser, the Internet provider’s page opens. I do not know what to do!
08/24/2015 at 11:02
What if you remove the cable from the router that is in the Internet port? (plus you can also look at the address 192.168.1.1)
09/03/2015 at 23:12
How to change the mas address on Huawei E5330?
09/12/2015 at 20:03
Hello. I have a TL-MR3420. MAC on IPTV tuner 0F-05-05-00-00-2A-2C. As you can see, the MAC consists of 14 characters rather than 12. Cloning is hindered by 2 extra characters; if I remove two characters, it says Multicast MAC address. How can I clone it?
12/15/2015 at 15:14
Hi all. Please tell me how to change the mas address on the wifi router cisco wap300n?
01/10/2016 at 22:48
I have TP-link VR 741! The menu doesn’t have a “clone poppy address” section, what should I do?
01/11/2016 at 10:11
I can’t look now where it is on the tp-link, but I don’t remember from memory.
01/27/2016 at 13:46
Hello. What do i do? I have a Huawei HG router (from Kyivstar) and the Internet is completely different. I tried to change the MAC Address, but nothing worked. The light blinks green, but there is still no internet. what to do?
01/28/2016 at 09:12
Perhaps you need some additional router settings? I haven’t worked with Kyivstar, but I think it makes sense to just call them.
02/21/2016 at 07:18
Please tell me, I can’t set up the Internet from Rostelecom on keenetic lite 3, it shows that there is Internet, the TV works, but it doesn’t let me connect to the Internet, it only works with a Rostelecom router, I changed the Mac. I do not know what to do
02/21/2016 at 07:27
Ruslan, I’m almost sure that somewhere an error was made in the parameters, but where exactly... I don’t know, just try something more carefully. but in general, Keenetic Lite 3 was always configured without problems. As a last resort, just try searching for Rostelecom + Keenetic Lite 3, maybe there is a discussion of the problem on the forums.
02/21/2016 at 08:19
I checked it dozens of times - everything is correct, the most interesting thing is that it doesn’t even connect directly to the computer. The support says to bring your router and theirs to them, like it’s impossible to do otherwise, but this attitude makes me burn
06/22/2016 at 16:44
Please tell me, I have a TPlink wr841n router. I accidentally set access in the router settings to only a certain MAC address, but I didn’t register anyone there, so now I can’t go there. I can’t make a reset because I have IPTV registered and a digibox is connected to it. If an employee calls a foreman for money so that he can drive them in there again, is there an option to force his way in?
06/23/2016 at 08:56
Hello. Well, I don’t see any options here other than resetting. Then configure again accordingly.
06/24/2016 at 02:39
Cloning a router's Mac address for wired Internet is understandable. But how can I make sure that this changed poppy address is also on the Wi-Fi network? Or will the router’s native mac address still be displayed over Wi-Fi, and is it impossible to change it in any way?
Who knows, please answer. Very necessary.
06/30/2016 at 15:57
Good day everyone, I have a problem with the asus rt-n 11p router. Previously, Wi-Fi worked fine, but then it stopped (the Internet is distributed, devices are connected, but data is not transferred, pages do not load), the connection via cable works fine. I updated the firmware, rolled back to factory settings, wrote to technical support - nothing helps, has anyone encountered this problem? write please
07/01/2016 at 10:13
Is this the case on all devices or just one? (just if it’s on one, then it’s worth checking the connection settings there). Also, it may make sense to delete the saved network on them and try to connect again. Although... you even rolled back to factory settings... then I can’t think of any options...
08/30/2016 at 09:39
After changing the MAC, there is Internet via Wi-Fi, but not via LAN.. (TP-Link 841N)
09/10/2016 at 21:03
Hello! I have this problem: I can’t go into the router settings (tplink) to change the mas address. I reset the settings on the router, but still can’t configure it. I can’t access the web utility or connect via cable.
09/11/2016 at 09:26
Have you tried it from another device (for example, from a tablet)? If it still doesn’t log in, then I don’t know what the problem could be. It doesn’t even display the login window?
10/12/2016 at 20:27
Hello. I have a D-link Dir 300 router, beeline Internet operator, I change the MAC address in the router settings to this CC:B2:55:97:25:9D, I change the last value to 7D and there is no Internet, I even registered the MAC address of the computer and nothing. I rebooted the router and it doesn't work either. I put the same Mac address and everything is ok. You need to constantly change your Mac address for the Internet to work, please help?
10/13/2016 at 11:35
Hello. Perhaps some kind of bug in a specific firmware? Try updating or vice versa an older one. It seems that Beeline via MAC has never made bindings... I would also try changing not the last values, but let’s say, in your example, swap 97 and 25.
03.12.2016 at 20:58
Good evening! My TV in my house is the source of the Internet! I want to install a router, but it won’t log in through the browser utility! How can I fix this?
12/04/2016 at 09:31
I don't quite understand the configuration and situation. And how a TV can be a source of the Internet. A cable plugged into it - maybe, and then the router is configured in the usual way (you just need to plug this cable into it, into the WAN or Internet port, and connect the TV to the LAN connector).
03/28/2017 at 00:14
Hello! I came across this problem. We moved to Germany to study; the Internet here isn’t exactly a problem, but it’s much worse than in Russia. And the operator locks the Internet to one device using access certificates and mac address. I cloned the mac address, but I have no idea how to bypass the certificates on the router. It is inconvenient to connect cables to different devices. More specifically: authentication of wired devices in Windows is allowed, the provider certificate is installed, the MAC address from the contract is installed, the user certificate is installed, and then the Internet works when connected. Is it possible to do all this on a router or will you have to spend the rest of your studies fiddling around with re-wiring?
03/28/2017 at 09:22
Hello. I would be glad to help, but I don’t know how, I haven’t encountered such a “situation”. Ideas: ask local students with the same provider how they solve the problem. Or voice the problem to the provider (well, it can’t be that you can’t have a router at home and have access to all devices from it. Perhaps as an additional service, but still).
03/28/2017 at 15:46
Thanks, I'll ask the locals. It just hasn't worked yet. If I find a solution, I’ll send it to you, maybe it will be useful.
05/10/2017 at 18:43
Good day! The problem is this, repeater tp-link tl-WA855re, you need to change the poppy address, but unfortunately there is no line for changing the poppy address or cloning either. Question: how to change the poppy address? Thank you in advance!
05/11/2017 at 08:24
I can't tell you. Now I googled it myself... I don’t know if this is even possible.
07/14/2017 at 18:18
Are there any restrictions on the new MAC? Can I put up any valid address at all or does it have to match some kind of mask or be unique?
07/15/2017 at 08:39
In general, common sense suggests that there should be some boundaries of acceptable addresses, but Google does not suggest anything like that in different languages. The only thing is that the first 16 bits (00-00-00) are 1) Each network equipment manufacturer has its own, i.e. allow identification if they have not been changed. See standards-oui.ieee.org/oui/oui.txt 2) Some variants of these first bits are somehow used to inform the network infrastructure about how to work - I wrote this at length because I don’t really understand how it works (for example 01:00:5e:00:00:00–01:00:5e:7f:ff:ff are used for IP Multicast)
11/22/2017 at 01:15
Dmitry, can the provider recognize that the Mac on the router has been cloned? Router TENDA. First, by connecting from a computer connected to the LAN port of the router and “logging in” to it using its local IP 192.168.0.1, we cloned the mac address of the WAN interface of the router. Then, without a router (the computer was connected directly), they showed a real Lenovo Mac to the provider. Gained access “to the world.” We turned off the computer, plugged the “provider” cable into the WAN port of the router, turned on the router, waited until it flashed, connected the computer to the LAN port of the router - it won’t let us into the world. We went back to the admin. router interface - the poppy did not fly off. Exactly the one that was cloned. We disconnect the router “from the provider”, plug the provider cable into the computer directly - there is Internet. Through a router with the same Mac - no. Nonsense.
Question: can a provider distinguish between “physical” and cloned poppy addresses?
11/22/2017 at 09:59
In theory, it can, but it is unlikely to do this, because it is difficult and can often lead to the fact that without any cloning of the MAC address, the same devices will fall off when other parameters are changed, according to which you can create a device profile on the provider’s side ( It is precisely by this principle that it is possible to perform an action - i.e. bind the MAC to other parameters, such as a network name, OS, etc.). So in your case, I would suggest that perhaps there is something wrong in the router parameters... on the other hand, if they did not change at all and then suddenly it stopped working - strange. (unless the router has been reset).
12/30/2017 at 20:40
Good afternoon. Please tell me, I have a Tenda ac9 router, there is a binding by MAC address, I register the MAC address of the computer in the router, but still without access to the Internet. And the most interesting thing is that I brought this router to my provider, he connected it and everything works, that is, all the settings that I entered at home at the provider on site work without problems, but at my home I still have no access to the Internet. I was already thinking, maybe let the provider register the MAC address of the router rather than clone the computer address at home. How do you think?
01/02/2018 at 11:50
Perhaps the connection settings on the computer itself are incorrect?
02/26/2018 at 16:13
Hello, I have a problem with my modem, the Internet does not work on it because it gives out a lot of poppy addresses, how can I fix the problem?
02/27/2018 at 09:35
I don't quite understand. Can you explain in more detail what exactly the problem looks like and why you decided that “it produces a lot of poppy addresses”?
09.28.2018 at 16:53
I changed the poppy address of the tp-link router. If the power goes out, he restores his old poppy. What to do, How to force him to change his poppy forever?
01/07/2019 at 11:46
Hello! Please tell me, how can I register the WAN port of the router in the settings of the computer’s network card?
01/07/2019 at 14:59
Sorry, can you tell me where this poppy address is for the WAN port of the router? Well I'm new to this.
01/08/2019 at 11:29
It is displayed somewhere in the web interface (depending on the model/brand of the router and its firmware).
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Nowadays, some Internet providers continue to bind by MAC address. This is when you have an Internet connection and it is tied to one device: a computer, laptop, or router. The fact is that if the Internet is tied to the MAC address of the computer’s network card, then after connecting the cable to the laptop’s network card or router, the Internet will not work. Because the MAC address of the router and the laptop will be different.
I don't understand why use this binding. This creates a lot of difficulties when setting up Wi-Fi routers. It seems that everything was connected correctly, everything was configured, checked, but the Internet does not work. As a rule, this is “No Internet access” when setting up a router. And then it turns out that the provider binds the Internet, it is tied to the MAC address of the computer (to which it was originally connected) and, of course, cannot work on the router.
First of all, call your provider's support and find out if they bind by MAC address. If they do, there are two options:
- Connect the router via cable to the computer to which the Internet is connected, and clone the MAC address in the router settings. Then, the router will have the same MAC as on the computer, and the Internet will work.
- The second option is to look at the MAC address of the router, call the provider's support, and ask to change the address. Some providers, as far as I know, have the opportunity to change the MAC address through your personal account on the website.
Now we will look at changing the MAC address on different routers, and I will show you where to look for this address on the router.
You may also find this article useful: how to find out and change the MAC address in Windows 10. In Windows 7 or Windows 8, everything is exactly the same.
Why does the user need it?
Some Internet providers use, in addition to the login/password, the MAC address of the connected device to authorize the user. Therefore, if the network cable is disconnected from the router and connected to a PC or laptop, the connection to the Internet will be lost. The fact is that the address of the connected device will not match that defined by the provider and it will not provide access to the network.
This method provides a higher level of security, since it is physically impossible to gain access to the Internet by selecting a login and password.
Therefore, it may be necessary to find out the router’s MAC address when purchasing a new router, after reinstalling the system (Internet settings are lost), and in other situations. In any case, you can solve the problem with MAC binding in two ways:
- determine a new MAC and make a request to technical support to add it;
- change new to old, which is possible in any router.
Replacing the MAC address using network adapter settings
Of course, first of all, I will introduce you to the option that is most often used in the computer world by both ordinary users and network professionals. It is simple and convenient in that we don’t have to enter anything on the command line or go into the computer’s registry, but we just need to go into the network connection settings and specify the address we need there.
So, through the “Network and Sharing Center” we go to the settings for changing adapter parameters.
Having selected the desired connection, call up the context menu, from which select the “Properties” line and left-click on it.
Next, you will immediately see the name of your network card, under which there will be a “Configure” button, leading to the advanced settings of the network device. Click it and move on.
Now in the parameters that appear, go to the “Advanced” tab, where in the list of properties that appears, look for the line “Network Address”, “Physical Address” or “Network Address”, the name may differ as there are a very large number of different manufacturers of network equipment.
So, having selected this line, an empty field will appear on the right, mark it with a dot and draw a new MAC address there. Note that the new value must be specified without any punctuation marks such as colons, hyphens or spaces.
After changing the MAC address, click on “OK”. In principle, the new physical address should take effect immediately after saving the settings, but if this does not happen, then just restart your computer and everything should be fine after that.
You can check the result using the ipconfig /all command (Read the previous article for more details). If the result is negative, then go ahead and try the following method.
How to view the MAC of a router?
You can view the Hardware Address value on your computer like this:
- You need to go to the “Control Panel” through the “Start” menu.
- In the “Network and Internet” section, find “Network Sharing Center”.
- Find the item “Change adapter settings” in the left frame.
- On the active adapter, open the context menu with the right mouse button and select “Status”.
- On the “Support” tab, click the “Details” button for Win XP or “Information” for Win 7.
- A new window will contain information about the connection, where the physical address will be written.
Another way is to enter the command “ipconfig /all” or “getmac /v” on the command line, which is suitable for any version of Windows. For a computer running Linux or MacOS, in the terminal we type “ifconfig -a | grep Hwaddr".
What is a MAC address and what is it used for?
This abbreviation stands for Media Access Control. The MAC address is a sequence of six pairs of hexadecimal digits, for example, 08-ED-B9-49-B2-E5. The first three groups are assigned to a specific manufacturer, followed by a unique serial number. Thus, each of the hundreds of millions of devices released, from phones to TVs, has its own MAC address.
The Internet provider can use MAC rather than login and password for authorization. If you switched from connecting a network cable directly to your computer to connecting via a WF router, you may lose access to the Network. The reason is that the MAC address of the Wi-Fi router is different from the previous one used for authorization by the Internet service provider. There are two options to solve this problem:
- first find out the new MAC address and report it to technical support;
- change it yourself to the old one, since every router has similar functionality.
The concept of “physical address” of a network card
The word MAC is an abbreviation that in its full form means “media access control,” or media access control. This address is available on absolutely any network device. It consists of 6 pairs of numbers in the hexadecimal number system, i.e. of 12 characters, and is assigned during production, and contains information about the manufacturer (initial 3 groups of numbers) and a personal identifier of the device, thereby achieving the absolute uniqueness of each active interface. In addition to the term MAC, there are names such as physical address (hardware address).
How to change the router's MAC address
Linking a user account to the MAC address of a network card is used by many small Internet providers. The connection type in this case is a dynamic network address, and protection against unauthorized access is provided precisely using the MAC address of the network interface of the computer that is connected to the provider. If instead of your computer (or laptop) you connect a router to the provider’s cable, nothing will work, because the physical address (MAC address) of the router and the address of the computer’s network card are different.
Of course, you can call the provider's technical support service and ask to register the router's MAC address in the list of allowed clients, or you can simply change the physical address of the router to the already allowed address of the computer's network card. To simplify this operation and prevent possible errors, the router's web interface contains a procedure for cloning a MAC address. With its help, the router itself reads the physical address of the computer’s network card and assigns it to the WAN interface - the port to which the provider’s cable is connected.
- Open your Internet browser and enter the router's IP address in the address bar. The factory address of the router is 192.168.0.1.
- Enter your login and password to access the web interface.
- From the section menu on the left side of the screen, select “Network”, and from it select WAN.
- From the list of interfaces, select the one you want and open it with a mouse click.
- The MAC field of the Ethernet section contains the current MAC address of the router. Click the "Clone Address" button to change the MAC address of the WAN network interface.
The “Clone” button allows you to change the MAC address of the router to the address of the network card of the computer to which it is connected
Two months ago I had the opportunity to restore the crashed firmware of an ASUS router. The resuscitation seemed to be successful, the router worked, but did not want to connect to the Internet provider at all. An analysis of the situation showed that in the service firmware, which was used for recovery, there were zeros instead of a MAC address. Not surprisingly, the provider’s equipment denied access to a device without an address. After I changed the zero MAC address to the one that was indicated on the information sticker of the router, the device worked like a charm.
Video: changing the MAC address on a TP-Link router
Nine times out of ten, setting up your first Internet connection occurs without user intervention. If the artificial intelligence of the router fails, an installer from the technical service of the Internet provider will come to the rescue. And only in one case will you have to configure the Internet manually. Knowledge of the basic principles of operation of the router’s web interface, its physical MAC address and network IP address are the cornerstones of successful installation of the device and deployment of a home network based on it.
Why is this necessary?
A MAC address is a unique identifier that is assigned to each piece of equipment. Cloning a Mac address allows you to replace a real physical address with a virtual one. How to temporarily register a second address, giving it all the powers of the first.
Having done this, when replacing a router, you do not need to contact your provider with a request to give Internet access to the new router. It is enough to change the MAC address to the one with which the router is provided with Internet access (that is, register the physical MAC address of the old router into the new one). How to do it? First, determine the identifier of the router you need.
Changing the address through device manager
Let's look at how to change the mac address using Windows (through the device manager). First, by pressing the +R key combination, open the Run window, in the input field of which the command indicated in the image below is written (devmgmt.msc). Then click on the “Enter” button.
A device manager window will open, in which, in the “Network adapters” section, you need to select the device item (Wi-Fi adapters or network card) in which you want to change the address, and then select “Properties” using the right mouse button (see image below).
In the properties window that opens, on the “Advanced” tab, look for the line “Network address” and set its value. Then click on OK and restart the computer. When specifying a poppy address, you do not need to enter a colon or other punctuation marks (only 12 numbers translated into hexadecimal).
It should be noted that the above described procedures for changing the Mac address are not suitable for all devices. It may happen that for a specific card on the “Advanced” tab there will not be a “Network address” line. Then you have to use other methods. To check that the changes take effect, you need to enter ipconfig /all in the command line (to run it in the Run window, enter cmd). The device address will be specified in the “Physical Address” item.
How to find out (where to look) the MAC address of a Tp-Link, Asus, D-Link, Tenda router?
In this short article, I will tell you how you can find out the physical address of the router, also known as the MAC address.
If you have already visited this page, then most likely you know why you need to find out the MAC address of the router; for some reason, it will be useful to you. The most popular case is when the provider binds by MAC address, and you need to tell the physical address of the router to your Internet provider so that it can bind by MAC address. If the provider is so clingy, then problems may arise during the router setup process. We already have a separate article about such problems (in particular about binding to a physical address). What type of connection should I specify when setting up a router? Let's find out the necessary information that will be useful during the setup process.
Now we will figure out how you can see the MAC address of the router. I will show in more detail for devices from Tp-Link, D-Link and Asus, since they are the most popular. But the process itself is practically no different from routers from other companies, such as Tenda, Netgear, Zyxel, etc.
There are two ways to find out the router's network address:
Look at the sticker that is located on the router itself, or on the box from it (as a rule, the MAC address is indicated here and there). On the box from Asus, I found this address, but on the box from Tp-Link, it was not there
But it doesn’t matter, as I already wrote, it’s definitely on the router itself. And the second way is to look in the settings of the router itself. Routers have the ability to clone MAC addresses
This means that you can specify almost any physical address. So, if you changed the MAC address, then the changed address will be displayed in the router settings. It will not match what is indicated on the body of the network device.
Let's talk about everything in order.
Definition
Read more about how to find out the MAC of a router here.
A quick and easy way to determine the physical address of a router is to look at it on the inside of the case. It is listed on the sticker as MAC, along with the rest of the information.
If a computer, smartphone or tablet is connected to the router, you can find out the Mac through the admin panel in the “Status” - “Local Network” section. This is the initial page with basic information about the router.
Next, the information can be transferred to the provider (if you looked at the identifier of an unregistered router). Or change the Mac address of this router in the settings of another, but how to do this? It is enough to perform a couple of operations in the network device settings.
Changing the router address
Now let's look at examples of how to change the mac address of a router. This is no more difficult to do than on a computer. To change, you should open the router configuration web page, and then proceed according to the instructions for the most popular manufacturers:
- On D-Link routers, this is done on the “Network” page of the “WAN” section with advanced configuration parameters. Here you select the connection used to access the Internet, and in its settings in the “Ethernet” group, enter the required MAC in the corresponding field.
- For Asus, open the "Internet" menu. Further in the group “Special requirements of the Internet service provider” at the very bottom there will be a field for changing the address.
- How to change the mac address of a TP-Link router? You need to go to the “Network” section in the “MAC Address Cloning” subsection and enter the one you require.
- In models from Zyxel, the replacement is made in the “Internet” item, the “Connection” subsection. The “Clone” button is pressed and the switch is set to the “Entered” position.
After the change, be sure to click the “Save settings” button, otherwise the change will not occur. After all the changes made, the router should be rebooted by power supply or through the corresponding configuration menu item.
It is possible to clone a MAC address. Cloning will be performed from the address of the machine from which the connection to the configuration page was made. But it is better to enter data manually, because... If there are several devices on the network, you can easily get confused and enter the wrong data.
Cloning via the admin panel
How to clone a router ID is described in the following video:
To do this, you will need a computer connected to the router via the network. For different network device manufacturers, this function may be located in different places in the web interface.
How to change the Mac address of an ASUS router? It's quite simple:
- Open the Internet tab.
- In one of the sections, find the field with MAC and change it to the desired one.
D-Link
Popular models DIR-615, DIR-300 and other D-Link routers allow you to clone a physical address in the “Network” - “WAN” section.
To get to this section, you need to click “Advanced settings” or “Manual settings” on the main page of the web interface.
Zyxel Keenetic
You need to register the identifier in the “Internet” - “Connection” section.
Next, in the “Use MAC address” field, select “Entered”.
TP-Link
I'll tell you how to set up a Mac address through the router settings:
- Open the web interface using the access indicated on the back.
- Enter the authorization data also indicated on the back of the device.
- Find the MAC Address Clone section under Network.
- Enter 12 characters of the desired ID on the first line instead of the one listed.
- Then click "Apply".
You can always roll back to the real physical address by clicking "Restore Factory".
How to find out the MAC address of a router
Like the default IP address, the router's factory MAC address can be read on a reminder sticker located on the back or bottom of the device, using internal software (via the web interface), or using one of the utility utilities of the Windows operating system.
On the router case
Any router is equipped with an information sticker that contains all the necessary information to start the router, including data about the factory settings of the MAC address. For D-Link routers this will be the MAC ID field, for ASUS, TP-Link, Tenda routers - the MAC field.
Information about the physical address of the router is contained in a line with the MAC prefix
Using the router's built-in software
If you purchased a used router, the service sticker may be worn or missing altogether. And the real physical address of the router may not coincide with the sticker data, because the previous owner could have performed the MAC address cloning operation. The most reliable algorithm for obtaining the current physical address is to use the router’s web interface. For example, in the software of D-Link routers, you can find out the MAC address in a few simple steps.
Before starting work, the router must be connected to the computer using a cable, and the computer's network interface must be configured to automatically obtain an address.
- Open your Internet browser and enter the router's IP address in the address bar. The factory address of the router is 192.168.0.1.
- Enter your login and password to access the web interface.
- From the section menu on the left side of the screen, select “Network”, and from it select WAN.
- From the list of interfaces, select the one you want and open it with a mouse click.
Select the default gateway from the list of network interfaces
The MAC address is displayed in hexadecimal notation
Things to Remember About MAC Address
Here are some interesting facts about MAC address .
- Each network adapter must have a MAC address.
- MAC is unique and permanent. It is built into every network adapter by the manufacturer. It's like a vehicle identification number (VIN).
- Take "permanent" with a grain of salt because, like the VIN, it can be changed. More details below.
- Eventually we will run out of MAC addressing space. But given that this is a 48-bit circuit - that's 281 trillion, and then several hundred billion more - possible addresses, it's safe to say that many more important things, like humanity or hopefully just the need for the MAC itself, will expire , before we have to worry about MAC shortages.
- There are many other names for a MAC address. Some examples are: physical address, Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID), Ethernet Hardware Address (EHA), hardware address, and adapter address.
- MAC addresses are allocated in large groups to equipment manufacturers. For this reason, connected network devices are often identified on the network by their vendor name - such as Netgear, Asus, Cisco, etc. - instead of their MAC addresses or the names you give them. This is purely a matter of identity.
As a rule, the MAC address is indicated on the device label. It's not a secret; everyone can see it - again, it's like a car's VIN, it should be visible. However, once the device is yours, it is recommended to keep this address secure. By the end of this post you will know why.
Why do you need to know your router's IP address?
A wireless router not only connects various devices into a home network, providing each of them with access to the Internet, but is itself a member of this network. The identifier of any link in such a network is its IP address
For a router, this address is important. Firstly, the address must be specified on the client equipment when setting up the local network
Secondly, this address is used to access the router’s internal software—the web interface.
MAC and IP addresses are like the “call letters” of devices on your home network
How to find the IP address on the router case
All service information necessary for the initial setup of a home router is grouped on a special reminder sticker located on one of the edges of the device’s body. Its location does not depend on the brand of router or manufacturer, but solely on the shape of the case. On vertical routers, the sticker is located on the back edge of the case, on classic horizontal routers - on the bottom.
For routers with a horizontal housing, the information sticker is located at the bottom
The information on the sticker is often duplicated by the manufacturer on the router box, so you can find out the network address and authorization parameters for accessing the web interface, as well as the firmware version, without opening the packaging.
For vertical routers, the information sticker is located on the rear edge of the case
How to find out the router's IP address using Windows OS
If the router is already installed, client equipment is connected to it, and the network adapters are configured to automatically obtain a network address, you can easily find out the router's IP address by viewing the properties of the active network connection:
- In the task bar, right-click the Start icon and select Network Connections.
To open the network connections window, right-click on the “Start” icon and select “Network Connections”
Go to view network properties
The Default Gateway setting contains the network address of your router
How to view a router's IP address using PowerShell (Command Line Interface)
With the latest updates, Windows 10 received a new Command Line environment - Windows PowerShell. You can find out the information you are interested in in just a couple of keystrokes:
- In the task bar, right-click the Start icon and select Windows Powershell.
Start the PowerShell processor (Command Prompt)
In the "Default Gateway" field you can see the router's network address
How to change the MAC address on a network card
Although the issue of changing the MAC address arises quite rarely, there is at least one significant reason to consider this issue in more detail.
A MAC address is essentially a unique number-alphabetic number assigned to any network device by the manufacturer. It consists of 12 characters, most often separated by a colon. The characters used are numbers from 0 to 9 and the first six letters of the Latin alphabet from A to F. The uniqueness of the MAC address allows you to identify a specific network device on the network and deliver intended data for a very specific device only to it. The MAC address on a computer or laptop can be changed, but this change will work until the operating system is reinstalled on the computer.
Operators providing a number of services such as the Internet and digital television very often use binding to the MAC address of the subscriber's network device. Thanks to this, each subscriber watches only his own set of TV channels or uses a specific tariff plan.
The access server provides access to the network outside the subscriber's computer only if the MAC addresses of the modem and the network card in the subscriber's computer match.
If a subscriber accessing the Internet with MAC binding changes his computer or laptop, he will need to inform technical support of this fact so that our specialists can help change the MAC address on the network card of the new computer.
You can change the MAC address manually or using a program that essentially does the same thing as the manual mode, only much faster. To change the MAC address on a new computer to the one recorded on the access server, you need to find out the previous address. If you are an advanced user and still have a previous computer, you can change the MAC address yourself without waiting for the help of specialists. For other subscribers who have changed computers, we recommend calling technical support immediately.
How to find out the MAC address of a network card
Click the Start button and type cmd in the search. Open a command prompt window, then type ipconfig /all or getmac. In the response results you will find all network devices and their MAC addresses.
Here is another short article on how to find out the MAC address of a network card.
You can find out the MAC address using the following program.
How to change MAC address in 30 seconds using the program
The MAC address can be found and changed using the MACChange program.
Working with the program is very simple. Downloaded and launched, then select the desired network device in the list window. The current MAC address of the device will appear in the right column (write it down on a piece of paper first, just in case). In the line below you can set your MAC address and click the Apply button. The lightning bolt icon allows you to generate a random MAC address. If you need to return the MAC address of the network card to the factory settings, simply click the Reset button.
Changing the MAC address in Windows XP manually
2. Now right-click on the “Local Area Connection” shortcut and select the Properties option.
3. To change the MAC address of the network card, you need to click on the Configure button in the window that appears.
4. Go to the “Advanced” or “Advanced” tab and select the “Network Address” or “Network Address” option from the list on the left. In the “Value” or “Value” field, enter a MAC address consisting of 12 characters (Latin letters and numbers) without spaces, dashes and dots. You can find out the required MAC address by calling customer support by first finding out your login or contract number.
How to change MAC address in Windows 7 manually
3. Now that you have moved on to changing the settings of the adapter settings, find the “Local Area Connection” shortcut and right-click, then select the Properties option.
4. In the “Status - Local Area Connection” window that appears, click the Properties button.
5. In the new window “Local Area Connection - Properties” you need to click on the Configure button.
6. Go to the “Advanced” or “Advanced” tab and select the “Network Address” or “Network Address” option from the list on the left. In the “Value” or “Value” field, enter a MAC address consisting of 12 characters (Latin letters and numbers) without spaces, dashes and dots. You can find out the required MAC address by calling customer support by first finding out your login or contract number.
How to drive a new MAC into various OS
Different operating systems provide different options for changing the network address. Sometimes it can be changed forever, and sometimes before the first reboot.
Linux
In Linux OS, MAC can be easily changed through the network manager.
1.Click on the Internet connection (icon in the lower right corner).
2. Find “Change connection”.
3. A window with connections will appear, from which you have to select the one whose address you want to change.
4. Click on “Change” (another option is the icon with a picture of a gear).
5. After that, enter the new numbers in the “Cloned MAC address” field.
Unfortunately, after the PC reboots, the entered MAC will disappear. If you want to keep it, add it to /etc./network/interfaces.d/.
MacOS
If the laptop is running Mac OS, then changing the physical address is done through the command line.
1. Open a line by pressing Ctrl and the spacebar.
2. Type the command sudo ifconfig... followed by the name of the adapter and the new MAC.
The only bad thing is that the address changes before the computer is restarted or turned off. Then it will have to be changed again.
Android
In Android, the difficulty of changing is that you must have root access, without which you will not be able to carry out these actions. You also need to install and run the special Root Explorer application. All actions are performed while Wi-Fi is running.
1. In the Root Explorer window, find the “MOUNT R / O” button and click on it.
2. Then, after the request for granting rights, click on “Grant”.
3. You will need a data directory.
4. It requires nomad info, which opens through a text editor.
5. Now we enter a new physical address into it.
6. Check the Read fields.
7. Click OK.
MAC will change forever.
iOS
On iPhones and iPods with iOS, you can change the Mac only before the first reboot. In addition, you will need: Jailbreak, which will open access to the gadget’s file system, as well as the Cydia store.
1. Download Mobile Terminal from Cydia.
2. Launch the program and enter the su command and the alpine password.
3. After that, enter a new command to change the MAC: Ifconfig (adapter name) 11addr (new MAC address).
However, after a reboot, you will have to change it again, since the new address will not be saved and there is no way to save it.
Although any operating system has its own capabilities for installing a new MAC and working with it, they do not always meet the needs and requirements. Therefore, programs often cope with tasks better.
Cloning a mac address on a router
- 1. For D-link models:
- — Go to the router interface (192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1) and enter the standard “admin” in the “login” and “password” fields;
- — Go to the “Network” tab — “WAN” — “Manual settings” — “Mac address”;
- — Here you can register your mac address or “clone” an existing one.
For D-Link routers, depending on the model and firmware version, the steps may vary slightly. In some models, to change the mac address you need to use the “Telnet” utility
- 2. Cloning a mac address on a tp-link router:
- — The first steps are the same as for D-Link: connect the router to the computer and log in to the router settings - “login” and “password” and also “admin” (unless, of course, you changed them);
- - Next, the “Network” tab - “MAC Address Cloning”.
As you can see, cloning a mac address on a router is quite simple. But by doing so, you will make your network much more secure. Also, to minimize the possibility of unauthorized access, set the NAT option.
Internal address
Let's first try to find out our internal address on the local network. The parameter is static, you can manually register it in the settings.
Label
Those interested can look below at the section of the theory that illustrates the physical meaning of what has been said. The router usually has a standard (factory) combination. Examples:
- 192.168.0.1
- 192.168.1.1
The router has a class C network (the number of hosts is 256, including the router itself). The initial numbers are indicated by a sticker on the wall of the case. Nearby are: login, admin panel password, Wi-Fi SSID, security key. Sometimes they give you a phone number. The required parameter can be indicated, for example: “Access to WEB interface”.
Find out forgotten
There are several ways to determine a previously changed parameter. Windows users should:
- Open Network and Sharing Center (lower right corner of the desktop → right click on the network icon).
- Click the link to connect via local network.
- Click the Details... button
- The gateway string contains the required numbers.
Let's try using the command line.
- Start menu → System Tools section → Command Prompt.
- Right click → Run as administrator.
- Type the ipconfig command
- A pile of IP protocol settings will appear.
- Select the line Default gateway, look at the numbers you are looking for.
The ifconfig command
is a little more complicated for Linux users. The ifconfig command displays the computer's own local address, broadcast, and subnet mask (see below). Using a terminal, type route -n. The command will show the routing table. The information must include (among other things) the gateway address. Second option:
- Visit the System Settings Network section.
- Look at the Default Route and DNS values.
How to change MAC address using third-party programs
I use this method very rarely, but still, if the previous two methods did not help you, you can try your luck with another option, in which we will replace the MAC address using the Technitium MAC Address Changer 6.0.5 utility. This program is quite simple, and most importantly, absolutely free, it can change many network parameters, but since we are only interested in changing the MAC address, we will only consider how to work with this parameter.
So, download the utility and install it on your computer. Now, having launched it. In the top window called “Network Connection”, select our connection.
Next, go down to the “Change MAC Address” field and indicate the value of the new physical address. Also nearby is a button that says “Random MAC Addresses”, which will allow you to automatically generate a new value. Now, having entered a new value, click on the “Change Now” button.
A few seconds will pass when the network address is changed, and a window will appear indicating that the operation was successful. By the way, if you suddenly need to set everything to default, then you can simply use the “Restore Original” button, which will allow you to return all changes back
How to change the mac address on the router?
After checking the mac address, as a rule, the following question arises: “How to protect your network from “enemy” attacks?”
To do this, it is strongly recommended to change all the factory settings of the router, such as: “login” / “password” to enter the settings and the mac address of the router, as well as install a filter by IP and mac addresses.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to simply hide the router’s mac address from everyone: to do this, you can use third-party services that are “capable” of hiding the router’s mac address, but their entire veil is broken by a simple “arp–a” command.
Therefore, it is much better and safer to simply change (create a clone) the mac addresses.
