Find the Physical Address of a Computer

The adapter address (also called MAC address, hardware address or physical address) of your network card uniquely identifies your computer on the network.  There are no two addresses a like whether Windows or Mac.  Follow the instructions below to easily find your computer’s network address.

Obtaining Your Adapter Address on Windows

  • Click on the Start button and then select “Run” from the menu.
  • Type cmd and press Enter on your keyboard.
  • When the command terminal opens (the black box) type ipconfig/all and press Enter.
  • Then copy the physical address exactly as it appears, in this case 00-19-D1-A4-F6-8E.

Obtaining Your Adapter Address in Mac

Wired (MacOS 10.2 and earlier)

  • From the dock, select System Preferences
  • Select Network, Select Location, Select Interface
  • Select TCP/IP Tab
  • Locate the number next to the Ethernet Address. This is your MAC address

Wired (MacOS 10.3 and later)

  • From the dock, select System Preferences
  • Select Network, Select Location, Select Interface
  • Select Ethernet Tab
  • Locate the number next to the Ethernet ID. This is your MAC address

Wireless (AirPort)

  • From the dock, select System Preferences
  • Select Network, Select Location, Select Interface
  • Select AirPort Tab
  • Locate the number next to the AirPort ID. This is your MAC address
  • The MAC Address will be displayed in the form of 00:0D:93:13:51:1A.