So, if your device has its Wi-Fi on, you can track it using its MAC address. That’s simply based on their MAC addresses. Track Your Device: Renew London company used bins, which recorded details of a whopping 4,009,676 devices in the pockets of passers-by.But Why Do MAC Addresses Exist?Īside from gaining the ability to choose which device gets to connect to your internet connection, there are a lot more things MAC addresses are used for. Well, you can’t get rid of your MAC, so the connection process will go smoothly. Without an IP, your device can’t connect to the internet.” “Without a MAC, your adapter can’t receive an IP address. However, you should know that both of them are equally important when it comes to networking. You’ll find dozens of guides pitting IP addresses against MAC, using the term IP vs. MAC addresses consist of a 12 digit code in the form of: “AA:AA:AA:BB:BB:BB.” The manufacturer assigns the AA part of the address, and the BB part refers to the specific type of the device. You’re here to learn everything about them, so I think you should refer to them as hardware addresses or physical addresses just like most of the users do. This type of address is used to exchange information between computers on the local network. However, IPs can be easily changed by the network administrator, while MAC addresses are there to stay, as in permanent. The abbreviation is short for Media Access Control – these digits are provided directly by the manufacturer itself, and it’s hardcoded into the component.Īs I mentioned above, you’re familiar with what an IP address is. If you own any network-enabled hardware, you’ll find that it has a unique identifier called a MAC address. How to Find your MAC Address on any Device.Do you want to find out everything there is about MAC addresses? What’s the difference between this one and an IP address? How they work together? Find out in this 5-minute comprehensive read.

How to know my ip address mac