Most users don’t need to change the MAC address on a network card. Some users might need to modify the MAC address to their Windows 11 computer to deal with network restrictions or other problems.
You will learn how to change the MAC address on a network card in Windows.
Why change the MAC address in Windows 11?
These reasons are due to the use of the MAC Address in network management. The MAC address identifies a device that is connected to a network. It allows the network to track, limit or allow access based upon it. Your router will assign a static IP to the device if you require it. When it is cumbersome or difficult to modify the MAC addresses rules for your network, changing the MAC address can be a great option. You can easily change the MAC address of your Windows to the older one so that you can continue accessing the Internet from the same place you were before you made the change.
Before you can start changing the MAC addresses, you must know the value you wish to use. You can find out 6 ways to find the MAC addresses of network cards in Windows.
Remember that Windows changes the MAC address only when restarting the network card. You can disable or enable the network card, but it will not become active until you reboot Windows.
Change the MAC address in Windows 11 using Device Manager
- Right-click on Start button and go to Task Manager.
- Look for the Network adapter and click on it.
- Right-click on Realtek PCIe GbE Family Control and open Properties.
- Go to the Advanced tab and select Network address.
- Fill the New Mac Address in Value and press ok.
Change the MAC address in Windows 11 using Control Panel
- First, type Control Panel on Search menu and click on it.
- In the Network and Internet, click on View network status and task.
- On the left side, click on Change adapter settings.
- Right-click on Ethernet and go to Properties.
- After that, open Configure button and go to the Advanced tab.
- Now, select Network Address and type New Mac address.
- Click on ok, and your new MAC address is ready to use.
Change the MAC address using third-party software
- First, download and install Technitium MAC Address Changer.
- After that, open the app and click on Ethernet.
- Now, go to Change Mac Address and put New Mac address or click on Random Mac Address.
- Then click on Change Now.
Change the MAC address using Registry Editor
- First, go to Search menu and type Registry Editor.
- Now, click on Run as administrator.
- In the left side follow the path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE >SYSTEM >ControlSet001 >Control > Class [4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318]
After that, right-click on file, go to New, and select String Value.
Now, name the file as Network Address and hit Enter.- Please open the file with a Double click on it.
Put the New Mac address and press ok.
Change the MAC address by Command Prompt or PowerShell
After learning how to change the MAC address with the Registry Editor, you can speed up the process by using the reg command from the Command Prompt and PowerShell as administrator. You can save the command line described in this section in a script file to speed up the process.
- First, right-click on the Start button menu and select Windows Terminal (Admin).
- Note:- You will need to replace the two strings we have highlighted before you can execute the command shown in the screenshot. The first string corresponds to the network card you wish to modify in Windows Registry. Refer to the previous section for more information on obtaining this number using the Registry editor. The second string refers to the new MAC address you wish to assign to your network card.
- After that, copy & paste the given below command and hit Enter key.
- reg add “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0001” /v NetworkAddress /d 4181DBEA0EDF /f
Why did you change the MAC address?
It is rare to change the MAC address. Security is not good because it is so easy to modify the MAC address to any value. You cannot have multiple devices using the same MAC address in a network simultaneously.
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