Changing MAC address

A MAC address identifies the device connected to a network and allows the network to track, restrict or allow access based on it. Routers identify and assign static IP addresses based on the MAC addresses of devices. Before you try to change the MAC address, you need to know the value that you want to use.

Set the 2’s place bit (the “locally administered” bit) in the first byte, to differentiate it from a guaranteed globally unique MAC address. Usually the first three bytes an unicast MAC address is an “Organizationally Unique Identifier” (OUI) that the IEEE assigned to the manufacturer of your Ethernet device. Manufacturers are required to make sure they keep the last 3 bytes unique.

Avoiding all of that knowledge, the MAC address generator tool can generate a valid address for you.

  • Go to Settings -> About Phone -> Status.

  • Open a terminal app

To get the name of the interface:

ip link show

The rootless option is only temporary until you restart your phone:

ip link set [name of interface] 00:0a:95:9d:68:16

For a persistent MAC address change use busybox or adb with su.