Find the vendor name of a device by entering an OUI or a MAC address
How do I randomize the MAC address on Windows?
Windows calls the feature a random hardware address . It is off until you turn it on, and it can be turned on in two ways: for every Wi-Fi network the PC joins, or for one network of your choice. The setting belongs to the network profile, so turning it on for one network leaves the others presenting the hardware address.
Turn it on for every network
- Select Start and open Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi .
- Turn on Random hardware addresses .
Turn it on for one network
- Select Start and open Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi > Manage known networks .
- Choose the network and set Random hardware addresses for it on its own.
What it changes
The address the network sees stops being the one burned into the adapter. It is a locally administered address, so the second hexadecimal digit of its first octet is 2, 6, A or E , and a MAC address lookup returns no registered organization for it. That is expected rather than a failed lookup: no IEEE registration covers a generated address.
The address is per network and it does not rotate while the feature stays on, so a network that recognises the PC keeps recognising it. A network that registers, filters or bills by address sees the generated one, not the hardware one: register a PC with such a network only after deciding which of the two it should know.
What it does not do
- It does not remove the hardware address from the adapter. Turning the feature off presents that address again on the network.
- It does not hide the traffic the PC sends. The network still carries it and still sees it.
- It does not make the PC anonymous: the address is one signal among several, and the network can correlate a device through others.
Windows 10 and Windows 11
The two controls sit in the same place on both. Windows 10 left support on 14 October 2025, so a PC that still receives security updates runs Windows 11, and the paths above are the current ones. Where a build moves a label, the setting stays under the Wi-Fi page of Network & internet and keeps the name Random hardware addresses .
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Sources and review
Last reviewed: . Technical claims on this page follow the primary sources below; operating-system interfaces change between releases, so check them against your own device version.