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You are here Wired and Wi-Fi Networks > Network Overview > Guides > How to Get the Network Address of a Network Adapter

How to get the Network Address (MAC address) of a Network Adapter

What is a Network Address?

Every Network Adapter has a unique Network Address. We sometimes need you to provide the Network Address to facilitate connection to the Trinity data networks. For example, if you want to connect a new computer to the staff wired network, we will need the Network Address of the Wired Network Adapter. If you are connecting a laptop, we will also need the Network Address of the Wireless Adapter.

Network address always consists of 12 characters. It is usually presented in hexadecimal format. This means that it may contain numbers 0-9 and letters A-F. It is often presented with hyphens, you can omit them.

On a standard PC from an official Trinity supplier, the Network Address is usually located on a label attached somewhere on the machine. If you cannot find it, or you have a non-standard device, you can obtain the network address using instructions below.

Some laptops, when running off the battery, will turn off network cards that are not in use in order to save power. If this is the case, you will need to either connect to ac power or disable this power saving feature in order to get the adapter address.

How to check the Network Address?

Windows 10

Windows 10 step-by-step instructions

Get the wired network adapter (MAC) address

  1. Click on the Start Button at the bottom left hand corner and select the setting icon from the list.



  2. Select Network & Internet from the list of Windows Settings



  3. To get your Wired adapter address, select Ethernet on the left hand side and double click on the Ethernet icon on the right to open the properties.



    Once opened the Ethernet Properties will be displayed, the wired adapter address is listed as Physical address (MAC).

Get the wireless network adapter (MAC) address

  1. Click on the Start Button at the bottom left hand corner and select the setting icon from the list.



  2. Select Network & Internet from the list of Windows Settings



  3. To get your Wireless adapter address, within the Network and Internet window, select WiFi on the left hand side and then Hardware properties on the right


Get the wired network adapter (MAC) address for a docking station

  • When you have your Docking Station connected to the laptop, two ethernet connections will show.



  • Double click on the Ethernet connection to see the properties.



  • One of them will be for the docking station. Dell Docking stations usually show up as Realtek adapters as illustrated in the screenshots. The label on the docking station may be incorrect so it’s best to check via the Ethernet settings or IP Config steps.
  • When submitting a new network request, please include the docking station mac address in the comments, or contact the IT Service Desk to register the docking station.

Windows 11

Get the wired network adapter (MAC) address

  • Choose Start –> Settings –> Network & internet –> Ethernet –> Physical address

Get the wireless network adapter (MAC) address

  • Choose Start –> Settings –> Network & internet –> WiFi –> Hardware properties -> Physical address

macOS

macOS step-by-step instructions

The steps to check your network address will differ depending on what version of macOS you are running.

  1. Click the Apple Icon, then click System Preferences.
  2. Select Network.
  3. Select a type of connection from the panel on the left - usually Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
  4. Click Advanced.
  5. Click the Hardware tab on the right.
  6. The Network Address is listed there as MAC Address.

If the MAC address is not listed there, and if you are using a USB ethernet adapter, then try the following:

  1. Start the Network Utility app - this is located in the Utilities folder within the Applications folder
  2. Select the Info tab
  3. Select USB Ethernet in the dropdown menu - the MAC address should be listed

  1. Click the Apple Icon, then click System Settings
  2. Select Network in the left panel



  3. Select a type of connection - usually Ethernet or Wi-Fi



  4. Click Details next to the connection type



  5. Click Hardware in the left panel



  6. The Network Address is listed next to the MAC Address title



Other

Printers

If your printer has an internal network card, find the configuration page menu option on the printer and print it. This page will include the Network Address.

If you have an external network card box (e.g. Jet Direct box), connect the box to the printer and press the button on the box and hold it down until the lights on the box stop flashing. Release the button and the printer will print two configuration pages included in which will be the hardware address which could also be referred to as the MAC address or ethernet adapter address.

Digital Signage

In order to retrieve the network adapter address of the digital signage device you will need to either refer to the manufacturer's literature or contact the equipment supplier.

Additional Notes and Terminology

Terminology

The network address of a network adapter has a number of alternative naming conventions. All names provided below mean exactly the same thing:

  • Network address
  • Adapter address
  • MAC address
  • Physical address
  • Ethernet address
  • Hardware address

Additional Note on choosing the copy option for mac addresses

If you chose Copy, paste into Word first as it copies more than the mac address, and then you can select only the mac address and copy into the network request form.