How do I change WiFi adapter MAC address for Win7/8/10? Network adapter 'Advanced' tab is missing 'Network Address' field

Question

How can I change the wireless adapter MAC address when there is no Network Address option under Advanced tab?

I have followed the steps Device manager -> Network adapters -> properties -> Advanced but there is no option 'Network address' or similar.

Operating System: Win 7 Pro

Answer 1

A bit of a late answer but adding this here for future visitors and for my own reference.

It's possible to add the missing Network Address field manually by modifying the registry. Find the following registry key path:

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\00xx\NDI\params

Where 00xx is replaced with the numerical key associated with your network adapter of interest(search by checking the DriverDesc string value). Under params create a new subkey NetworkAddress. Add the following string values under NetworkAddress:

"optional"="1"
"type"="edit"
"uppercase"="1"
"limittext"="12"
"paramdesc"="Network Address"

Now check under the Advance tab again, Network Address should show up there now. Note that when changing the MAC make sure it starts with either 02, 06, 0A or 0E otherwise it might not work. Seems to be a Windows restriction or limitation. (See this other answer)

Here's a full sample .reg file that adds the Network Address field to the NIC in question:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0009\NDI\params\NetworkAddress]
"optional"="1"
"type"="edit"
"uppercase"="1"
"limittext"="12"
"paramdesc"="Network Address"

In my case, my wifi adapter happens to be on 0009. Change that to fit your particular machine.

Answer 2

You 'cannot' change a MAC address, it is a 48-bit sequence hardcoded by manufacturer and supposed to be like the VIN on a car, specifically identifying that car or in our case, the network adapter.

That being said, here is a link to another question where several MAC spoofers are listed. The ability to change this is dependent on your network drivers, and not all of them give you the option. If you don't have the Advanced option in properties, your NIC will probably not allow spoofing. Change Broadcom Wireless adapter MAC addres to any address

http://www.wikihow.com/Spoof-a-MAC-Address

http://www.howtogeek.com/192173/how-and-why-to-change-your-mac-address-on-windows-linux-and-mac/

Haven't tried downloading this and running a virus scan on it(which would probably throw warnings anyway as it changes registry keys) but it looks promising http://snaked-bytes.blogspot.com/2011/12/how-to-change-your-mac-address-in.html . Since it does change a registry key it looks like here http://snaked-bytes.blogspot.com/2011/12/how-to-change-your-mac-address-in.html you may be able to find yours.

Answer 3

I faced the same problem in my Windows 10. I managed to get it done (I know you must have solved it) by taking the help of Registry Editor. Please have a look on the steps below,

1. Open Registry Editor. For that press (Win+r), then in the dialog box type regedit and press Enter.

2. Then find the following registry key

   **HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002bE10318}**
   

3. Then search for subkeys named 0000, 0001, 0002, 000x which contains the details of the network adapters installed in your device.You can get that name if you check DriverDesc parameter.

4. In case you don't get the parameter name NetworkAddress, you need to create on in the same subkeys(let's say 0001) which will be a string value. Right click on the subkeys->new->stringvalue. Then after that enter a 12-digit values(Avoid hyphen,colon).

5. Now, get disconnected from the network.

6. Now again connect to the network. And you are good to go.

   If you want then you can check the MAC address from the cmd prompt. type getmac and you will get to see the new mac address you have given.

Thank you

Answer 4

Based on greatwolf's answer, I wrote a PowerShell script that worked for me. (My device is Windows 11, ASUS laptop, MediaTek Wi-Fi 6 MT7921 Wireless LAN Card.) This script will find Wi-Fi adapter key in the registry, then add the Network Address field to it.

$NetAdapterPath = 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e972-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}'
$RegistryKey = (Get-ChildItem $NetAdapterPath -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object {IF (($_.Property -contains "DriverDesc") -and (Test-Path Registry::"$($_.Name)\Default")) {($_ | Get-ItemPropertyValue -Name DriverDesc) -match "Wi-Fi"} ELSE {$False}})
$parentPath = "Registry::$($RegistryKey.Name)\NDI\params"
If ((Get-ChildItem -Path $parentPath -Name) -contains "NetworkAddress") {
    Write-Output "The Wi-Fi adapter already has the ""Network Address"" field!"
} Else {
    New-Item -Path $parentPath -Name "NetworkAddress"
    New-ItemProperty -Path "$($parentPath)\NetworkAddress" -Name "ParamDesc" -Type "String" -Value "Network Address"
    New-ItemProperty -Path "$($parentPath)\NetworkAddress" -Name "optional" -Type "String" -Value "1"
    New-ItemProperty -Path "$($parentPath)\NetworkAddress" -Name "type" -Type "String" -Value "edit"
    New-ItemProperty -Path "$($parentPath)\NetworkAddress" -Name "uppercase" -Type "String" -Value "1"
    New-ItemProperty -Path "$($parentPath)\NetworkAddress" -Name "limittext" -Type "String" -Value "12"
}