Ways to find MAC address in Ubuntu and Other Linux

184

Today, in this article, we show you ways to find MAC address in Ubuntu and other Linux. Ubuntu is primarily a Linux operating system; offers a series of utilities that allow us to carry out different tasks according to our needs. Knowing your computer’s MAC address is crucial as it allows you to communicate any type of data between other systems on the network.

A media access control address, or MAC address, is a special number assigned to multiple active network device units. Within a network segment, a MAC address is used as the network address. It operates on the same network segment as most other technologies, including WiFi, Bluetooth and Ethernet. Even if the physical connection is shared, only a physically connected device can see the MAC address of the equipment.

The MAC address becomes crucial when thousands of connected devices are present in an enterprise. The MAC address is useless on the global internet. MAC addresses cannot be forwarded on the Internet. Each network card has a MAC address. The MAC address is the only method used by Ethernet for packet-to-packet communication. On Ethernet, packets coming from a MAC address are always forwarded to a MAC address. We have mentioned below the steps to find MAC address in Ubuntu and other Linux.

Steps to find MAC address in Ubuntu and other Linux

Find MAC address using command line method

Step 1: The Command-Line method is the simplest and most used way in Linux to check your MAC address in Ubuntu. Run the command mentioned below to check MAC address using CLI:

$ IFCONFIG -A

Step 2: you can still check MAC address in Ubuntu simply shortening this command, which will give you the exact result for the MAC address.

$ IFCONFIG

Step 3: if your ifconfig command is not working, run the following command:

$ SUDO APT INSTALL NET-TOOLS

Step 4: Using this command you will be able to install the ifconfig command. Without installing anything, run the below mentioned command to find the MAC address:

$ LINK IP

Finding MAC address using GUI (Graphical User Interface) method

If you do not know how to use the command line or are facing some difficulty in applying commands, you can also check the MAC address by another method. The steps to find a MAC address using the GUI are mentioned below.

Step 1: open the Ubuntu Applications Menu which is provided in the left corner of the screen (indicated by the nine dots symbol) and then look for the “Definitions” option and click on the icon:

Step 2: A settings menu will be shown after clicking the “Definitions” icon. In the settings options, go to “Network”.

Step 3: When you Press The “gear icon” given after your connection, a window will open containing more Definitions and training about your network connection and MAC address (Hardware Address).

Final words

We hope you like our article on ways to find MAC address in Ubuntu and other Linux. As you can see, changing your MAC address can have sophisticated goals, but the process itself is simple enough that any Linux user can do it. Linux offers several ways to modify your MAC; the most well-known are covered above on this page.

Make sure you are not filtering out any other addresses whenever you change your MAC; otherwise, you risk losing your connection until the new authorized address is established. Also remember that the last method, ifconfig, only works on outdated Linux distributions or on computers that have the net-tools package installed.