30 Second Tech – How to Enable Random Hardware Addresses

Why use Random Hardware Addresses?

Boost your privacy by enabling random hardware addresses on your device, protecting your personal data from being tracked by Wi-Fi networks. By enabling random hardware addresses, your device generates a new, random MAC address each time it connects to a new network, reducing the chance of being tracked. This feature helps improve user privacy by making it difficult for third parties, such as ISP network administrators or marketers, to identify and monitor your device across various Wi-Fi networks.

Follow the quick step by step instructions below for your operating system.

Instructions

Android

1. Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi.
2. Select the Wi-Fi network, then tap Advanced.
3. Enable Use Randomized MAC.

iOS

1. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi.
2. Select the network you are connected to or choose a network.
3. Toggle Private Address to enable random hardware addresses.

Linux

1. Open Terminal and use sudo nano /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf.
2. Add or edit the line: [device] wifi.scan-rand-mac-address=yes.
3. Save the file and restart NetworkManager with sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager.

Mac

1. Go to System Preferences > Network.
2. Select the network and click Advanced.
3. Under the Wi-Fi tab, enable Randomize MAC Address.

Windows

1. Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi.
2. Select the network, and click Properties.
3. Toggle on Use random hardware addresses.

Quick Tips

• Random hardware addresses are automatically enabled on many devices. Check your network settings to see if this is the case.
• This feature helps prevent tracking when moving between different Wi-Fi networks.

Random hardware addresses can be a plus but one drawback is that some networks, especially enterprise or public Wi-Fi, might rely on MAC addresses for authentication. Changing your MAC address frequently can cause issues with staying connected to these networks, requiring you to re-authenticate.

If you have any further thoughts or questions, please leave them below in the comment section.