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ios devices (unsure about android) use random MACs on wireless networks by default. https://support.apple.com/en-us/102509 https://support.apple.com/en-us/1025
by stock_toaster 3y ago
ios devices (unsure about android) use random MACs on wireless networks by default.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/102509 https://support.apple.com/en-us/102509
- vsgherzi 3y agoRandom aside for this, I believe this functionality existed for many years but actually hasn’t worked until recently. (Take this with a grain of salt)
- fifilura 3y agoI had to turn random MAC off, my google mesh could not handle it. Wifi on my samsung phone would only work for a couple of minutes.
- justusthane 3y agoThe random MAC would still be within the vendor prefix though, and a MAC address won’t identity a specific device type anyway. Edit: I’m wrong
- epcoa 3y agoNo it isn’t, vendor prefixes are sort of an anachronism. Bit 41 - bit 1 of the first octet is reserved for local (random) use. That and the group bit (40) set to 0 means the second digit of the human readable MAC is 2, 6, A or E, but that’s it.
- justusthane 3y agoMy bad, thanks for the correction! You still can’t identify a specific device type based on the MAC address though, right?
- lathiat 3y agoOn the same WiFi network yes you can - it uses the same MAC on the same SSID. Remembers the "random" MAC after the first connection (and if you first connected to the networks before they added MAC randomisation in iOS14, it "remembers" the actual MAC of the device, so you didn't have compatability issues after the iOS14 upgrade). So you can't use it to track devices between multiple SSIDs including when scanning for networks, but you can use it to persistently identify a device when connected to the same network.
- ThePowerOfFuet 3y agoYou misread the question.
- lathiat 3y agoYep, you're right. Agree with the other post - the randomly generated MACs have no manufacturer info.
- ThePowerOfFuet 3y agoOther than perhaps the manufacturer from the OUI, no.
- epcoa 3y agoThere’s no manufacturer in a randomly generated local OUI.
- manwe150 3y agoThe random MAC is generated only once per network, and re-used for every subsequent future connection to it, until the network settings are reset