Finding Your Network Adapter Address

Your computer's Network Adapter Address must be registered in order to receive network access. The Adapter Address is a unique number associated with your computer's network adapter. It is also called a Physical Address, Hardware Address, Ethernet ID or MAC on various systems

Please select your Operating System:

Click Here for Windows 7 and Windows Vista

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Step 1

Click the Start circle at the bottom left of your screen. In the Search bar at the bottom, type "ncpa.cpl" and click on the link when it appears in the menu.

Step 2

Right-click on the Wireless Network Connection item and click Status

Note: If you are connecting to the wired network on the dorms instead of wireless, right-click on the Local Area Connection and hit status instead.

Step 3

Click the Details button.

Step 4

A window should open displaying a list of information about your wireless (or wired) adapter. Look for the Physical Address entry (should be towards the top).

This sequence of letters and numbers is your computer's network adapter address!

Click Here for Windows XP

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Step 1

Click Start, then Run. Type cmd in to the box and hit OK.

Step 2

In the black command window that comes up, type ipconfig /all.

This will display a large list of details about all of your network connections. You are looking for the Wireless Network Connection section (or Local Area Connection if you are connecting with an internet cable in the dorms).

In this section, look for the Physical Address entry. The sequence of letters and numbers shown here is your computer's network adapter address!

Click Here for Mac OS X

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Step 1

Open the main system preferences window by clicking on the Apple Menu, then System Preferences.

Step 2

Click on the Network icon.

Step 3

If you will be using wireless to connect, select the "Wi-Fi" entry in the list on the left

Note: If you are using an older version of OS X, this may be called "Airport" instead of "Wi-Fi"

If you will be connecting with an internet cable, select the "Ethernet" entry in the list on the left

Click on the Advanced button

Step 4

When this page opens, make sure you have the Wi-Fi/Airport tab at the top selected.

There will be a sequence of letters and numbers printed at the bottom. It will be called either Airport ID or Wi-Fi Address depending on which version of OS X you have. This is your network adapter address!