Programmatically getting the MAC of an Android device

Question

I need to obtain the MAC address of my android device using Java. I've searched online, but I haven't found anything useful.

http://programminglinuxblog.blogspot.pt/2011/06/mac-address-string-to-byte.html — Ismael Abreu, Jul 29 '12 at 01:30
possible duplicate of [How to obtain MAC address of WiFi network interface?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2601124/how-to-obtain-mac-address-of-wifi-network-interface) — A.H., Jul 29 '12 at 14:49
possible duplicate of [How to find MAC address of an Android device programatically](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10831578/how-to-find-mac-address-of-an-android-device-programatically) — Pang, Mar 28 '14 at 03:19
Please check this solution, it works for me http://stackoverflow.com/questions/31329733/how-to-get-the-missing-wifi-mac-address-on-android-m-preview — Gorio, Jan 28 '16 at 12:03
From android M this api is deprecated, use this for now: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/31329733/how-to-get-the-missing-wifi-mac-address-on-android-m-preview — Ehud, Feb 14 '16 at 17:16
This ` ip link | grep -A1 wlan0 ` works on Android 9 from https://stackoverflow.com/questions/58463658/how-to-determine-wifi-hardware-address-in-termux — S D Rausty, Dec 19 '19 at 09:14

score 124 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

124

As was already pointed out in the comment, the MAC address can be received via the WifiManager.

WifiManager manager = (WifiManager) getSystemService(Context.WIFI_SERVICE);
WifiInfo info = manager.getConnectionInfo();
String address = info.getMacAddress();

Also do not forget to add the appropriate permissions into your AndroidManifest.xml

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE"/>

Please refer to Android 6.0 Changes.

To provide users with greater data protection, starting in this release, Android removes programmatic access to the device’s local hardware identifier for apps using the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth APIs. The WifiInfo.getMacAddress() and the BluetoothAdapter.getAddress() methods now return a constant value of 02:00:00:00:00:00.

To access the hardware identifiers of nearby external devices via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi scans, your app must now have the ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION or ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION permissions.

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

1
1

answered Jul 29 '12 at 01:32

Konrad Reiche

27,743
15
106
143

12

Also just a note, sometimes mac address can't be pulled because wifi is off on the device – sbrichards Jul 29 '12 at 01:37
3

The linked blog also explains how to find this MAC address in a more general way that doesn't assume the network interface uses WiFi connection. – Stephen C Jul 29 '12 at 04:23
Remember use the context to call the getSystemService. – Tito Leiva Jan 21 '16 at 15:27
This is great for Android phones and tablets using Wifi, but I am trying to get the Ethernet MAC address on an old Gingerbread Android tablet that can use either Wifi or Ethernet. any thoughts on how to check the Ethernet MAC address? Thanks. – Seth Aug 04 '16 at 19:58
@sbrichards what do you mean by WiFi being off? – Peter Chaula Oct 09 '16 at 09:18
It's not useable anymore! – Wahaj Mubeen Feb 28 '23 at 09:51

score 43 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 25 '16 at 23:03

43

Getting the MAC address through WifiInfo.getMacAddress() won't work on Marshmallow and above, it has been disabled and will return the constant value of 02:00:00:00:00:00.

answered Feb 25 '16 at 23:03

minipif

4,756
3
30
39

4

Whats the alternative? – Sam Jul 19 '16 at 14:43
2

@SameerThigale Depends what you're trying to achieve. The idea behind this is you probably shouldn't be trying to get the MAC address. – minipif Jul 19 '16 at 20:38
I'm not sure why, but I can not find a deprecated note in linked api doc. Maybe they changed their mind about this? – DBX12 Sep 19 '16 at 08:45
1

@DBX12 The method itself isn't marked as deprecated, although it's not documented. The second link points to an official note about it. – minipif Sep 20 '16 at 03:02

score 30 · Answer 3 · edited Sep 30 '16 at 13:14

30

public static String getMacAddr() {
    try {
        List<NetworkInterface> all = Collections.list(NetworkInterface.getNetworkInterfaces());
        for (NetworkInterface nif : all) {
            if (!nif.getName().equalsIgnoreCase("wlan0")) continue;

            byte[] macBytes = nif.getHardwareAddress();
            if (macBytes == null) {
                return "";
            }

            StringBuilder res1 = new StringBuilder();
            for (byte b : macBytes) {
                res1.append(String.format("%02X:",b));
            }

            if (res1.length() > 0) {
                res1.deleteCharAt(res1.length() - 1);
            }
            return res1.toString();
        }
    } catch (Exception ex) {
    }
    return "02:00:00:00:00:00";
}

edited Sep 30 '16 at 13:14

baldr

2,891
11
43
61

answered Sep 30 '16 at 12:53

pm dubey

976
11
16

3

It keeps showing me "02:00:00:00:00:00" on Android 7.1. – android developer Nov 06 '16 at 19:46
It must be tested on Physical device rather than emulator or virtual device – pm dubey Dec 19 '16 at 15:36
Does this work around approach still work? or did it get patched out/fixed on the OS side? – CasualT Jul 17 '17 at 16:35
1

It still works.Do not forget to give internet permission in Manifest file. – pm dubey Jul 18 '17 at 05:57
2

It no longer works on android marshmallow and above as it will return the value of "02:00:00:00:00:00" – Hiraeths Jul 29 '20 at 02:49
2

It works. I have been using this code for a very long time. It still works on Android Q. – Rupam Das Sep 28 '20 at 05:36
Tested on physical devices with Android 6, 7 and 8 – cesargastonec Nov 14 '20 at 22:49

Tiziano Bruschetta · Answer 4 · 2018-03-27T16:38:40.450

I founded this solution from http://robinhenniges.com/en/android6-get-mac-address-programmatically and it's working for me! Hope helps!

public static String getMacAddr() {
    try {
        List<NetworkInterface> all = Collections.list(NetworkInterface.getNetworkInterfaces());
        for (NetworkInterface nif : all) {
            if (!nif.getName().equalsIgnoreCase("wlan0")) continue;

            byte[] macBytes = nif.getHardwareAddress();
            if (macBytes == null) {
                return "";
            }

            StringBuilder res1 = new StringBuilder();
            for (byte b : macBytes) {
                String hex = Integer.toHexString(b & 0xFF);
                if (hex.length() == 1)
                    hex = "0".concat(hex);
                res1.append(hex.concat(":"));
            }

            if (res1.length() > 0) {
                res1.deleteCharAt(res1.length() - 1);
            }
            return res1.toString();
        }
    } catch (Exception ex) {
    }
    return "";
}

Im supposing it’s because we need to remove the last “:” character. This code is 2 years old and probably itsn’t the best way for doing that, you should optimize it — Tiziano Bruschetta, Aug 30 '19 at 10:49

score 11 · Answer 5 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:47

11

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE" />

public String getMacAddress(Context context) {
    WifiManager wimanager = (WifiManager) context.getSystemService(Context.WIFI_SERVICE);
    String macAddress = wimanager.getConnectionInfo().getMacAddress();
    if (macAddress == null) {
        macAddress = "Device don't have mac address or wi-fi is disabled";
    }
    return macAddress;
}

have others way here

edited May 23 '17 at 11:47

Community

1
1

answered Mar 04 '13 at 14:35

ademar111190

14,215
14
85
114

Will `macAddress` ever be `null`? – Max Heiber Aug 10 '16 at 14:26
which param need to pass as context while function call? – Donal Apr 12 '18 at 03:10
@Donal do you mean the `Context context` ? if yes any context should work. https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/Context.html#WIFI_SERVICE – ademar111190 Apr 12 '18 at 19:28

score 9 · Answer 6 · answered Jun 15 '17 at 12:09

Its Working with Marshmallow

package com.keshav.fetchmacaddress;

import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.util.Log;

import java.net.InetAddress;
import java.net.NetworkInterface;
import java.net.SocketException;
import java.net.UnknownHostException;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        Log.e("keshav","getMacAddr -> " +getMacAddr());
    }

    public static String getMacAddr() {
        try {
            List<NetworkInterface> all = Collections.list(NetworkInterface.getNetworkInterfaces());
            for (NetworkInterface nif : all) {
                if (!nif.getName().equalsIgnoreCase("wlan0")) continue;

                byte[] macBytes = nif.getHardwareAddress();
                if (macBytes == null) {
                    return "";
                }

                StringBuilder res1 = new StringBuilder();
                for (byte b : macBytes) {
                    res1.append(Integer.toHexString(b & 0xFF) + ":");
                }

                if (res1.length() > 0) {
                    res1.deleteCharAt(res1.length() - 1);
                }
                return res1.toString();
            }
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            //handle exception
        }
        return "";
    }
}

score 5 · Answer 7 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:54

5

You can no longer get the hardware MAC address of a android device. WifiInfo.getMacAddress() and BluetoothAdapter.getAddress() methods will return 02:00:00:00:00:00. This restriction was introduced in Android 6.0.

But Rob Anderson found a solution which is working for < Marshmallow : https://stackoverflow.com/a/35830358

edited May 23 '17 at 11:54

Community

1
1

answered Sep 02 '16 at 11:25

Luvnish Monga

7,072
3
23
30

score 3 · Answer 8 · answered Jul 16 '14 at 11:10

3

You can get mac address:

WifiManager wifiManager = (WifiManager) getSystemService(Context.WIFI_SERVICE);
WifiInfo wInfo = wifiManager.getConnectionInfo();
String mac = wInfo.getMacAddress();

Set Permission in Menifest.xml

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE"></uses-permission>

answered Jul 16 '14 at 11:10

Manoj Tarkar

249
1
3
9

Question is about getting mac of android device, not of wifi router. – hina abbasi Jun 23 '20 at 17:27

score 3 · Answer 9 · answered Apr 04 '19 at 07:25

3

Using this simple method

WifiManager wm = (WifiManager) getApplicationContext().getSystemService(Context.WIFI_SERVICE);
            String WLANMAC = wm.getConnectionInfo().getMacAddress();

answered Apr 04 '19 at 07:25

Abdulhakim Zeinu

3,333
1
30
37

fernandohur · Answer 10 · 2015-12-05T11:39:50.593

2

Taken from the Android sources here. This is the actual code that shows your MAC ADDRESS in the system's settings app.

private void refreshWifiInfo() {
    WifiInfo wifiInfo = mWifiManager.getConnectionInfo();

    Preference wifiMacAddressPref = findPreference(KEY_MAC_ADDRESS);
    String macAddress = wifiInfo == null ? null : wifiInfo.getMacAddress();
    wifiMacAddressPref.setSummary(!TextUtils.isEmpty(macAddress) ? macAddress
            : getActivity().getString(R.string.status_unavailable));

    Preference wifiIpAddressPref = findPreference(KEY_CURRENT_IP_ADDRESS);
    String ipAddress = Utils.getWifiIpAddresses(getActivity());
    wifiIpAddressPref.setSummary(ipAddress == null ?
            getActivity().getString(R.string.status_unavailable) : ipAddress);
}

edited Dec 05 '15 at 11:39

answered Dec 11 '13 at 15:41

fernandohur

7,014
11
48
86

how should i access this in non activity class or fragment ? – Hunt Dec 04 '15 at 15:56
You will need a context to obtain a `WifiManager` (i.e. `WifiManager mWifiManager = (WifiManager) context.getSystemService(Context.WIFI_SERVICE);`). – fernandohur Dec 05 '15 at 11:41
5

if it try this code i am getting `02:00:00:00:00:00` mac address not the actual wifi mac id – Hunt Dec 06 '15 at 12:52

foo · Answer 11 · 2022-05-28T12:04:56.570

I know this is a very old question but there is one more method to do this. Code below compiles without errors but I haven't tried it. You can write some C code and use JNI (Java Native Interface) to get MAC address. Here is the example main activity code:

package com.example.getmymac;

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.util.Log;
import android.widget.TextView;

import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;

public class GetMyMacActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
    static { // here we are importing native library.
        // name of the library is libnet-utils.so, in cmake and java code
        // we just use name "net-utils".
        System.loadLibrary("net-utils");
    }

    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.main_screen);

        // some debug text and a TextView.
        Log.d(NetUtilsActivity.class.getSimpleName(), "Starting app...");
        TextView text = findViewById(R.id.sample_text);

        // the get_mac_addr native function, implemented in C code.
        byte[] macArr = get_mac_addr(null);
        // since it is a byte array, we format it and convert to string.
        String val = String.format("%02x:%02x:%02x:%02x:%02x:%02x",
                macArr[0], macArr[1], macArr[2],
                macArr[3], macArr[4], macArr[5]);
        // print it to log and TextView.
        Log.d(NetUtilsActivity.class.getSimpleName(), val);
        text.setText(val);
    }

    // here is the prototype of the native function.
    // use native keyword to indicate it is a native function,
    // implemented in C code.
    private native byte[] get_mac_addr(String interface_name);
}

And the layout file, main_screen.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/sample_text"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="@string/app_name"
        app:layout_constraintBottom_toBottomOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"
        app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent"/>

</androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>

Manifest file, I didn't know what permissions to add so I added some.

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="com.example.getmymac">

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION"/>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

    <application
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
        android:supportsRtl="true"
        android:theme="@style/AppTheme">

        <activity android:name=".GetMyMacActivity">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN"/>
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"/>
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
    </application>
</manifest>

C implementation of get_mac_addr function.

/* length of array that MAC address is stored. */
#define MAC_ARR_LEN 6

#define BUF_SIZE 256

#include <jni.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <netinet/in.h>
#include <arpa/inet.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <net/if.h>
#include <sys/ioctl.h>
#include <unistd.h>

#define ERROR_IOCTL 1
#define ERROR_SOCKT 2

static jboolean
cstr_eq_jstr(JNIEnv *env, const char *cstr, jstring jstr) {
    /* see [this](https://stackoverflow.com/a/38204842) */

    jstring cstr_as_jstr = (*env)->NewStringUTF(env, cstr);
    jclass cls = (*env)->GetObjectClass(env, jstr);
    jmethodID method_id = (*env)->GetMethodID(env, cls, "equals", "(Ljava/lang/Object;)Z");
    jboolean equal = (*env)->CallBooleanMethod(env, jstr, method_id, cstr_as_jstr);
    return equal;
}

static void
get_mac_by_ifname(jchar *ifname, JNIEnv *env, jbyteArray arr, int *error) {
    /* see [this](https://stackoverflow.com/a/1779758) */

    struct ifreq ir;
    struct ifconf ic;
    char buf[BUF_SIZE];
    int ret = 0, sock = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM, IPPROTO_IP);

    if (sock == -1) {
        *error = ERROR_SOCKT;
        return;
    }

    ic.ifc_len = BUF_SIZE;
    ic.ifc_buf = buf;

    ret = ioctl(sock, SIOCGIFCONF, &ic);
    if (ret) {
        *error = ERROR_IOCTL;
        goto err_cleanup;
    }

    struct ifreq *it = ic.ifc_req; /* iterator */
    struct ifreq *end = it + (ic.ifc_len / sizeof(struct ifreq));

    int found = 0; /* found interface named `ifname' */

    /* while we find an interface named `ifname' or arrive end */
    while (it < end && found == 0) {
        strcpy(ir.ifr_name, it->ifr_name);
        ret = ioctl(sock, SIOCGIFFLAGS, &ir);
        if (ret == 0) {
            if (!(ir.ifr_flags & IFF_LOOPBACK)) {
                ret = ioctl(sock, SIOCGIFHWADDR, &ir);
                if (ret) {
                    *error = ERROR_IOCTL;
                    goto err_cleanup;
                }

                if (ifname != NULL) {
                    if (cstr_eq_jstr(env, ir.ifr_name, ifname)) {
                        found = 1;
                    }
                }
            }
        } else {
            *error = ERROR_IOCTL;
            goto err_cleanup;
        }
        ++it;
    }

    /* copy the MAC address to byte array */
    (*env)->SetByteArrayRegion(env, arr, 0, 6, ir.ifr_hwaddr.sa_data);
    /* cleanup, close the socket connection */
    err_cleanup: close(sock);
}

JNIEXPORT jbyteArray JNICALL
Java_com_example_getmymac_GetMyMacActivity_get_1mac_1addr(JNIEnv *env, jobject thiz,
                                                          jstring interface_name) {
    /* first, allocate space for the MAC address. */
    jbyteArray mac_addr = (*env)->NewByteArray(env, MAC_ARR_LEN);
    int error = 0;

    /* then just call `get_mac_by_ifname' function */
    get_mac_by_ifname(interface_name, env, mac_addr, &error);

    return mac_addr;
}

And finally, CMakeLists.txt file

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.4.1)
add_library(net-utils SHARED src/main/cpp/net-utils.c)
target_link_libraries(net-utils android log)

I tried this on Android 30, and its returning all zeros. – hiddeneyes02 Dec 22 '21 at 17:56 — hiddeneyes02, Dec 22 '21 at 17:56

JESNA · Answer 12 · 2022-10-12T05:31:41.537

Please add in AndroidManifest
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION"/>
<uses-permission 
    android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION"/>

// Get MAC Address, in an activity... String strMACAddress = getMacAddress_For_New_Tab(this);

public static String getMacAddress_For_New_Tab(Context context)
{
    String macAddress=null;
    WifiManager objwifiManager = (WifiManager) context.getSystemService(Context.WIFI_SERVICE);
    boolean wifiEnabled = objwifiManager.isWifiEnabled();
    int LoopCounter=0;
    while (macAddress==null) // Required if HD Security is Enabled.
    {
        if (wifiEnabled)
        {
            objwifiManager.setWifiEnabled(false);
            objwifiManager.reconnect();
            objwifiManager = (WifiManager) context.getSystemService(Context.WIFI_SERVICE);
        }

        if (android.os.Build.VERSION.SDK_INT > Build.VERSION_CODES.M) //M Means Marshmellow.
        {
            // Do something for lollipop and above versions
            macAddress = getMacAddr();
        } else
        {
            // do something for phones running an SDK before lollipop
            macAddress = objwifiManager.getConnectionInfo().getMacAddress();
        }

        // Required if HD Security is Enabled.
        LoopCounter++;
        if (LoopCounter>2) break;
    }
    if (wifiEnabled)
    {
        objwifiManager.setWifiEnabled(wifiEnabled); // Retain Old.
        objwifiManager.reconnect();
        /*try
        {
            Thread.sleep(100);
        } catch (InterruptedException e)
        {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }*/
    }
    return macAddress; //Device don't have mac address or wi-fi is disabled if it is null.
}

public static String getMacAddr()
{
    try {
        List<NetworkInterface> all = Collections.list(NetworkInterface.getNetworkInterfaces());
        for (NetworkInterface nif : all)
        {
            if (CurrentStatus.ModelName.toUpperCase().equals("LENOVO TB-8705X"))
            {
                Thread.sleep(50);
            }
            if (!nif.getName().equalsIgnoreCase("wlan0")) continue;

            byte[] macBytes = nif.getHardwareAddress();
            if (macBytes == null) {
                return "";
            }

            StringBuilder res1 = new StringBuilder();
            for (byte b : macBytes) {
                //res1.append(Integer.toHexString(b & 0xFF) + ":");
                res1.append(String.format("%02X:",b));
            }

            if (res1.length() > 0) {
                res1.deleteCharAt(res1.length() - 1);
            }
            return res1.toString();
        }
    } catch (Exception ex) {
    }
    return "";
}

This worked for me, I am using Android Version 10 and model is "LENOVO TB-8705X". — JESNA, Oct 06 '22 at 07:19

score -2 · Answer 13 · answered Dec 19 '19 at 09:18

-2

This ip link | grep -A1 wlan0 command works on Android 9 from How to determine wifi hardware address in Termux

answered Dec 19 '19 at 09:18

S D Rausty

9
5

Mygod · Answer 14 · 2019-09-17T00:47:25.677

-3

I think I just found a way to read MAC addresses without LOCATION permission: Run ip link and parse its output. (you could probably do the similar by looking at this binary's source code)

edited Sep 17 '19 at 00:47

answered Jan 19 '18 at 08:14

Mygod

2,077
1
19
43

Programmatically getting the MAC of an Android device

14 Answers14

Linked

Related