You can also group 4 bits into 1 hexadecimal digit, so 48 bits = 12 hexadecimal digits.īy default, a MAC address is written in this format using colons as delimiter. If you recall middle school or high school mathematics, 8 bits = 1 byte. Binary, Decimal and Hexadecimal number systemsīefore we start, here is a table showing the decimal, binary and hexadecimal number equivalents.Ī MAC address consists of 6 bytes or 12 hexadecimal digits or 48 bits. This is done by by plugging the network card using an ethernet cable or connecting wirelessly to a Wi-Fi network or via Bluetooth.

In the past, MAC addresses were also called Ethernet addresses, but these days, MAC addresses also apply to wireless (Wi-Fi) and Bluetooth networks.Ī MAC address is associated with the Network Interface Controller (NIC), which makes the physical connection to the network. Every network card (Ethernet or wireless) or Bluetooth device comes with a preset MAC address and cannot be changed. How many MAC addresses exist worldwide?Ī Media Access Control (MAC) address is a hardware identification hexadecimal number that uniquely identifies each device on a network.Binary, Decimal and Hexadecimal number systems.

How to convert mac address