MAC address randomization: What it means for your network

Every device that connects to a network, your phone, laptop, smartwatch, has a built-in ID tag. It’s called a MAC address, and it plays a crucial role in how your device talks to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other networks.

But here’s the flip side: that same MAC address can also be used to track you.

Once your device connects to a network, it broadcasts that address. Without even realizing it, your MAC address can leave digital breadcrumbs, revealing your location history, usage patterns, and even the type of device you’re using. For enterprises, this identifier helps enforce security rules and troubleshoot issues. But for bad actors, it’s a potential way in.

To solve this, device makers introduced MAC address randomization—a privacy safeguard that masks your real device ID with a fake one. 

Let’s break down what a MAC address is, how randomization works, why it matters, and how Scalefusion UEM helps IT teams stay ahead of the line.

What is a MAC address?

A MAC (Media Access Control) address is a unique, factory-assigned identifier stored on the network interface card (NIC) or adapter of a device. It consists of 12 hexadecimal characters (numbers and letters) and acts as the hardware ID that distinguishes one device from another on the same network. This address is essential for network communication, enabling devices to send and receive data over Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or Bluetooth.

Think of it like a digital name tag. It tells the router:

“Hey, it’s me! Send the internet here.”

Every MAC address is globally unique and can reveal some key details like:

• The device type (laptop, phone, tablet)
• Manufacturer (like Apple, Dell, etc.)
• A fixed identity that doesn’t change unless faked

That’s why when your device joins a network, it leaves a permanent trail. Businesses and even public Wi-Fi providers can collect this information to monitor traffic, track user behavior, or restrict access. Since the MAC address never changes, it can be used to track devices across different networks or locations, making it a major privacy concern, especially on public or unsecured networks.

That concern is exactly what led to the rise of random MAC address technology.

What is MAC address randomization?

MAC address randomization is a privacy feature that replaces your device’s actual MAC address with a random MAC address whenever it connects to a Wi-Fi network. This means that instead of broadcasting your real identity, your device uses a randomized MAC address to blend in, helping prevent tracking across networks.

Apple was one of the first to introduce MAC randomization back in iOS 8, and since then, it’s become standard across Android, Windows, macOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. The idea is simple but powerful: every time your device joins a new network (SSID), it uses a random MAC address unique to that network, so your device appears with a unique but consistent address on each network. This helps protect against tracking across different networks and locations.

When is it used?

• When scanning for networks
• During location-based services like Maps
• Peer-to-peer sharing (AirDrop, AirPlay)
• Internet Sharing or Hotspot
• Whenever a new SSID is joined

Apple notes that some automatic Wi-Fi scans (like reconnecting to known networks) may still use the real MAC address.

But while great for privacy, randomized MAC addresses bring a few complications for enterprise IT and network administrators, especially when it comes to secure access and policy enforcement. 

How does Mac address randomization impact IT management?

A MAC address is a critical piece of how IT manages and secures the network. But the rise of MAC address randomization is making that job a lot more complex.

Here’s why IT teams should pay close attention to randomized MAC addresses:

• Troubleshooting becomes harder: When a single device keeps showing up with a new random MAC address every time it connects, it’s tough to trace issues or track historical data.
• Device filtering can break: If your Wi-Fi is set up to allow only approved MAC addresses (via allowlists), a random MAC address won’t match the registered one, blocking access or flooding logs with “unknown device” entries.
• Security policies lose grip: Time-based access controls, bandwidth limits, and content filtering tied to MAC addresses can stop working properly when a randomized MAC address keeps changing.
• Rogue devices slip in: Since every connection could look like a new device, it becomes harder to spot unauthorized or malicious activity in real time.
• Reporting gets messy: Network reports that rely on MACs to count unique devices or track usage behavior can get skewed because a single device appears multiple times under different random MAC addresses.

In short, while MAC randomization is great for personal privacy, it complicates things for enterprises that rely on stable identifiers for network control and security enforcement. That’s why IT admins need smarter tools and policies to handle MAC address randomization without losing visibility or control.

How MAC address randomization affects secure Wi-Fi

MAC address randomization creates real friction for IT admins when managing secure Wi-Fi networks. Most enterprise routers and access points are designed to recognize devices by their hardware MAC address. But with MAC randomization, a single device can appear as many, each with a different random MAC address.

Here’s what that means for secure networks:

• Policy enforcement becomes inconsistent: If your firewall or router settings are tied to specific MACs, a randomized MAC address can bypass those rules. The device may still connect, but without the right access restrictions.
• Duplicate entries flood admin consoles: A user’s phone could connect to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands with different random MAC addresses, cluttering your management dashboard and making audits more complicated.
• Access control gets weaker: Admins who depend on MAC-based rules, like blocking certain devices or assigning static IPs, may find those rules ineffective with MAC randomization in place.
• Network logs become unreliable: When a device uses a different random MAC address on each connection attempt, logs no longer reflect a clear picture of device activity.

To manage this, some enterprises configure their Wi-Fi to reject connections using a random MAC address. In that case, the device is forced to fall back on its original hardware MAC, ensuring the right security policies apply. Still, each time the device reconnects, it may default to using MAC randomization again, making this a game of catch-up unless centrally controlled.

That’s why organizations managing Apple, Android, or Windows devices at scale often turn to an MDM or UEM solution that can enforce consistent network behavior by controlling random MAC address settings.

Enabling & disabling MAC Randomization

Manual device settings

For users who want to turn MAC address randomization off (or back on) for a specific network, here’s how to do it manually:

• iPhone / iPad:
  
  • Go to Settings > Wi-Fi
  • Tap the network name (SSID)
  • Toggle off Private Wi-Fi Address

This disables the use of a random MAC address for that network.

• Android (varies by version):
  
  • Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi
  • Tap the gear icon next to the connected network
  • Tap Privacy and choose Use device MAC instead of Randomized MAC

Remember: This only applies to the specific network. When users join a new network, MAC randomization is usually reactivated by default, generating a fresh random MAC address.

Via MDM

For enterprises, managing randomized MAC address settings manually isn’t scalable. Using an MDM solution like Scalefusion, IT admins can enforce a consistent MAC identity across all managed devices by:

• Creating a Wi-Fi configuration profile for the corporate SSID
• Including the policy to disable MAC address randomization for that network
• Pushing this profile remotely to all enrolled devices

On Apple devices, this ensures the random MAC address setting is off when connecting to approved networks, helping retain control over device identification, policy enforcement, and traffic logging.

This not only secures your network perimeter but also makes sure MAC randomization doesn’t interfere with compliance, filtering, or threat detection.

Simplify MAC Address management with Scalefusion UEM

• Centralized MAC address management – Scalefusion enforces consistent MAC address behavior across all managed devices, ensuring the network recognizes a single, trusted identifier instead of multiple randomized MAC addresses.
• Seamless policy enforcement – With simple toggles for MAC address randomization, Scalefusion ensures allowlists, time-based rules, and content filters remain accurate, eliminating issues like “unknown device” log entries.
• Improved network visibility – Every device reports its true hardware MAC address, providing clear, reliable network logs and accurate device-count reporting without the need for manual cleanup.
• Automated compliance – Scalefusion pushes Wi-Fi profiles that disable private MAC addresses by default on corporate SSIDs, ensuring compliance with internal security protocols and external audit requirements without user intervention.
• Reduced support overhead – By addressing random MAC-related connectivity issues, Scalefusion reduces IT support tickets related to network rule application failures or missing devices. 
• Enhanced security posture – Corporate Wi-Fi is locked down to allow only approved MAC addresses, preventing unauthorized or rogue devices from bypassing security measures.
• Consistent user experience – End users experience seamless connectivity while Scalefusion handles MAC settings behind the scenes, removing the need to manually adjust device settings or rejoin networks.
• Scalable management – Scalefusion applies robust MAC address randomization controls across any number of devices, ensuring effortless scalability for growing organizations.

Final thoughts

MAC address randomization is a powerful privacy feature, but it brings challenges for enterprises trying to maintain secure, efficient networks. Scalefusion UEM simplifies this by offering centralized management over MAC address behavior, ensuring consistent device identification, stronger security, and smoother network management. 

With Scalefusion, IT teams can avoid the headaches of randomization while maintaining tight security and user experience.

Ready to take charge of your network’s security and device management?