• Home
  • About 404TS
  • Contact

404 Tech Support

Where IT Help is Found

  • Articles
    • Code
    • Entertainment
    • Going Green
    • Hardware, Gadgets, and Products
    • Management
    • Network
    • News
    • Operating Systems
    • Security and Privacy
    • Software
    • System Administration
    • Talking Points
    • Tech Solutions
    • Web
    • Webmaster
  • Reviews
  • Media
    • Infographics
    • Videos
  • Tech Events
  • Tools
    • How do I find my IP address?
    • Browser and plugin tests
  • Get a Technical Consultation
You are here: Home / Articles / Network / getmac – Easily See a MAC Address Locally And On The Network

getmac – Easily See a MAC Address Locally And On The Network

2010-08-03 by Jason

A MAC address or physical address is frequently needed when troubleshooting network or broadband connections. (MAC should be all caps because it is an acronym, standing for Media Access Control. If I were talking about an Apple computer, or a Macintosh, it would be proper to use ‘Mac’.) Sometimes you might need to provide your MAC address to get onto somebody’s wireless (if they have MAC filtering enabled) or to your system administrator to troubleshoot a network problem.

As a system administrator (or even just trying to troubleshoot my parents’ computer problems) I’ve needed to ask for the MAC address over the phone before. Typically this was accomplished by asking the person on the other end to run ‘ipconfig /all’ . This has proven to not be too successful whether the person misses the space or types the wrong slash, something always seems to go wrong. A much easier way is to use the command ‘getmac’. g-e-t-m-a-c, it’s pretty easy to say over the phone as well.

To effectively use it, go into the command prompt by going to Start, Run and typing ‘cmd’ or finding the Command Prompt on the Start Menu under Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt. Once the small terminal window opens up, type the command ‘getmac’ and you’ll get your physical address as a result.

Getmac is also pretty slick in a network environment because it allows you to reach across the network and get a computer’s MAC address easily. Just type ‘getmac /s ‘ and then the host name or IP address of the computer you want to get. Of course, this won’t work in cases where you’re trying to troubleshoot why a machine won’t connect to the network.

You can also use the other parameters in case you need to log in as a different user or you’d like to format the output. Getmac is a very handy utility to keep in the toolbox.

[shell]GETMAC [/S system [/U username [/P [password]]]] [/FO format] [/NH] [/V]

Description:
This command line tool enables an administrator to display the MAC address for one or more network adapters on a system.

Parameter List:
/S system Specifies the remote system to connect to.

/U [domain]user Specifies the user context under which the command should execute.

/P [password] Specifies the password for the given user context. Prompts for input if omitted.

/FO format Specifies the format in which the output is to be displayed.

Valid values: “TABLE”, “LIST”, “CSV”.

/V Specifies that the detailed information should be displayed in the output.

/NH Specifies that the “Column Header” should not be displayed in the output.
Valid only for TABLE and CSV formats.

/? Displays this help/usage.

Examples:
GETMAC /FO csv

GETMAC /S system /NH /V

GETMAC /S system /U user

GETMAC /S system /U domainuser /P password /FO list /V

GETMAC /S system /U domainuser /P password /FO table /NH[/shell]

Filed Under: Network, Tech Solutions

Trending

  • Pre-order study resources for CompTIA’s new CyberSecurity Analyst CSA+ certificate
    In Security and Privacy
  • The Secure Domain Foundation launches
    In Security and Privacy, Web
  • Yahoo! Mail on Google Chrome warns of no Adobe Flash
    In Media, Tech Solutions

Latest Media Posts

Find Out Where To Download SNES ROMs

Find Out Where To Download SNES ROMs

Multifunctional Video Conversion Tools – Wondershare Video Converter

Multifunctional Video Conversion Tools – Wondershare Video Converter

  • Popular
  • Latest
  • Today Week Month All
  • Wal-Mart’s Low Tech Solution to a Shocking Problem Wal-Mart's Low Tech Solution to a Shocking Problem
  • Access to the resource [servershare] has been disallowed Access to the resource [servershare] has been disallowed
  • What is the AllJoyn Router Service on Windows 10? What is the AllJoyn Router Service on Windows 10?
  • Read the Event Logs on Windows Server Core Read the Event Logs on Windows Server Core
  • Increase IIS Private Memory Limit to improve WSUS availability Increase IIS Private Memory Limit to improve WSUS availability
  • How Virtual Reality Supports Mental Health Therapy How Virtual Reality Supports Mental Health Therapy
  • Key Strategies of Successful Coin Listing on Exchange Key Strategies of Successful Coin Listing on Exchange
  • Keeping Your Mac Healthy: A Comprehensive Guide to Maintenance and Troubleshooting Keeping Your Mac Healthy: A Comprehensive Guide to Maintenance and Troubleshooting
  • Making Distributed Software Development Work: Strategies and Best Practices for Managing Remote Teams Making Distributed Software Development Work: Strategies and Best Practices for Managing Remote Teams
  • customer contactless payment for drink with mobile phon at cafe counter bar,seller coffee shop accept payment by mobile.new normal lifestyle concept The Latest Innovations In Payment Technology
Ajax spinner

Elevator Pitch

404 Tech Support documents solutions to IT problems, shares worthwhile software and websites, and reviews hardware, consumer electronics, and technology-related books.

Subscribe to 404TS articles by email.

Recent Posts

  • How Virtual Reality Supports Mental Health Therapy
  • Key Strategies of Successful Coin Listing on Exchange
  • Keeping Your Mac Healthy: A Comprehensive Guide to Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Search

FTC Disclaimer

404TechSupport is an Amazon.com affiliate; when you click on an Amazon link from 404TS, the site gets a cut of the proceeds from whatever you buy. This site also uses Skimlinks for smart monetization of other affiliate links.
Use of this site requires displaying and viewing ads as they are presented.

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in