MAC Address Generator
Generate random MAC addresses with control over the locally-administered and multicast bits, formatting, and quantity.
Recommended Settings
Pro Tips
- •'Locally administered' sets a specific bit that marks the address as manually assigned rather than from a real hardware manufacturer's registered range - the standard choice for randomly generated test addresses
- •Leaving 'Multicast' unchecked generates a normal unicast address (one destined for a single device), which is what almost every real device interface uses
- •These addresses are structurally valid but not tied to any real manufacturer or device - never use one to impersonate or spoof a specific real piece of hardware
- •Locally administered addresses are commonly used for virtual machines, containers, and test environments precisely because they can't collide with any real manufacturer-assigned address
- •This tool uses cryptographically secure randomness for every generated address
Most Popular
Most people generate a locally administered, unicast MAC address for a virtual machine or test environment
When to Use This Tool
Generate realistic-looking MAC addresses for testing device management software.
Get a valid, non-conflicting MAC address for a new virtual network adapter.
Create sample MAC addresses for populating a test database or demo environment.
See how the locally-administered and multicast bits affect the first octet's value.
How It Works
Generate six cryptographically random bytes using the Web Crypto API
Set or clear the locally-administered and multicast bits in the first byte according to your selection
Format the six bytes as hexadecimal pairs joined by your chosen separator
100% Private
Files never leave your device. All processing happens locally in your browser.
Lightning Fast
Powered by Client-side Web Crypto API (getRandomValues) for optimal performance on modern browsers.
Open Source
Built with verified, open-source libraries. Fully transparent.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 'locally administered' mean?
It's a specific bit in the address's first byte that signals the address was manually assigned rather than issued by a hardware manufacturer from their registered range - the correct choice for any address you generate yourself.
Will a generated address conflict with a real device?
Locally administered addresses are specifically reserved for this purpose and won't collide with manufacturer-assigned addresses, though a collision with another locally administered address on the same network is technically possible, just extremely unlikely.
What's the difference between unicast and multicast?
A unicast address identifies a single network interface, which is what virtually every device uses. A multicast address is used to send traffic to a group of interfaces at once and isn't typically assigned to a single device's adapter.
Is this randomness cryptographically secure?
Yes, addresses are generated using the Web Crypto API's getRandomValues, the same secure randomness source used throughout this site's generator tools.