Introducing a free menu-bar utility for changing and verifying Ethernet and Wi-Fi MAC addresses on your Mac.
MAC Changer for macOS — A New Network Identity in One ClickEvery network interface has a MAC address.
It’s a hardware identifier that allows devices to recognize each other on a local network. Normally, you never need to think about it.
But sometimes you might want to change it.
Perhaps you’re testing network configurations, troubleshooting a router, experimenting with DHCP assignments, or simply prefer not to expose the same hardware identifier on every network.
This technique is called MAC spoofing. It doesn’t modify your hardware. Instead, the operating system instructs the network interface to use a different address.
On macOS, that’s possible — but not always straightforward.
Why another Mac utility?
Changing a MAC address has traditionally involved Terminal commands, administrator permissions, and a fair amount of trial and error.
Even worse, a command might report success without the network driver actually applying the requested address.
We experienced exactly that during development. An Intel iMac with a 10-Gigabit Ethernet controller refused to change its MAC, while an Apple Silicon Mac mini successfully accepted a new address and received a different IP address from the router.
That exposed the real problem: requesting a MAC change and verifying that it happened are two different things.
So we built MAC Changer.
One small app. One specific job.
MAC Changer is a lightweight native macOS utility that lives in the menu bar.
It automatically discovers connected Ethernet and Wi-Fi interfaces, including active external network adapters, and shows their hardware and current MAC addresses.
You can generate a random address, apply it, and restore the previous address whenever necessary.
The important part is verification.
MAC Changer reads the address back after applying it. If the network driver doesn’t accept the change, the app reports the failure instead of pretending everything worked.
The menu-bar icon provides a quick status overview without keeping another window open.
Automatic randomization
You can also configure MAC Changer to start silently when you log in.
If automatic randomization is enabled, it can change the address of your active network interface at startup, or both connected Ethernet and Wi-Fi interfaces when selected.
Disconnected devices are left alone.
And if you turn on Wi-Fi or connect another Ethernet adapter, simply click Refresh.
Doesn’t macOS already do this?
Partly.
Apple provides Private Wi-Fi Addresses, allowing supported macOS versions to use different addresses for wireless networks.
That’s useful, but it doesn’t provide the same direct control over Ethernet connections.
MAC Changer offers a straightforward way to manage both types of network interface from one place.
What MAC spoofing does — and doesn’t do
Changing your MAC address changes the identifier used on your local network.
It does not hide your public IP address, encrypt your traffic, replace a VPN, or make you anonymous on the internet.
Also, some network adapters and drivers do not support MAC changes. Changing an active address may briefly disconnect the network while it reconnects or obtains a new DHCP lease.
MAC Changer is designed to make these operations visible and verifiable rather than hiding their limitations.
Free. Native. No subscription.
MAC Changer is available as a free direct download from Beaver Tools.
Because changing network hardware settings requires elevated system access, we distribute it outside the Mac App Store.
It follows the same philosophy as our other Beaver Tools utilities: do one job, keep the interface simple, and stay out of the user’s way.
Download MAC Changer for macOS:
Beaver Tools — tiny macOS apps that save big time.
Top comments (0)