How to Change Your MAC Address on a Chromebook [Step-by-Step Guide]

Looking to boost your privacy or test network behavior? Changing your MAC address on a Chromebook can help, but it’s not as straightforward as on other platforms.

ChromeOS doesn’t offer a built-in toggle for this, so you’ll need to use the terminal and enable Developer Mode first.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through what a MAC address is, why you might want to change it, and how to do it safely on your Chromebook.

What Is a MAC Address?

A MAC (Media Access Control) address is a unique identifier assigned to your device’s network interface. It’s like a digital fingerprint for your Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter, and it’s used by routers and networks to identify your device.

By default, your MAC address is fixed, but with a few terminal commands, you can temporarily spoof it to something else.

⚠️ Before You Begin

• You’ll need to enable Developer Mode to access the full shell.
• This method only works until your next reboot, ChromeOS resets the MAC address on restart.
• Changing your MAC address may violate some network policies. Use responsibly.

🛠️ How to Change Your MAC Address on Chromebook

1. Enable Developer Mode if you haven’t already.
2. Press Ctrl + Alt + T to open Crosh shell.
3. Type shell and press Enter to access the full bash shell.
4. Find your network interface name by running:

ifconfig

Look for something like wlan0 (Wi-Fi) or eth0 (Ethernet).

5. Disable the interface temporarily:

sudo ifconfig wlan0 down

6. Change the MAC address (replace with your desired address):

sudo ifconfig wlan0 hw ether 00:11:22:33:44:55

7. Re-enable the interface:

sudo ifconfig wlan0 up

That’s it! You can confirm the change by running:

ifconfig wlan0

Important Notes

• This change is temporary, it resets after reboot.
• To automate it, you’d need to re-run the commands after each startup.
• Some Chromebooks may use ip instead of ifconfig. You can install net-tools in a Linux container if needed.

Video Walkthrough

Want to see it in action? Here’s a quick video tutorial:

🔗 Related Guides from ChromeGeek

• Enable Developer Mode on Chromebook + Shortcuts
• What Is Crosh Shell on Chromebook?
• Important Crosh Shell Commands
• Unlock your Chromebook using a phone
• ChromeOS PowerControl: Advanced Hardware Management