Can I Find device name using MAC address?
How can I access a device by MAC address? The easiest way to access a device, knowing the MAC address is to use the arp -a command to find the related IP address. With this address, you can access the device using Remote Desktop Management, a Telnet program, or some other connection facility.
MAC Address or media access control address is a unique ID assigned to network interface cards (NICs). It is also known as a physical or hardware address. It identifies the hardware manufacturer and is used for network communication between devices in a network segment.
You cannot identify a specific device by its MAC address online. The MAC address doesn't travel far enough to be useful for location information, and there's no central database of which MAC address is assigned to what device.
- Open the command prompt by doing one of the following: At the Start menu, enter cmd and press Enter to bring up the command Prompt. Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt.
- In the command prompt, enter: hostname getmac.
- Open the Command prompt or Terminal in your Windows, Linux, or macOS system.
- Search all the network settings, such as default gateway and IP address, through the command prompt.
- Type the command "arp -a" to view the list of all IP addresses connected to your network.
A MAC address is a hardware identification number that uniquely identifies each device on a network. The MAC address is manufactured into every network card, such as an Ethernet card or Wi-Fi card, and therefore cannot be changed.
If you have a device's MAC address, you can find the related IP address of the same device using a protocol called ARP. This protocol contains a table that dynamically maps the MAC address with the IP address of every device in the network.
- Click the Windows Start button, then "All Programs" and "Accessories." Right-click on "Command Prompt" and choose "Run as Administrator."
- Type "nslookup %ipaddress%" in the black box that appears on the screen, substituting %ipaddress% with the IP address for which you want to find the hostname.
Locating Your Computer's Hostname on a PC (Windows 10)
In the window the window that appears on the bottom-left hand corner of your screen, type in cmd and click OK. The command prompt window will appear. In this window, type hostname and press Enter. The name of your computer will be displayed.
- Run a port scan (tap Service Scan)
- Ping the device.
- Run a traceroute on the device.
- Run Wake on LAN on the device.
How do I find an unknown device IP address?
[HOWTO] Find an Unknown Static IP Address !! - YouTube
You can follow a path to a device if you know its IP address by using the tracert command at the command prompt (cmd). Open a Command Prompt window and type in tracert followed by the IP address that you know. The output will show each router that has a connection to that device will pass through.

The IP address of a device mainly helps in identifying the connection of a network (using which the device is connecting to the network). The MAC Address, on the other hand, ensures the computer device's physical location. It helps us to identify a given device on the available network uniquely.
Although a MAC address is a unique identifier to identify the device, it is not categorised as 'personal data' because we will not be able to identify a certain individual without the use of additional information. A MAC address is tied to a device, NOT to the person.
The MAC address is an important element of computer networking. MAC addresses uniquely identify a computer on the LAN. MAC is an essential component required for network protocols like TCP/IP to function. Computer operating systems and broadband routers support viewing and sometimes changing MAC addresses.
If you know the MAC address of someone's device it is possible to 'spoof' it and steal someone's internet connection. The only way you can connect to a computer remotely is using an IP or Internet Protocol address, and even then there are many security features in place to prevent you from doing such.
To find the location of a phone connected to a Wi-Fi network, just find the MAC address of the access point and check the database to see its geographical address.
- Open Terminal by navigating to /Applications/Utilities.
- In the Terminal window type ping <server> , where <server> is the hostname or IP address of the server that you want to ping. ...
- Press Enter. ...
- To stop the ping, after seeing enough results, press Ctrl + C.
...
Examples of device names.
Name | Description |
---|---|
hd | IDE driver, ATA hard drive, or ATAPI optical disc drive. |
hda | Primary ATA. |
hdb | Secondary ATA device. |
In Windows, a computer name is also called a PC name or device name. They all represent the name given by the operating system, the PC manufacturer, or the user to distinguish that computer from others in a network. It does not matter what the name is, just that there is one.
Is device name and hostname same?
The hostname is what a device is called on a network. Alternative terms for this are computer name and site name. The hostname is used to distinguish devices within a local network.
IP address deals with internet connectivity, making it quite easy to get tracked. All you need to do is to contact your internet service provider for a misplaced laptop's position.
Reverse IP lookup, also known as reverse DNS lookup, is the process of querying the Domain Name System (DNS) to determine the domain name associated with an Internet Protocol (IP) address. Put in simpler terms, this tool looks up the owners of IP addresses (the numerical label assigned to devices on a network).
Mac. Open System Preferences. Select Sharing. You'll find your Mac's hostname (ex: Johns-iMac-Pro. local) right under Computer Name.
One's a name, one's an address. They are not the same: The hostname is a mapping to the IP address. Over time the same hostname could map to a different IP address. This might be done where a web service is rebuilt on a different machine for example.
The MAC address is an important element of computer networking. MAC addresses uniquely identify a computer on the LAN. MAC is an essential component required for network protocols like TCP/IP to function. Computer operating systems and broadband routers support viewing and sometimes changing MAC addresses.
Although a MAC address is a unique identifier to identify the device, it is not categorised as 'personal data' because we will not be able to identify a certain individual without the use of additional information. A MAC address is tied to a device, NOT to the person.
If you know the MAC address of someone's device it is possible to 'spoof' it and steal someone's internet connection. The only way you can connect to a computer remotely is using an IP or Internet Protocol address, and even then there are many security features in place to prevent you from doing such.
No two devices on a local network should ever have the same MAC address. If that does happen, both devices will have communications problems because the local network will get confused about which device should receive the packet.
To see all the MAC addresses and their associated IP addresses, type “arp -a”. This command will list all the available MAC addresses in the system. The address on the left is the IP address, while the right is the MAC address.
What can be used to indirectly identify a specific person?
- car registration number and/or VIN;
- national insurance number;
- passport number; or.
- a combination of significant criteria (eg age, occupation, place of residence).
Device IDs, IP addresses and Cookies are considered as personal data under GDPR. According to the definition of the PII, they are not PII because there are anonymous and cannot be used on their own to identify, trace, or identify a person.
An easy example of information that could be used to indirectly identify someone is an individual's license plate number. The police (a third party) can quickly match a name to a license plate number. The qualifier “reasonably” is an important one.