MAC Address Converter
Convert MAC addresses between colon, hyphen, dot and raw hex notations.
About MAC Address Converter
A MAC address is a 48-bit (6-byte, 12 hex-digit) hardware identifier, but different vendors and operating systems render it with different separators: IEEE and most Linux tools use colons (00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E), Windows commonly uses dashes (00-1A-2B-3C-4D-5E), and Cisco IOS uses dot-separated groups of four hex digits (001A.2B3C.4D5E). This converter strips all separators to recover the raw hex digits, then re-inserts the correct separator pattern for each target format.
Formula
Address structure
MAC = OUI (first 3 bytes, vendor) + NIC-specific (last 3 bytes)
- OUI
- Organizationally Unique Identifier, assigned to the manufacturer
Worked example
With the default values below, MAC Address Converter returns Colon Format (IEEE / Linux) of 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- MAC Address
- 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E
Results
- Colon Format (IEEE / Linux)
- 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E
- Dash Format (Windows)
- 00-1A-2B-3C-4D-5E
- Dot Format (Cisco)
- 001A.2B3C.4D5E
- No Separator
- 001A2B3C4D5E
- OUI (Vendor Prefix)
- 00:1A:2B
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Address structure
- 3Colon Format (IEEE / Linux)= 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E
- 4Dash Format (Windows)= 00-1A-2B-3C-4D-5E
- 5Dot Format (Cisco)= 001A.2B3C.4D5E
- 6No Separator= 001A2B3C4D5E
- 7OUI (Vendor Prefix)= 00:1A:2B
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the single input listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the colon, dash, and dot MAC formats?
They represent the exact same 48-bit address with different separator conventions: colons every 2 hex digits (00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E) are the IEEE standard and default on Linux/macOS, dashes every 2 digits (00-1A-2B-3C-4D-5E) are the Windows convention, and dots every 4 digits (001A.2B3C.4D5E) are used by Cisco IOS.
What does the first half of a MAC address (the OUI) tell you?
The first 24 bits (3 bytes) are the Organizationally Unique Identifier, a block assigned by the IEEE Registration Authority to the network interface's manufacturer, which can be used to identify the vendor of a device from its MAC address alone.
How can I tell if a MAC address is locally administered or randomized?
The second-least-significant bit of the first byte is the U/L (Universal/Local) bit — if set to 1, the address was assigned locally (e.g. by software, or a privacy-randomized address) rather than burned in by the manufacturer at the factory. The least-significant bit of the first byte is the I/G bit, which distinguishes unicast (0) from multicast (1) addresses.