KitJade
Network & CybersecurityPublic lookup

MAC Address Lookup

Identify hardware vendors from MAC address prefixes.

Use the MAC Address Lookup tool

Calls public DNS / lookup servicesUpdated Report a problem

What this mac address lookup does

MAC Address Lookup normalises an address written with colons, hyphens, dots or no separators, then looks up the first three bytes — the Organisationally Unique Identifier (OUI) — to identify the manufacturer. It also decodes the two special bits in the first octet: whether the address is globally unique or locally administered, and whether it is a multicast address.

Vendor data comes from a public OUI service, so it requires a network request and may be rate-limited. Not every OUI resolves: virtual machines, modern phones using private Wi-Fi addresses and randomised Bluetooth addresses often produce no manufacturer.

Why use it

  • Identify the vendor of a device found on a switch or Wi-Fi controller.
  • Check whether a MAC address is locally administered (common for VMs and privacy features).
  • Normalise inconsistent MAC formats before adding them to a configuration.

How to use it

  1. 1Paste a MAC address in any common format.
  2. 2The tool normalises it to 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E style and validates its length.
  3. 3Press Lookup to query the OUI vendor database.
  4. 4Read the vendor, address type and scope.

Worked examples

Colon format

Input

00:00:0C:12:34:56

Output

Normalised 00:00:0C:12:34:56 · OUI 00-00-0C · Cisco Systems, Inc.

Locally administered address

Input

02:11:22:33:44:55

Output

Locally administered · unicast · vendor lookup not meaningful for a random address

The second-least-significant bit of the first octet is set (02), which indicates a locally assigned address.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming a vendor means a specific device model — the OUI identifies the manufacturer block, not the product.
  • Treating a MAC address as a security identity; it is trivially spoofable.
  • Forgetting that private Wi-Fi addresses rotate, so the same phone can show different MACs.

Frequently asked questions

What is an OUI?
The OUI is the first 24 bits of a MAC address, assigned by the IEEE to a manufacturer. The remaining 24 bits are assigned by that manufacturer.
Why is no vendor found?
The prefix may belong to a small or newer allocation, or the address may be randomised. Public OUI services also rate-limit lookups.
Is the lookup sent to a third party?
Yes. Vendor data requires a request to a public OUI API. Formatting and bit analysis happen locally.

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