How can I programmatically get the MAC address of an iphone

Question

How to programmatically get an iPhone's MAC address and IP address?

Answer 1

---

NOTE As of iOS7, you can no longer retrieve device MAC addresses. A fixed value will be returned rather than the actual MAC

---

Somthing I stumbled across a while ago. Originally from here I modified it a bit and cleaned things up.

IPAddress.h
IPAddress.c

And to use it

InitAddresses();
GetIPAddresses();
GetHWAddresses();

int i;
NSString *deviceIP = nil;
for (i=0; i<MAXADDRS; ++i)
{
    static unsigned long localHost = 0x7F000001;        // 127.0.0.1
    unsigned long theAddr;

    theAddr = ip_addrs[i];

    if (theAddr == 0) break;
    if (theAddr == localHost) continue;

    NSLog(@"Name: %s MAC: %s IP: %s\n", if_names[i], hw_addrs[i], ip_names[i]);

        //decided what adapter you want details for
    if (strncmp(if_names[i], "en", 2) == 0)
    {
        NSLog(@"Adapter en has a IP of %s", ip_names[i]);
    }
}

Adapter names vary depending on the simulator/device as well as wifi or cell on the device.

Answer 2

Update: this will not work on iOS 7. You should use ASIdentifierManager.

---

More clean solution on MobileDeveloperTips website:

#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <sys/sysctl.h>
#include <net/if.h>
#include <net/if_dl.h>

...

- (NSString *)getMacAddress
{
  int                 mgmtInfoBase[6];
  char                *msgBuffer = NULL;
  size_t              length;
  unsigned char       macAddress[6];
  struct if_msghdr    *interfaceMsgStruct;
  struct sockaddr_dl  *socketStruct;
  NSString            *errorFlag = NULL;

  // Setup the management Information Base (mib)
  mgmtInfoBase[0] = CTL_NET;        // Request network subsystem
  mgmtInfoBase[1] = AF_ROUTE;       // Routing table info
  mgmtInfoBase[2] = 0;              
  mgmtInfoBase[3] = AF_LINK;        // Request link layer information
  mgmtInfoBase[4] = NET_RT_IFLIST;  // Request all configured interfaces

  // With all configured interfaces requested, get handle index
  if ((mgmtInfoBase[5] = if_nametoindex("en0")) == 0) 
    errorFlag = @"if_nametoindex failure";
  else
  {
    // Get the size of the data available (store in len)
    if (sysctl(mgmtInfoBase, 6, NULL, &length, NULL, 0) < 0) 
      errorFlag = @"sysctl mgmtInfoBase failure";
    else
    {
      // Alloc memory based on above call
      if ((msgBuffer = malloc(length)) == NULL)
        errorFlag = @"buffer allocation failure";
      else
      {
        // Get system information, store in buffer
        if (sysctl(mgmtInfoBase, 6, msgBuffer, &length, NULL, 0) < 0)
          errorFlag = @"sysctl msgBuffer failure";
      }
    }
  }

  // Befor going any further...
  if (errorFlag != NULL)
  {
    NSLog(@"Error: %@", errorFlag);
    return errorFlag;
  }

  // Map msgbuffer to interface message structure
  interfaceMsgStruct = (struct if_msghdr *) msgBuffer;

  // Map to link-level socket structure
  socketStruct = (struct sockaddr_dl *) (interfaceMsgStruct + 1);

  // Copy link layer address data in socket structure to an array
  memcpy(&macAddress, socketStruct->sdl_data + socketStruct->sdl_nlen, 6);

  // Read from char array into a string object, into traditional Mac address format
  NSString *macAddressString = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X", 
                                macAddress[0], macAddress[1], macAddress[2], 
                                macAddress[3], macAddress[4], macAddress[5]];
  NSLog(@"Mac Address: %@", macAddressString);

  // Release the buffer memory
  free(msgBuffer);

  return macAddressString;
}

Answer 3

I wanted something to return the address regardless of whether or not wifi was enabled, so the chosen solution didn't work for me. I used another call I found on some forum after some tweaking. I ended up with the following (excuse my rusty C ) :

#include <sys/types.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <net/if_dl.h>
#include <ifaddrs.h>


char*  getMacAddress(char* macAddress, char* ifName) {

int  success;
struct ifaddrs * addrs;
struct ifaddrs * cursor;
const struct sockaddr_dl * dlAddr;
const unsigned char* base;
int i;

success = getifaddrs(&addrs) == 0;
if (success) {
    cursor = addrs;
    while (cursor != 0) {
        if ( (cursor->ifa_addr->sa_family == AF_LINK)
            && (((const struct sockaddr_dl *) cursor->ifa_addr)->sdl_type == IFT_ETHER) && strcmp(ifName,  cursor->ifa_name)==0 ) {
            dlAddr = (const struct sockaddr_dl *) cursor->ifa_addr;
            base = (const unsigned char*) &dlAddr->sdl_data[dlAddr->sdl_nlen];
            strcpy(macAddress, ""); 
            for (i = 0; i < dlAddr->sdl_alen; i++) {
                if (i != 0) {
                    strcat(macAddress, ":");
                }
                char partialAddr[3];
                sprintf(partialAddr, "%02X", base[i]);
                strcat(macAddress, partialAddr);

            }
        }
        cursor = cursor->ifa_next;
    }

    freeifaddrs(addrs);
}    
return macAddress;
}

And then I would call it asking for en0, as follows:

char* macAddressString= (char*)malloc(18);
NSString* macAddress= [[NSString alloc] initWithCString:getMacAddress(macAddressString, "en0")
                                              encoding:NSMacOSRomanStringEncoding];
free(macAddressString);

Answer 4

Starting from iOS 7, the system always returns the value 02:00:00:00:00:00 when you ask for the MAC address on any device.

In iOS 7 and later, if you ask for the MAC address of an iOS device, the system returns the value 02:00:00:00:00:00. If you need to identify the device, use the identifierForVendor property of UIDevice instead. (Apps that need an identifier for their own advertising purposes should consider using the advertisingIdentifier property of ASIdentifierManager instead.)"

Reference: releasenotes

Answer 5

There are vary solutions about this, but I couldn't find a whole thing. So I made my own solution for :

nicinfo

How to use :

NICInfoSummary* summary = [[[NICInfoSummary alloc] init] autorelease];

// en0 is for WiFi 
NICInfo* wifi_info = [summary findNICInfo:@"en0"];

// you can get mac address in 'XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX' form
NSString* mac_address = [wifi_info getMacAddressWithSeparator:@"-"];

// ip can be multiple
if(wifi_info.nicIPInfos.count > 0)
{
    NICIPInfo* ip_info = [wifi_info.nicIPInfos objectAtIndex:0];
    NSString* ip = ip_info.ip;
    NSString* netmask = ip_info.netmask;
    NSString* broadcast_ip = ip_info.broadcastIP;
}
else
{
    NSLog(@"WiFi not connected!");
}

Answer 6

This looks like a pretty clean solution: UIDevice BIdentifier

// Return the local MAC addy
// Courtesy of FreeBSD hackers email list
// Accidentally munged during previous update. Fixed thanks to erica sadun & mlamb.
- (NSString *) macaddress{

    int                 mib[6];
    size_t              len;
    char                *buf;
    unsigned char       *ptr;
    struct if_msghdr    *ifm;
    struct sockaddr_dl  *sdl;

    mib[0] = CTL_NET;
    mib[1] = AF_ROUTE;
    mib[2] = 0;
    mib[3] = AF_LINK;
    mib[4] = NET_RT_IFLIST;

    if ((mib[5] = if_nametoindex("en0")) == 0) {
        printf("Error: if_nametoindex error\n");
        return NULL;
    }

    if (sysctl(mib, 6, NULL, &len, NULL, 0) < 0) {
        printf("Error: sysctl, take 1\n");
        return NULL;
    }

    if ((buf = malloc(len)) == NULL) {
        printf("Could not allocate memory. error!\n");
        return NULL;
    }

    if (sysctl(mib, 6, buf, &len, NULL, 0) < 0) {
        printf("Error: sysctl, take 2");
        free(buf);
        return NULL;
    }

    ifm = (struct if_msghdr *)buf;
    sdl = (struct sockaddr_dl *)(ifm + 1);
    ptr = (unsigned char *)LLADDR(sdl);
    NSString *outstring = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X", 
                           *ptr, *(ptr+1), *(ptr+2), *(ptr+3), *(ptr+4), *(ptr+5)];
    free(buf);

    return outstring;
}

Answer 7

Now iOS 7 devices – are always returning a MAC address of 02:00:00:00:00:00.

So better use [UIDevice identifierForVendor].

so better to call this method to get app specific unique key

Category will more suitable

import "UIDevice+Identifier.h"

- (NSString *) identifierForVendor1
{
    if ([[UIDevice currentDevice] respondsToSelector:@selector(identifierForVendor)]) {
        return [[[UIDevice currentDevice] identifierForVendor] UUIDString];
    }
    return @"";
}

Now call above method to get unique address

NSString *like_UDID=[NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@",
                [[UIDevice currentDevice] identifierForVendor1]];

NSLog(@"%@",like_UDID);

Answer 8

@Grantland This "pretty clean solution" looks similar to my own improvement over iPhoneDeveloperTips solution.

You can see my step here: https://gist.github.com/1409855/

/* Original source code courtesy John from iOSDeveloperTips.com */

#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <sys/sysctl.h>
#include <net/if.h>
#include <net/if_dl.h>

+ (NSString *)getMacAddress
{
    int                 mgmtInfoBase[6];
    char                *msgBuffer = NULL;
    NSString            *errorFlag = NULL;
    size_t              length;

    // Setup the management Information Base (mib)
    mgmtInfoBase[0] = CTL_NET;        // Request network subsystem
    mgmtInfoBase[1] = AF_ROUTE;       // Routing table info
    mgmtInfoBase[2] = 0;              
    mgmtInfoBase[3] = AF_LINK;        // Request link layer information
    mgmtInfoBase[4] = NET_RT_IFLIST;  // Request all configured interfaces

    // With all configured interfaces requested, get handle index
    if ((mgmtInfoBase[5] = if_nametoindex("en0")) == 0) 
        errorFlag = @"if_nametoindex failure";
    // Get the size of the data available (store in len)
    else if (sysctl(mgmtInfoBase, 6, NULL, &length, NULL, 0) < 0) 
        errorFlag = @"sysctl mgmtInfoBase failure";
    // Alloc memory based on above call
    else if ((msgBuffer = malloc(length)) == NULL)
        errorFlag = @"buffer allocation failure";
    // Get system information, store in buffer
    else if (sysctl(mgmtInfoBase, 6, msgBuffer, &length, NULL, 0) < 0)
    {
        free(msgBuffer);
        errorFlag = @"sysctl msgBuffer failure";
    }
    else
    {
        // Map msgbuffer to interface message structure
        struct if_msghdr *interfaceMsgStruct = (struct if_msghdr *) msgBuffer;

        // Map to link-level socket structure
        struct sockaddr_dl *socketStruct = (struct sockaddr_dl *) (interfaceMsgStruct + 1);

        // Copy link layer address data in socket structure to an array
        unsigned char macAddress[6];
        memcpy(&macAddress, socketStruct->sdl_data + socketStruct->sdl_nlen, 6);

        // Read from char array into a string object, into traditional Mac address format
        NSString *macAddressString = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X",
                                      macAddress[0], macAddress[1], macAddress[2], macAddress[3], macAddress[4], macAddress[5]];
        NSLog(@"Mac Address: %@", macAddressString);

        // Release the buffer memory
        free(msgBuffer);

        return macAddressString;
    }

    // Error...
    NSLog(@"Error: %@", errorFlag);

    return nil;
}

Answer 9

It's not possible anymore on devices running iOS 7.0 or later, thus unavailable to get MAC address in Swift.

As Apple stated:

In iOS 7 and later, if you ask for the MAC address of an iOS device, the system returns the value 02:00:00:00:00:00. If you need to identify the device, use the identifierForVendor property of UIDevice instead. (Apps that need an identifier for their own advertising purposes should consider using the advertisingIdentifier property of ASIdentifierManager instead.)

Answer 10

#import <sys/socket.h>
#import <net/if_dl.h>
#import <ifaddrs.h>
#import <sys/xattr.h>
#define IFT_ETHER 0x6

...

- (NSString*)macAddress
{
    NSString* result = nil;

    char* macAddressString = (char*)malloc(18);
    if (macAddressString != NULL)
    {
        strcpy(macAddressString, "");

        struct ifaddrs* addrs = NULL;
        struct ifaddrs* cursor;

        if (getifaddrs(&addrs) == 0)
        {
            cursor = addrs;

            while (cursor != NULL)
            {
                if ((cursor->ifa_addr->sa_family == AF_LINK) && (((const struct sockaddr_dl*)cursor->ifa_addr)->sdl_type == IFT_ETHER) && strcmp("en0", cursor->ifa_name) == 0)
                {
                    const struct sockaddr_dl* dlAddr = (const struct sockaddr_dl*) cursor->ifa_addr;
                    const unsigned char* base = (const unsigned char*)&dlAddr->sdl_data[dlAddr->sdl_nlen];

                    for (NSInteger index = 0; index < dlAddr->sdl_alen; index++)
                    {
                        char partialAddr[3];

                        sprintf(partialAddr, "%02X", base[index]);
                        strcat(macAddressString, partialAddr);
                    }
                }

                cursor = cursor->ifa_next;
            }

        }

        result = [[[NSString alloc] initWithUTF8String:macAddressString] autorelease];

        free(macAddressString);
    }

    return result;
}

Answer 11

To create a uniqueString based on unique identifier of device in iOS 6:

#import <AdSupport/ASIdentifierManager.h>

NSString *uniqueString = [[[ASIdentifierManager sharedManager] advertisingIdentifier] UUIDString];
NSLog(@"uniqueString: %@", uniqueString);

Answer 12

A lot of these questions only address the Mac address. If you also require the IP address I just wrote this, may need some work but seems to work well on my machine...

- (NSString *)getLocalIPAddress
{
    NSArray *ipAddresses = [[NSHost currentHost] addresses];
    NSArray *sortedIPAddresses = [ipAddresses sortedArrayUsingSelector:@selector(localizedCaseInsensitiveCompare:)];

    NSNumberFormatter *numberFormatter = [[NSNumberFormatter alloc] init];
    numberFormatter.allowsFloats = NO;

    for (NSString *potentialIPAddress in sortedIPAddresses)
    {
        if ([potentialIPAddress isEqualToString:@"127.0.0.1"]) {
            continue;
        }

        NSArray *ipParts = [potentialIPAddress componentsSeparatedByString:@"."];

        BOOL isMatch = YES;

        for (NSString *ipPart in ipParts) {
            if (![numberFormatter numberFromString:ipPart]) {
                isMatch = NO;
                break;
            }
        }
        if (isMatch) {
            return potentialIPAddress;
        }
    }

    // No IP found
    return @"?.?.?.?";
}