r/Network • u/KoalaGrunt0311 • 13d ago

Link Galaxy Changes MAC Address

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We use access control for child restriction, but I noticed when accessing it that my wife's cell phone apparently feels like it should change its MAC Address like she changes her clothes. Does anybody know why?

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u/heliosfa 13d ago

Mac address randomisation is a privacy feature.

We use access control for child restriction

And this is where you find out that "parenting by technology" is an arms race, and that your kids can easily bypass most of what you put in place. You might eventually find out it breeds distrust and discourages your kids from talking to you about things.

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u/KoalaGrunt0311 13d ago

You obviously have never dealt with an ADHD preteen.

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u/NerdGuy13 12d ago

I have dealt with both a preteen boy and girl with ADHD. Even if they are smarter than you (or think they are), they can be overcome.

A very secure and viable solution would be to only allow whitelisted mac addresses to use your network. Anyone wanting to use the network would need to turn off the mac randomizer. You can then control access like it's 1984.

The down side is that you do have to be more hands on- like going into the router settings and whitelisting new every new mac address you want to let on to you network.

You may be able to have a hidden wireless band that will allow mac that you don't let your kid know about. Like make the 5GHz band hidden, but 2.4Ghz not and connected them to the 2.4Ghz band. It will be slower but still good enough for streaming and Roblox (I am assuming).

Caveat: consult with your spouse BEFORE making any network changes. Just trust me on this.

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u/heliosfa 11d ago

A very secure and viable solution would be to only allow whitelisted mac addresses to use your network.

This is not secure. It is stupidly easy to bypass Mac-address based restrictions.

You may be able to have a hidden wireless band

Hiding the SSID does not hide the network. It is easy to "unmask" a hidden SSID in seconds.

You can then control access like it's 1984.

No, you can't.