An IP Phone MAC address is a unique code that identifies the device on a network. ‘MAC’ stands for ‘Media Access Control’ and is hard coded to the phone’s network interface controller (NIC) by the manufacturer. It is like its postal address when combined with its IP address.

It is a 12-digit string that can be any combination of letters and numbers from 0 to 9. They can be displayed in different ways depending on the manufacturer but there are 4 common formats as follows:

1. 80:5E:C0:93:F6:D0
2. 80-5E-C0-93-F6-D0
3. 805E.C093.F6D0
4. 805EC093F6D0

Every IP Phone MAC address follows one of these formats depending on how the manufacturer chooses to display it

A MAC address can be split into the first 6 digits and the last 6. The first six are called the ‘prefix’ and this identifies the adapter’s/IP phone manufacturer. The last 6 digits are the unique identifier of that specific device.

For example, Fanvil’s prefix is 0C:38:3E:xx:xx:xx while Snom’s prefix is 00:04:13:xx:xx:xx.

You can see the device’s MAC address in 3 places:

1. On a sticker on the back of the phone

2. On the outside of the packaging

3. Via the phones user interface when browsing to the IP address of the phone