Mac address keeps changing?

[deathtaco]

Hiya recently I started to whit-list the mac address all the my devices. however I came across on problem my tablets(powered by android) mac address seems to keep changing and its only the tablet.It seems that the last 6 digits are the only ones that change.
Is this normal with some devise? and if so is there some way were i can stop it from doing this
or is it a problem with the device and its something I will have to put up with?

 

[udg]

Seen people on Android forums saying this is a hardware problem, if your device is still in warranty you could phone up for a replacement.

 

[indsup]

Unless you have some kind of software on your tablet it will not change it's mac address. Sounds like someone is trying to spoof one of your known mac addresses of your devices that they picked up from your network. In the past the mac addresses used to be hard coded in the chip it's self, now they are more soft coded in the firmware. It is possible that there's a glitch in the firmware but not very likely. Set your router up to automatically block un known mac addresses. This should help your network security.

 

[bill001g]

It is a waste of time to try to restrict access by mac address since it is not that hard to spoof. The encryption is designed to accomplish what you are attempting since only authorized devices should have access to your password. If you really want to authenticate devices use certificate based encryption in the wireless but this is normally only done in large companies. If you have a good WPA2 password it likely is secure enough and the mac address stuff will just cause trouble and provide no more security.

 

[indsup]

Yes you still have to use encryption also. Everyone should know that. I block every mac address that is not already part of my network. The way i have mine set up you can't even get a response from my routers unless you are an authorized part of the network. Adding the mac address just adds another point to any security scheme. So yes i would and do use this as another part of my security scheme.

 

[bill001g]

If it makes you happy but it is about as effective as locking your door with a sign that says do not enter. If someone has the skills to compromise the encryption the mac is trivial.....and actually spoofing the mac is generally part of any realistic attack on the encryption.