![]() ![]() Users can enable it within their Wi-Fi settings. MAC address randomization is off by default. The same user experience is true for Android 12 as iOS 15, but users can choose to rotate the device’s MAC address every 24 hours through their settings for extra privacy. This sees a new device MAC address generated for use with every Wi-Fi network. MAC address randomization is switched on per SSID by default for users. MAC Address Randomization by Operating System This is causing major friction for hotel guests when they authenticate to the network for their week-long stay and are forced to re-authenticate each day due to the network thinking the device is new every time the MAC address changes.įigure 1 below provides the status of MAC address randomization implementation across the major operating systems that began in January 2022.įigure 1. At best, and depending on the login journey, this will require re-authentication each time the MAC address changes. While people have more privacy, their devices will switch MAC addresses at regular intervals or with every SSID change and appear as “new” devices to Wi-Fi networks. But now, with Apple leading the way, the main operating systems activate this setting by default. Until 2020, this was an optional setting that users could switch on. This article outlines what has changed as we enter 2022. The most disruptive is MAC address randomization. ![]() Operating systems including iOS, Android and Windows have increasingly rolled out measures that support these safeguards. ![]() In a push to better safeguard Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and block the ability to track an individual device, there has been a move toward increased user privacy and more ethical data collection. Previously, Wi-Fi networks within hotels largely depended on the static hardware Media Access Control (MAC) address of individual devices as part of the authentication and onboarding process. However, one major obstacle is impacting the experience: changes within the devices themselves. The Wi-Fi networks must also support all of the new on-property technology added for staff efficiency and better satisfaction scores. Guest experiences rely heavily on reliable and fast Wi-Fi networks, especially with all of the technologies being brought onto the hotel property for video conferencing, gaming and content streaming.
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