6

For a validation process I need to know the MAC address of a cable modem. (I do not need to know the MAC address of the network adapter.) The cable modem though is placed somewhere hardly accessible, so I want to avoid physically touching it to read its sticker.

What I do have is a Windows 7 machine connected to it, so I want to look up its MAC address via power shell. How do I achieve that?

k0pernikus
  • 2,652

3 Answers3

8

If the modem has an assigned IP address, you can find the MAC address using the ping and arp command:

  1. Ping the device: ping 1.2.3.4
  2. View arp table: arp -a

The MAC address information is pulled by the ping command, and the info is temporarily stored in your NIC. The arp command is to show the stored information.

k0pernikus
  • 2,652
Callen L
  • 2,151
5

Assuming you want the WAN MAC address. Many cable modems have a configuration or status page. For Comcast modems, it is typically 192.168.100.1. If your modem is also your router, it will be your LAN gateway address. Here's what I get when I open 192.168.100.1 on my cable modem:

Cable Modem Status Page

Sorry, I don't know how to do this with powershell.

rblake
  • 91
3

If the modem has a local address in the LAN you're connected to and you know it, then you could use the arp command to see its physical address.

arp -a lists all discovered addresses.

For more usage of the arp command, you can type arp /? in shell.