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Windows 10: Random MAC Addresses and Circle

Have a Windows 10 device in your home that is appearing as an "Unknown Device" in your Circle device list? This might be caused by the "Random hardware addresses" setting on the device. The setting changes the MAC address on the device each time it connects to the network. Circle uses that MAC address to identify devices. Follow this guide to disable the feature causing that issue.

Turn off Random Hardware Addresses

  1. Connect to your home network on the Windows 10 device. 
  2. In your taskbar, right-click on the Wi-Fi icon and then Properties.   
  3. Under the Random Hardware Addresses section, change the setting to Off.       
  4. Turn off of the Wi-Fi on your device and turn it back on to reconnect to your network using the hardware MAC address.  

Note: These settings will only be saved for your specific home network and your Windows 10 device will continue to protect your privacy by using a random MAC address when connecting other networks. Be sure to do these steps twice, once for the 2.4Ghz network and once for the 5Ghz network.

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