Apple iOS 18 / iPadOS 18 / macOS Sequoia - Private Wi-Fi Address on UWNet

Apple is introducing (macOS Sequoia) and changing (iOS/iPadOS 18) the "Private Wi-Fi Address" feature, which can utilize a locally administered hardware address when connecting to wireless networks. New settings allow users to configure this option as 'Off', 'Fixed', or 'Rotating', on a per-network basis. The 'Rotating' setting increases the frequency of device registrations required for wireless clients using the UWNet wireless network at UW-Madison.

Impact to UWNet users

The default setting of the Private Wi-Fi Address feature in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia for an open network like UWNet is 'Rotating', which will occasionally change the locally administered hardware address used by the device when connecting to a wireless network. The intermittently changing hardware address will increase the frequency of registrations required for devices on UWNet.

Ways to avoid frequent device registration

  • Configure the Private Wi-Fi Address feature to 'Off' or 'Fixed' for UWNet
    • Turning the feature 'Off' will use the true hardware address of the device when connecting to UWNet
    • Using the 'Fixed' option will generate a locally administered hardware address to be used for UWNet
    • This can be done before or after joining UWNet on your device
      • Modifying this feature after joining may necessitate another registration using the changed address

Modifying the Private Wi-Fi Address feature

iOS 18 

Navigate to Settings > Wi-Fi, touch the blue 'i' information icon next to UWNet. Modify the feature shown here.

iOS 18 Private Wi-Fi Address settings

iPadOS 18

Navigate to Settings > Wi-Fi, touch the blue 'i' information icon next to UWNet. Modify the feature shown here.

iPadOS 18 Private Wi-Fi Address settings

macOS Sequoia 15

Navigate to System Settings > Wi-Fi, click the circle with three dots next to UWNet, select Network Settings. Modify the feature shown here.

macOS Sequoia Private Wi-Fi Address settings

Resources

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102509

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102076

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAC_address

https://kb.wisc.edu/22915

https://kb.wisc.edu/25020


Keywords:
apple iOS 18 iPadOS macOS Sequoia private wi-fi address fixed rotate rotating random randomization MAC hardware physical iPhone iPad locally administered LAA IEEE 802c UWNet registration eduroam captive portal login 
Doc ID:
141290
Owned by:
Lucas N. in Network Services
Created:
2024-08-20
Updated:
2024-09-10
Sites:
DoIT Help Desk, Network Services