About private Wi-Fi addresses and enterprise networks
This article helps network administrators understand how Apple devices use private Wi-Fi addresses in environments that use MAC addresses to control access.
Private Wi-Fi addresses and MDM
The Private Address setting introduced in iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7 is turned on by default. Businesses and other organizations might need to take either of these actions:
Update Wi-Fi network security or management settings to work with private addresses.
Or use Wi-Fi MDM settings to turn off a device's Private Address setting for their Wi-Fi network. This setting can be turned on or off at any time by the device's user, unless the device is enrolled in MDM and the setting is turned off with a network profile.*
Connecting to a previously known network
When a device connects to a network that it remembers connecting to before upgrading to iOS 14 or later, iPadOS 14 or later, or watchOS 7 or later:
It tries to connect using the private address.
If it can't connect because the organization's Wi-Fi network doesn't allow a device to join using a private address, it immediately tries to connect using its hardware MAC address.
During this time, and until the device successfully connects using the private address:
The Private Address setting remains off for that network in Settings.
The device continues to try to connect using the private address. If it fails, it continues to use the hardware MAC address.
After the device successfully connects using a private address, that MAC address is used for future connections to that Wi-Fi network. Exceptions:
Starting with iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8, if the device hasn’t joined the network in 6 weeks, it uses a different private address the next time it joins the network.
If the device is made to forget the network, it will also forget the private address it used with that network, unless it has been less than 2 weeks since the last time it was made to forget that network.
Connecting to a new network
In most cases, devices with iOS 14 or later, iPadOS 14 or later, and watchOS 7 or later use only the private address to join new Wi-Fi networks. If a device has an MDM profile with the Private Address setting turned off, it uses the hardware MAC address to join. If a device connects to a Wi-Fi network during Setup Assistant, it first uses the hardware MAC address to join and then treats that network as a previously known network.
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