Changing the Private Wi-Fi Address feature on iOS mobile devices

To learn more about the Private Wi-Fi Address feature on your iOS device and how it works, click below:

How Private Wi-Fi Address affects the way Linksys sees my devices
How to change the Private Wi-Fi settings on your iOS device

How Private Wi-Fi Address affects the way Linksys sees my devices

Some of the Linksys features, if enabled, require the MAC address of your client device to identify and communicate with your devices.

iOS devices have a feature called Private Wi-Fi Address (also known as MAC randomization) with a Rotating option that changes the MAC address of your wireless device when it reconnects to a WiFi.

This means that any Linksys rules or other features that require the MAC address of the device will not work properly if their MAC address changes, such as:

*Supported features vary by router model

Instant-Privacy - If you have enabled Instant-Privacy on the Linksys router, your iOS device may not reconnect to the WiFi network if the device has Private Wi-Fi Address turned ON.
Linksys Parental Controls - You have created a schedule to block internet for certain devices in your network, but the device keeps getting online during the scheduled time.
MAC Filtering - Configuring a deny or allow rule for MAC filtering.

How to change the Private Wi-Fi settings on your iOS device

Before you begin:

Make sure to connect the iOS device to the Linksys WiFi network.
If you have enabled Instant-Privacy on the Linksys router, turn OFF the feature for now.

1. First, make sure your iOS mobile device is connected to your Linksys WiFi. In this example, the Linksys WiFi name is HomeWIFI.

2. On your iOS mobile device, go to Settings > Wi-Fi.

3. Tap on the icon next to the Linksys WiFi name.

4. Scroll down to Private Wi-Fi Address and tap on it.

Note that iOS versions and/or options may vary. Select the option that you need to use the Instant-Privacy feature of the Linksys router.

Off - If you select Off, this will disable the Private Wi-Fi Address feature whenever you connect to the Linksys WiFi name and will display the true MAC address of your iOS device.
Fixed - This option masks the true MAC address of your device and will use a unique, non-rotating MAC address on the same WiFi network. This option is recommended.
Rotating - The MAC address will change whenever you reconnect to the Linksys WiFi. If your device has this option selected, the Linksys Parental Controls, Instant-Privacy, and MAC filtering features will stop working as the MAC address of your device will change every time it reconnects to Linksys WiFi. This option is NOT recommended if you are using any of the features mentioned above.

5. Choose either Fixed or Off, and make sure your device has reconnected to the Linksys WiFi.

6. Now you can turn Instant-Privacy back ON again or reconfigure MAC Filtering or Parental Controls on your Linksys router.