How to Enable iPhone Private Wi-Fi Address in iOS 14

It’s no secret that iOS 14 is the most privacy-focused iOS version that has ever existed. In this article, we will talk about a new feature called Private Wi-Fi address.
When enabled, it allows your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch to use a different MAC address for each Wi-Fi network it connects to.
This prevents your Apple gadget from being predictable, hence traceable by observers and potential network operators.

A Privacy Notice is emitted in the Wi-Fi Settings app.
It is visible when the Private Wi-Fi address is disabled for the network your Apple device is currently connected to.
You can easily activate Private address to increase your privacy and reduce tracking.

What is a private Wi-Fi address?

To interact with a Wi-Fi network, any device must use a unique network address to identify itself. This address is also known as MAC, as a media access control address.
When a device uses the same MAC on several networks, it becomes more easily identifiable and therefore traceable.
To reduce this privacy risk, iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7 can use different MAC addresses for each Wi-Fi network your Apple device connects to.
This unique static MAC address becomes your device’s private Wi-Fi address for that specific network.

Enable private Wi-Fi address on iPhone and iPad

1. Open the Settings app on your iOS 14 or iPadOS 14 device.
2. To select Wireless and check the network you are currently connected to. Is the ‘Privacy Notice’ displayed under the [network name]?
3. Press the blue ‘i’ (info), available next to [Wi-Fi network name].
4. Use the toggle next to Private address label to activate the function.
5. Press on “Disconnect” to confirm that you are ok with a temporary disconnection from the specific Wi-Fi network. Your iOS device should briefly cut ties to change its MAC address before reconnecting.
Fact: Notice how the iPhone / iPad displays a new Wi-Fi address after reconnecting. A IPV4 address is also available at the bottom of the screen.

Enable private Wi-Fi address for Apple Watch

1. Open the Settings app on your watchOS device.
2. Press the name of the connected network.
Point: If you haven’t connected to a network yet, slide your finger over its name and tap the plus (the 3 horizontal dots).
3. Press on Private address, to activate the function.
Fact: Apple Watch will briefly disconnect from the current Wi-Fi network, change its MAC address, and reconnect.

Troubleshooting Private Wi-Fi Address

Enabling the private Wi-Fi address feature should not affect connectivity with most Wi-Fi networks. Your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch should connect normally as before enabling this privacy feature.
– In some rare cases, a wireless network might allow you to connect with a private address but will not provide Internet access. In this case, turn off the private address feature for that specific network only.
– Other Wi-Fi networks may not be able to use a private address and provide parental controls, or allow your device to join. In this case, you can turn off the private address feature.
– When a Wi-Fi router is configured to notify you every time a new device joins the network, you will receive a ping after activating the private address feature and joining the network for the first time with a different MAC.

Have you had any issues using private Wi-Fi addresses on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch? Let us know in the comments section available below.

Related: At the start of this article, I mentioned the many privacy improvements available in iOS i4. Here are a few:
– receive iPhone notifications when an application is pasted from the clipboard,
– force applications to request authorization to connect to the local network,
– allows you to provide third-party access only to certain photos,
– hide your exact location and much more.