When connecting via SonicWall SCP or SonicWall IKEv1 with DHCP, VPN Tracker 365 for Mac requests an IP address from the SonicWall gateway using the DHCP protocol. For this request, VPN Tracker 365 modifies the MAC address slightly, making it different from the actual MAC address of your device. This allows administrators to assign a fixed IP address when your Mac is connected via LAN or WiFi and a different IP when it’s connected through VPN.
This modification sets a specific bit in the MAC address, marking it as a self-assigned address rather than a factory-assigned one.
Example:
Original MAC address: 00:1B:63:B7:42:23
VPN Tracker MAC address: 02:1B:63:B7:42:23
Starting with macOS 15 Sequoia, Apple defaults to using a rotating MAC address for WiFi connections, labeled as a “Private Wi-Fi Address” in System Settings. To prevent connectivity issues related to this feature, VPN Tracker 365 reports the actual hardware address (with the minor modification described above) instead of the one used in “Rotating” or “Fixed” modes.
On iOS, VPN Tracker cannot retrieve a MAC address directly. Instead, it generates a random value once and stores it for future use. VPN Tracker for iOS then uses this stored value as the MAC address.
