Why does my MAC address not match the default SSID?

Generally, your device's MAC address will match the default SSID that is broadcast by your Guest Networks Hotspot when there is no assigned campaign. There is, however, a known issue where some devices will broadcast a different SSID, usually off by one or two digits.

Terminology

A MAC address is a sequence of 12 numbers and the letters A-F often separated by colons (ex: AC:86:74:8B:45:20) -- this is a unique identifier for each device.

An SSID is the name of the WiFi network that a device broadcasts -- for example, McDonald's Free WiFi is an SSID. The default SSID for our pre-flashed hotspots is MyWiFi_SSID. So if your MAC address is 1A:2B:3C:4D:5E:6F, then your default SSID would be MyWiFi_1A2B3C4D5E6F. 

Solution

When adding your new hotspot to MyWiFi, use the MAC address that makes up the SSID, not the MAC address printed on the hotspot and the packaging.

If you're having trouble adding a device due to a MAC address error, or if your device isn't connecting properly, make sure that the device's default SSID matches the MAC address that you have entered into MyWiFi. If they don't match, re-add the device to MyWiFi using the MAC address shown as part of the default SSID.

If this doesn't solve the issue, make sure that you've followed our standard troubleshooting steps, and then contact support.