Getting the MAC address of the device- when wifi is off

android, android-wifi, mac-address, wifimanager

Solution

Why not enable the Wifi momentarily until you get the MAC address and then disable it once you are done getting the MAC address?

Of course, doing this is if getting the MAC address is absolutely important.

UNTESTED CODE

WifiManager wifiManager = (WifiManager) this.getSystemService(Context.WIFI_SERVICE);

if(wifiManager.isWifiEnabled()) {
    // WIFI ALREADY ENABLED. GRAB THE MAC ADDRESS HERE
    WifiInfo info = wifiManager.getConnectionInfo();
    String address = info.getMacAddress();
} else {
    // ENABLE THE WIFI FIRST
    wifiManager.setWifiEnabled(true);

    // WIFI IS NOW ENABLED. GRAB THE MAC ADDRESS HERE
    WifiInfo info = wifiManager.getConnectionInfo();
    String address = info.getMacAddress();
}

You will need these permission setup in the Manifest

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE"></uses-permission>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.UPDATE_DEVICE_STATS"></uses-permission>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CHANGE_WIFI_STATE"></uses-permission>

I am not entirely sure if the `UPDATE_DEVICE_STATS` permission is necessary in this case. Please try it out before deciding to keep it.

Problem

Original source