Why does the MAC address detected by the network tool differ from the AP's?

Zyxel_Judy

When you use a channel or network analyzer, you might observe that the MAC address linked with the SSID is not the same as the MAC address displayed on the device's hardware label sticker (as mentioned by Nebula). This article clarifies the MAC addresses you might see on your network analyzer.

The MAC address that appears on the channel analyzer is known as the BSSID. This is also commonly called the wireless interface, denoted as wlan-x-y. For instance:

• wlan-1-1 stands for BSSID1 of radio1 operating at 2.4GHz (VAP1).
• wlan-2-1 represents BSSID1 of radio2 operating at 5GHz (VAP2).

Each subsequent BSSID's MAC address follows the rule in the figure.

For a deeper understanding of VAP and the wireless interface, you can refer to the provided links.