How often can a MAC Address be changed?

The characteristic of a MAC address is that it is typically hard-coded into the network interface hardware, specifically into the network interface card (NIC). This physical address is meant to be unique for each device on a local network and is essential for networking protocols that rely on hardware addressing, primarily Ethernet.

The correct understanding of a MAC address is that it is intended not to be changed. Although some software tools can allow temporary changes of a MAC address at the operating system level, in terms of hardware assignment and typical usage, MAC addresses are considered immutable. This means that, in practice, MAC addresses do not change throughout the lifespan of the network interface.

While there are exceptions where certain systems allow for MAC address spoofing or modification under specific conditions, these practices are not the standard and could lead to networking issues or violations of network policy. Thus, the most accurate statement is that a MAC address is generally never changed.