Can't change MAC address on Rooted Android Nextbook Ares 8 I rooted my Nextbook Ares 8" tablet, model NXA8QC116, so I could change the MAC address and host name, as I hate personal data mining and user behavior monitoring.

Device specifics: Model NXA8QC116S, Android Version : 5.1.1, Build # : V3.0.?

Rooted with the binary "Nextbook Ares 8 Stock 5.1.1 Rom modified boot.img" from forum.xda-developers.com

Commands (terminal app):

u0_xxx@NXA8QC116:/ $: su
root@NXA8QC116:/ #: busybox iplink show wlan0
[reports the MAC address]
root@NXA8QC116:/ #: busybox ifconfig wlan0 hw ether fa:8e:f0:f2:14:27
root@NXA8QC116:/ #: busybox iplink show wlan0
[reports the original, unchanged MAC address]


I tried this with the WiFi both on and off.  I also tried leaving "busybox" out of the commands.

Any help is appreciated.
There's a file called mac.txt in /config/wifi, which contains the MAC address, which is the only thing in the file.

Changing this value, and then enabling the wifi adapter results in a new MAC address.  (Confirmed by logging into a router it connected to.) This change survives a reboot.  

Now to research how to write a script to randomly pick a manufacturer prefix number and the rest of the digits at every restart, along with setting a temporary randomized hostname (setprop net.hostname xxxxxx).

I found the MAC text file by searching the device for files with Total Commander.