diff --git a/sys/Makefile.dep b/sys/Makefile.dep
index a4551af11c..0775ab7c11 100644
--- a/sys/Makefile.dep
+++ b/sys/Makefile.dep
@@ -476,6 +476,10 @@ ifneq (,$(filter ieee802154_submac,$(USEMODULE)))
   USEMODULE += xtimer
 endif
 
+ifneq (,$(filter l2util,$(USEMODULE)))
+  USEMODULE += fmt
+endif
+
 ifneq (,$(filter od,$(USEMODULE)))
   USEMODULE += fmt
 endif
diff --git a/sys/include/net/l2util.h b/sys/include/net/l2util.h
index 12eeb68b89..0159072b67 100644
--- a/sys/include/net/l2util.h
+++ b/sys/include/net/l2util.h
@@ -153,6 +153,44 @@ int l2util_ipv6_group_to_l2_group(int dev_type,
                                   const ipv6_addr_t *ipv6_group,
                                   uint8_t *l2_group);
 
+/**
+ * @brief   Converts a hardware address to a human readable string.
+ *
+ * @details The format will be like `xx:xx:xx:xx` where `xx` are the bytes
+ *          of @p addr in hexadecimal representation.
+ *
+ * @pre `(out != NULL) && ((addr != NULL) || (addr_len == 0))`
+ * @pre @p out **MUST** have allocated at least 3 * @p addr_len bytes.
+ *
+ * @param[in] addr      A hardware address.
+ * @param[in] addr_len  Length of @p addr.
+ * @param[out] out      A string to store the output in. Must at least have
+ *                      3 * @p addr_len bytes allocated.
+ *
+ * @return  @p out.
+ */
+char *l2util_addr_to_str(const uint8_t *addr, size_t addr_len, char *out);
+
+/**
+ * @brief   Parses a string of colon-separated hexadecimals to a hardware
+ *          address.
+ *
+ * @details The input format must be like `xx:xx:xx:xx` where `xx` will be the
+ *          bytes of @p addr in hexadecimal representation.
+ *
+ * @pre `(out != NULL)`
+ * @pre @p out **MUST** have allocated at least
+ *      @ref GNRC_NETIF_L2ADDR_MAXLEN bytes.
+ *
+ * @param[in] str       A string of colon-separated hexadecimals.
+ * @param[out] out      The resulting hardware address. Must at least have
+ *                      @ref GNRC_NETIF_L2ADDR_MAXLEN bytes allocated.
+ *
+ * @return  Actual length of @p out on success.
+ * @return  0, on failure.
+ */
+size_t l2util_addr_from_str(const char *str, uint8_t *out);
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/sys/net/link_layer/l2util/l2util.c b/sys/net/link_layer/l2util/l2util.c
index 389c46c402..1a7c07bacb 100644
--- a/sys/net/link_layer/l2util/l2util.c
+++ b/sys/net/link_layer/l2util/l2util.c
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 #include <assert.h>
 
 #include "log.h"
+#include "fmt.h"
 #include "net/eui48.h"
 #include "net/ieee802154.h"
 #include "net/ipv6.h"
@@ -23,6 +24,22 @@
 
 #include "net/l2util.h"
 
+static inline int _dehex(char c, int default_)
+{
+    if ('0' <= c && c <= '9') {
+        return c - '0';
+    }
+    else if ('A' <= c && c <= 'F') {
+        return c - 'A' + 10;
+    }
+    else if ('a' <= c && c <= 'f') {
+        return c - 'a' + 10;
+    }
+    else {
+        return default_;
+    }
+}
+
 #if defined(MODULE_CC110X) || defined(MODULE_NRFMIN)
 static void _create_eui64_from_short(const uint8_t *addr, size_t addr_len,
                                      eui64_t *eui64)
@@ -261,4 +278,67 @@ int l2util_ipv6_group_to_l2_group(int dev_type,
     }
 }
 
+char *l2util_addr_to_str(const uint8_t *addr, size_t addr_len, char *out)
+{
+    char *res = out;
+
+    assert((out != NULL) && ((addr != NULL) || (addr_len == 0U)));
+    out[0] = '\0';
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < addr_len; i++) {
+        out += fmt_byte_hex((out), *(addr++));
+        *(out++) = (i == (addr_len - 1)) ? '\0' : ':';
+    }
+    return res;
+}
+
+size_t l2util_addr_from_str(const char *str, uint8_t *out)
+{
+    /* Walk over str from the end. */
+    /* Take two chars a time as one hex value (%hhx). */
+    /* Leading zeros can be omitted. */
+    /* Every non-hexadimal character is a delimiter. */
+    /* Leading, tailing and adjacent delimiters are forbidden. */
+    const char *end_str = str;
+    uint8_t *out_end = out;
+    size_t count = 0;
+    int assert_cell = 1;
+
+    assert(out != NULL);
+    if ((str == NULL) || (str[0] == '\0')) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    /* find end of string */
+    while (end_str[1]) {
+        ++end_str;
+    }
+    while (end_str >= str) {
+        int a = 0, b = _dehex(*end_str--, -1);
+
+        if (b < 0) {
+            if (assert_cell) {
+                return 0;
+            }
+            else {
+                assert_cell = 1;
+                continue;
+            }
+        }
+        assert_cell = 0;
+        if (end_str >= str) {
+            a = _dehex(*end_str--, 0);
+        }
+        count++;
+        *out_end++ = (a << 4) | b;
+    }
+    if (assert_cell) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    /* out is reversed */
+    while (out < --out_end) {
+        uint8_t tmp = *out_end;
+        *out_end = *out;
+        *out++ = tmp;
+    }
+    return count;
+}
 /** @} */
diff --git a/tests/l2util/Makefile.ci b/tests/l2util/Makefile.ci
index 998fbf0184..75912a97e3 100644
--- a/tests/l2util/Makefile.ci
+++ b/tests/l2util/Makefile.ci
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 BOARD_INSUFFICIENT_MEMORY := \
     arduino-duemilanove \
+    arduino-leonardo \
     arduino-nano \
     arduino-uno \
     atmega328p \
diff --git a/tests/l2util/common.h b/tests/l2util/common.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..87a37cbd22
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/l2util/common.h
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 Freie Universität Berlin
+ *
+ * This file is subject to the terms and conditions of the GNU Lesser
+ * General Public License v2.1. See the file LICENSE in the top level
+ * directory for more details.
+ */
+
+/**
+ * @ingroup     tests
+ * @brief       Common definitions for GNRC's NIB tests
+ * @{
+ *
+ * @file
+ *
+ * @author  Martine Lenders <m.lenders@fu-berlin.de>
+ */
+#ifndef COMMON_H
+#define COMMON_H
+
+#include "net/gnrc/netif.h"
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
+#define NETIF_NUMOF         (4)
+#define SPECIAL_DEVS        (2)
+#define DEFAULT_DEVS_NUMOF  (NETIF_NUMOF - SPECIAL_DEVS)
+
+#define GP1 (0x20U)
+#define GP2 (0x01U)
+#define GP3 (0x0dU)
+#define GP4 (0xb8U)
+#define GP5 (0x00U)
+#define GP6 (0x00U)
+#define GP7 (0x5aU)
+#define GP8 (0x1aU)
+
+#define LP1 (0xfeU)
+#define LP2 (0x80U)
+#define LP3 (0x00U)
+#define LP4 (0x00U)
+#define LP5 (0x00U)
+#define LP6 (0x00U)
+#define LP7 (0x00U)
+#define LP8 (0x00U)
+
+#define LA1 (0x3eU)
+#define LA2 (0xe6U)
+#define LA3 (0xb5U)
+#define LA4 (0x0fU)
+#define LA5 (0x19U)
+#define LA6 (0x22U)
+#define LA7 (0xfdU)
+#define LA8 (0x0aU)
+
+#define ULA1 (0xfdU)
+#define ULA2 (0x01U)
+#define ULA3 (0x0dU)
+#define ULA4 (0xb8U)
+#define ULA5 (0x00U)
+#define ULA6 (0x00U)
+#define ULA7 (0x5aU)
+#define ULA8 (0x1aU)
+
+#define TEST_IEEE802154_MAX_FRAG_SIZE   (102)
+
+#define ETHERNET_SRC        { LA1, LA2, LA3, LA6, LA7, LA8 }
+#define ETHERNET_IPV6_LL    { LP1, LP2, LP3, LP4, LP5, LP6, LP7, LP8, \
+                              LA1 ^ 0x2, LA2, LA3, 0xff, 0xfe, LA6, LA7, LA8 }
+#define ETHERNET_IPV6_G     { GP1, GP2, GP3, GP4, GP5, GP6, GP7, GP8, \
+                              LA1 ^ 0x2, LA2, LA3, 0xff, 0xfe, LA6, LA7, LA8 }
+#define IEEE802154_LONG_SRC     { LA1, LA2, LA3, LA4, LA5, LA6, LA7, LA8 }
+#define IEEE802154_SHORT_SRC    { LA7, LA8 }
+#define IEEE802154_IPV6_LL  { LP1, LP2, LP3, LP4, LP5, LP6, LP7, LP8, \
+                              LA1 ^ 0x2, LA2, LA3, LA4, LA5, LA6, LA7, LA8 }
+#define IEEE802154_IPV6_G   { GP1, GP2, GP3, GP4, GP5, GP6, GP7, GP8, \
+                              LA1 ^ 0x2, LA2, LA3, LA4, LA5, LA6, LA7, LA8 }
+#define NETIF0_SRC          { LA1, LA2 + 1, LA3, LA4, LA5, LA6, LA7, LA8 }
+#define NETIF0_IPV6_LL      { LP1, LP2, LP3, LP4, LP5, LP6, LP7, LP8, \
+                              LA1 ^ 0x2, LA2 + 1, LA3, LA4, LA5, LA6, LA7, LA8 }
+#define NETIF0_IPV6_ULA     { ULA1, ULA2, ULA3, ULA4, ULA5, ULA6, ULA7, ULA8, \
+                              LA1 ^ 0x2, LA2 + 1, LA3, LA4, LA5, LA6, LA7, LA8 }
+#define NETIF0_IPV6_G       { GP1, GP2, GP3, GP4, GP5, GP6, GP7, GP8, \
+                              LA1 ^ 0x2, LA2 + 1, LA3, LA4, LA5, LA6, LA7, LA8 }
+#define GLOBAL_PFX18        { GP1, GP2, GP3 ^ 0x3f, GP4, GP5, GP6, GP7, GP8, \
+                              LA1 ^ 0x2, LA2, LA3, LA4, LA5, LA6, LA7, LA8 }
+#define GLOBAL_PFX23        { GP1, GP2, GP3 ^ 0x1, GP4, GP5, GP6, GP7, GP8, \
+                              LA1 ^ 0x2, LA2, LA3, LA4, LA5, LA6, LA7, LA8 }
+#define GLOBAL_PFX64        { GP1, GP2, GP3, GP4, GP5, GP6, GP7, GP8, \
+                              LA1 ^ 0x82, LA2, LA3, LA4, LA5, LA6, LA7, LA8 }
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+}
+#endif
+
+#endif /* COMMON_H */
+/** @} */
diff --git a/tests/l2util/main.c b/tests/l2util/main.c
index e06bf3bc0e..4eb3f49cfc 100644
--- a/tests/l2util/main.c
+++ b/tests/l2util/main.c
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 #include <stdint.h>
 
+#include "common.h"
 #include "embUnit.h"
 #include "net/eui48.h"
 #include "net/eui64.h"
@@ -416,6 +417,56 @@ static void test_ipv6_group_to_l2group__ENOTSUP(void)
                                                         &test_group, res));
 }
 
+static void test_l2util_addr_to_str(void)
+{
+    static const uint8_t ethernet_l2addr[] = ETHERNET_SRC;
+    static const uint8_t ieee802154_l2addr_long[] = IEEE802154_LONG_SRC;
+    static const uint8_t ieee802154_l2addr_short[] = IEEE802154_SHORT_SRC;
+    static const uint8_t netif0_l2addr[] = NETIF0_SRC;
+    char out[sizeof(netif0_l2addr) * 3];
+
+    TEST_ASSERT(out == l2util_addr_to_str(NULL, 0, out));
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_STRING("", &out[0]);
+    TEST_ASSERT(out == l2util_addr_to_str(ethernet_l2addr,
+                                              sizeof(ethernet_l2addr), out));
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_STRING("3E:E6:B5:22:FD:0A", &out[0]);
+    TEST_ASSERT(out == l2util_addr_to_str(ieee802154_l2addr_long,
+                                              sizeof(ieee802154_l2addr_long),
+                                              out));
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_STRING("3E:E6:B5:0F:19:22:FD:0A", &out[0]);
+    TEST_ASSERT(out == l2util_addr_to_str(ieee802154_l2addr_short,
+                                              sizeof(ieee802154_l2addr_short),
+                                              out));
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_STRING("FD:0A", &out[0]);
+    TEST_ASSERT(out == l2util_addr_to_str(netif0_l2addr,
+                                              sizeof(netif0_l2addr),
+                                              out));
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_STRING("3E:E7:B5:0F:19:22:FD:0A", &out[0]);
+}
+
+static void test_l2util_addr_from_str(void)
+{
+    static const uint8_t ethernet_l2addr[] = ETHERNET_SRC;
+    static const uint8_t ieee802154_l2addr_long[] = IEEE802154_LONG_SRC;
+    static const uint8_t ieee802154_l2addr_short[] = IEEE802154_SHORT_SRC;
+    uint8_t out[GNRC_NETIF_L2ADDR_MAXLEN];
+
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_INT(0, l2util_addr_from_str("", out));
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_INT(sizeof(ethernet_l2addr),
+                          l2util_addr_from_str("3E:E6:B5:22:FD:0A", out));
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_INT(0, memcmp(ethernet_l2addr, out,
+                                    sizeof(ethernet_l2addr)));
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_INT(sizeof(ieee802154_l2addr_long),
+                          l2util_addr_from_str("3E:E6:B5:0F:19:22:FD:0A",
+                                                   out));
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_INT(0, memcmp(ieee802154_l2addr_long, out,
+                                    sizeof(ieee802154_l2addr_long)));
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_INT(sizeof(ieee802154_l2addr_short),
+                          l2util_addr_from_str("FD:0A", out));
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL_INT(0, memcmp(ieee802154_l2addr_short, out,
+                                    sizeof(ieee802154_l2addr_short)));
+}
+
 TestRef test_l2util(void)
 {
     EMB_UNIT_TESTFIXTURES(fixtures) {
@@ -432,6 +483,8 @@ TestRef test_l2util(void)
         new_TestFixture(test_addr_len_from_l2ao__ENOTSUP),
         new_TestFixture(test_ipv6_group_to_l2group__success),
         new_TestFixture(test_ipv6_group_to_l2group__ENOTSUP),
+        new_TestFixture(test_l2util_addr_to_str),
+        new_TestFixture(test_l2util_addr_from_str),
     };
 
     EMB_UNIT_TESTCALLER(tests_l2util, NULL, NULL, fixtures);