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Helpful answers
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Aug 21, 2015 5:06 PM in response to gadawgs71by gail from maine,You did exactly the right thing. Putting your Mac into Lost Mode allows you to lock the Mac, and to send a message, while still retaining the ability to track the Mac if it comes online via cellular or Wifi. The only other option in Find My iPhone is to Erase it. That would erase the Mac, and remove all of your personal information, but once it is erased, you can no longer track it.
So, it is saying it is offiline because the lowlifes who stole it have not connected it to the internet via Wifi yet. If they do, then you will see where it is located at that time.
You can also see the last online location for up to 24 hours after it was located. So, if it has been less than 24 hours, you can go back into the Find My iPhone app and click on the map. If it has been more than 24 hours since it was online, then you won't see anything on the map.
Sorry for your troubles and best of luck,
GB
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Aug 21, 2015 5:23 PM in response to gail from maineby gadawgs71,Thank you! This is helpful and makes me feel better. I keep reading that when it's in "locked" mode you cannot track it, so I was wondering what is the point in putting it in locked mode except to keep someone from using it.
When it accesses any wi-fi, will it show up, or does it need to access a recently used wi-fi, such as my home or school? I keep reading that also - that once it connects to a recently used wi-fi, which makes no sense since someone who stole it is extremely unlikely to come sit in my den and hang out!
I had my MacBook set up where you had to have a password to log on as me anyway, so their only option is to login as a guest. If someone logs in as a guest, and tries to connect to wi-fi, I should be able to track it then?
Sorry for all the questions - every time I google something, I get conflicting answers.
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Aug 21, 2015 6:02 PM in response to gadawgs71by gail from maine,So, once it connects to any Wifi network, it will show as online and you will be able to see its location. Here are a couple of links that should help. The first one specifically addresses your "locate" question, the second is the iCloud Support Find My iPhone page:
https://www.apple.com/support/icloud/find-my-device/
Post back if you have any other questions
Cheers,
GB
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Aug 22, 2015 9:27 AM in response to gail from maineby gadawgs71,
OK so I think this is where I am confused. From Apple's page here If your Mac is lost or stolen - Apple Supportit has this blurb:
Lock your Mac
You can use Find My Mac to remotely lock your Mac with a passcode. You can also display a custom message on its screen. If you lock your Mac, you won’t be able to track it.
So once you lock your mac, you are no longer able to track it in the app??
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Aug 22, 2015 9:47 AM in response to gadawgs71by gail from maine,Wow - conflicting information....(or just really unclear)...On the Find My iPhone "splash" page and on the iCloud info site, it says:
See what you’re missing.
Don’t panic. If one of your Apple devices goes missing, iCloud can help you figure out where it is. Just sign in at iCloud.com or use the Find My iPhone app to see your missing iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac on a map. And with the Lost Mode feature you don’t just see where your device is, you can track where it’s been. That way you can decide on your best course of action. You can immediately lock your device and send it a message with a contact number. Then whoever finds it can call you from the Lock screen without accessing the rest of the information on your device.
What is not clear here is that Lost Mode only applies to iOS devices, apparently. So, I apologize for any confusion - but I had no idea that a Mac only had a Lock option - no Lost Mode option at all.... (eyeroll)
Not sure why locking the Mac prevents any further tracking, but it looks like that is what happens.
Again, I apologize for any confusion - I just had no idea....and I really think Apple needs to be a lot clearer about this distinction.
Thanks for educating me, and sorry about your Mac
Best of luck,
GB
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Aug 22, 2015 10:06 AM in response to gail from maineby gadawgs71,Thank you! I think that's why we were so confused. A lot of conflicting info and nobody seems to really know the answer. :-(
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Aug 22, 2015 10:56 AM in response to gadawgs71by gail from maine,Most welcome! Sorry the news wasn't better....
GB