Stolen Ipad

Yes, sevoey. As Chris CA noted, if you have activated Find My iPhone (which works with iPads, too), you simply go to another device running Find My iPhone on it. Log in, and follow the instructions to find your device.

Note that your iPad must be connected to a network for it to be found. If the iPad is turned off or otherwise not connected to a network, it can't communicate where it is located. Also, if you did not turn on the Find My iPhone functionality on the iPad, there is no way for the iPad to tell you where it is located, even if it is on a network.

(A 3g iPad has actual GPS built into it. That GPS capability will work with the Find My iPhone app to show you a map with a pinpoint where your iPad is currently located. A WiFi-only iPad (no 3g) also works with Find My iPhone, but uses other networks around it to locate itself, instead.)

Another note (pay attention, yelloyello): if you have activated the Find My iPhone app on the iPad (or whichever i-device you have lost), then tell the police that you have done so. In most localities, the police will put a priority on finding a device that can be mapped in this way. I know this personally, as I lost my iPad shortly after getting it. Remember, though, that some cases (murders, violent crime, etc) are going to take priority over finding your iPad, but as far as lost/stolen stuff goes, if the police have a map to the item, they're going to make more effort to find it.

One more note: the MAC address of a device does not pass the 1st router it sees. Therefore, there is no way to find a lost/stolen iPad (or any other network device) by its MAC address. Only if that MAC address is being picked up by some software on the machine itself and being transmitted somewhere as a functionality of that software can it be seen outside the local network it's on. Sorry - it does sound so simple, but it just doesn't work that way.

or i suppose you could just stake out his house and when he leaves with it follow him to the starbucks and gank it back just make sure you have your recite and box to prove its yours.

ofcourse i would not recommend this as you could get tossed in jail, beat up, or worse.

@lisfolks,

To clarify, I'm not suggesting that police scour the logs of ISP's but that the MAC addresses (as well as the device ID's) *are* traceable through iTunes. Unless people are wirelessly connecting to their iTunes account multiple unqiue device ID's are logged and used by iTunes so it's tehcnologically possible to trace (or at least blacklist) a device that way.

Apple has some means to authorize/deauthorize a device, trace a device (via Find My), and as I noted Barnes and Noble has no difficulty blacklisting their Nooks. I'm not an expert in this area, but I do know that there's enough unique identification that passes through routers for the purposes of tracing criminal activity for the court's satisfaction so whether it's the MAC address specifically or something else I won't argue that point since it's irrelevant to the overall point that devices are traceable at a technological level (perhaps not a socially acceptable or non-crime investigation legal level).

Some of the answers in this thread really annoy me.

I lost my ipad, and no, I didn't have it password protected, or have "find my ipad" enabled. Even worse, I somehow managed to leave it behind, while shopping at Walmart!

I'm really not interested in hearing about how stupid that was either. First, I already know, and second, I had also already spent over 4 hours that day running errands for an elderly neighbor, while frantically running myself into the ground to get my own work done as well, so, yes, I was extrmely preoccupied! Aside from which, "no good deed goes unpunished", right? Oh well!

My iPad is a Verizon 3G model, so I called Verizon, gave them my account information and asked whether they could check the cellular data plan and tell me whether anyone had been using it. Yes! They can and did! Within a couple minutes, Verizon confirmed that no one had used their 3G service on my iPad since the time I lost it, not under my account, or any other account. Verizon further advised that if I didn't find it, to let them know, and they not only would report it as lost/stolen, but they would also LOCK my iPad so that no one would be able to use their 3G service on it, ever again! Verizon's customer service also told me that they believe that Apple has the capability to lock an individual iPad from being able to connect via "wifi" as well, but to do that, Apple would probably require involvement from law enforcement. If you live in a larger city or major metropolitian areas, good luck with that! I'm not critisizing, it's just that in larger cities, police departments are often underbudgeted/understaffed, and usually have their hands full with far more serious/violent crimes, which are bound to take presidence over missing iPads. In smaller suburbs/towns though, where some police departments may not have that many rapes/shootings/robberies/murders/muggings/etc. going on that week, it's at least possible they might have a little spare time they can free up and devote to investigating cute little missing electronic gadgets.

So if your Verizon iPad is lost or stolen, it's definitely worth reporting it to Verizon, and filing a police report. At minimum, you'll be able to prevent whoever took it from being able to ever use 3G on it again. If the police in your town are unable/unwilling to assist, you'll probably need an attorney to take it further. As much as it *****, the reality is that hiring an attorney would probably end up costing more than buying another iPad.

In my little town, the police department has an almost unbelievable response time of roughly 3-5 minutes, from the time you call, to the time they show up at your door. So yes, I think I would have had a good chance of obtaining their assistance. I didn't have to call the police though, because my story has a happy ending!

Even though I didn't think there was a shot in h*ll that I'd ever see my 64 gig, 3G iPad 2 again, the next day I decided to call Walmart anyway, and OMG! Believe it or not, my iPad was safe and sound, sitting in their "lost and found" department, just waiting for my call. It seems there are still at least a few honest people in this world, and apparently, they work in the electronics department at Walmart! Who knew?

There are a lot of heartless replies on this thread, no-one gets their property stolen on purpose!

My iPad was stolen two days ago, I have activated the 'find me' feature and the remote lock but this will only work if the thief is stupid enough to connect my wi-fi only iPad to the internet without first wiping it or switching off the iCloud features. Why can't Apple offer to inform me if someone logs on to iTunes with my stolen device as I am sure they can track the unique serial number if/when this happens? I paid Apple enough for the thing, surely it is not too much to ask of them to ask their computer to put a marker next to my iPad's serial number so that it flags up as stolen when someone else tries to use it!

I guess the reason is that if I get my stolen property back then I won't have to go out and but a new iPad, thus depriving impoverished Apple of a much-needed retail sale!

Any constructive suggestions as to what I should do next would be welcome.

You apparenty read the "heartless replies", targaman01 - how 'bout all the others that tell you exactly what to do?

You've got the 'find me' feature turned on - good. Now, log in with your regular computer and monitor constantly for your iPad to show up there. If/When it does, you can lock the iPad so no one can use it and/or send a message to the iPad saying 'give it back, jerks!'

Call the police in the area where you lost your iPad. TELL THEM that your iPad is set up to be tracked and ask to speak to a detective. They will tell you to monitor for your iPad, as I suggested above, and to call them the MOMENT it shows up. Also, ask them whether you should attempt to lock the iPad, send a message, or otherwise give the thief a clue that you know they have it. My guess is they'll say just to call them immediately, so they can track the thief's whereabouts until WHAM! They've got 'em red-handed!

Yes, if someone wipes your iPad before they go online with it, then you'll likely be SOL. However, chances are that the person who stole it will have some fun with it first, meaning they'll get online somewhere - and if that happens, you'll see them on 'Find my iPad'.

"You've got the 'find me' feature turned on - good. Now, log in with your regular computer and monitor constantly for your iPad to show up there. If/When it does, you can lock the iPad "

You don't need to monitor contstantly.

Just send the lock/wipe/message and the iPad will get it when it comes online and send it's location which you can see when you log on to FindmyiPad.

Chris CA wrote:

You don't need to monitor contstantly.

Just send the lock/wipe/message and the iPad will get it when it comes online and send it's location which you can see when you log on to FindmyiPad.

Not a good idea, Chris! The idea is for the iPad to be recovered from the thief, right? That means your first line of defense is the police.

Targaman01, log onto Find My iPad and monitor (yes, CONSTANTLY) for your iPad to show up. When it does, make note of where the map shows the iPad's location (a screen shot works best) - then IMMEDIATELY call the detective you spoke with when you reported your iPad stolen.

Chris, if targaman01 sends a message, then the thief will know he's onto him/her. At that point, he/she may ditch the iPad or wipe it - either way, targaman01 won't see it again!

If targaman01 wipes the iPad, it will no longer show up on Find My iPad because it needs the Find My iPad software on the iPad to report the iPad's location. Therefore, he will never see it again if he wipes the iPad.

IF targaman01 instead notes the iPad's position and calls the detective assigned to his case, as long as there is no other higher priority (read murder or the like) crime on the detective's plate, the detective will head right over to the iPad's reported location and attempt to catch the thief in the act of using the iPad.

If the iPad disappears (is shut off or loses connection, for example), the detective will at least have a general idea of where to look - even on a wi-fi-only iPad. And, when the iPad appears again, the detective can take the next step.

Targaman01, watch for your iPad, take active steps to help the police catch the thief and find your iPad, and good luck to you!

- From someone who's been there and got my iPad back! -

Thanks guys. Sounds like you are not in the UK. I have reported the theft to the police but they are not very interested and I have yet to be given a crime reference number so I can't even report the theft to my insurers.

I don't have the wherewithall to monitor my PC constantly. I have it set up to email me if it goes on line and to remote lock the iPad so presumably, if the thief is stupid enough to set up the wifi before wiping out my email details then it will lock and remain on wireless whilst transmitting it's position until the battery goes flat or the thief turns off his wifi router.

Let's just say I am not holding my breath! But hey! who knows?

lisfolks wrote:

Chris CA wrote:

You don't need to monitor contstantly.

Just send the lock/wipe/message and the iPad will get it when it comes online and send it's location which you can see when you log on to FindmyiPad.

Not a good idea, Chris! The idea is for the iPad to be recovered from the thief, right? That means your first line of defense is the police.

What is not a good idea?

It is fairly easy for someone to locate a device based on the IP address, but nobody can find a MAC address outside of your own network. A scanner on your local LAN will see it, but the Mac address is not retained past your local gateway to the Internet. Things like Find My Mac use your login to tie your IP (not your Mac address) to the device.

Sorry.

I'll bet if someone at 10 Downing St lost it, the police would get engaged!

Chris,

lisfolks provided a rather explicit explanation as to why it may not be a good idea to lock, wipe, or send a message to a stolen ipad, namely because doing so will provide notification to the thief, who will then respond by either throwing the ipad out or wiping it completely before reselling on ebay or craigslist. Even if you have password protection on your ipad, all a thief has to do is connect the ipad to an itunes account on his computer to wipe it clean, eliminating the password as well as the "find my iphone" app. Once this is done, there's almost no possibility that you will ever be able to recover your stolen ipad.

If you leave it alone and just monitor instead, then it is at least possible that the thief may not even know about the tracking app or its capabilities, enabling you to determine your ipad's location, and enlist assistance from authorities to recover it.

I recovered my lost ipad because I left it on the counter of the electronics department at Walmart, where the employee working there found, and turned it in. Although I want to believe that employee did so out of honesty, the reality is that those counters have security cameras fixed on them, which record every action and transaction. So if the employee who found my ipad had taken it instead of turning it in, the police could have requested the video from Walmart's security department, and the employee could have gotten fired and possibly prosecuted. Again, I live in a small town where the police have a little more time and resources to assist in personal matters.

I completely disagree with those who feel that Apple can't/shouldn't do anything to assist with this problem. Cell phone companies can, and do, disable service on stolen phones, and keep track of stolen sim cards, which they refuse to reactive, rendering them useless. The same capability which enables owners to "lojack" and locate their vehicle is built right into the GPS chip in 3G ipad 2s.

There is insurance available for the ipad, which covers accidental damage (including breaking your screen) , as well as loss and theft, and for as little as $37/year with zero deductable, for example, from the Worth Ave. Group. For those concerned, this might be an option worth considering.

You know, some people just expected way too much out of apple and there product. Don't get me wrong, Apple is one of the best companies and makes the best products, but they are not magical people. If your car is stolen and happens to have GPS in it, are you gonna call the toyota or chevy to find you car? NO! apple is a manufacturer. They are not responsible for lost of stolen product, they sell products, not investigate and track them down. This applies to almost any of manufacturer. I understand that the product may have the tech built in that make you think it is possible, and I also believe that it is possible, but it is not apple's responsibility or job to keep track of your product for you.

Well I have spoken to my insurance company and it looks as though they are going to replace my stolen iPad. I know from iTunes that the thief has been playing 'Angry Birds' so they have successfully logged on to the internet without activating the 'find me' or 'lock' features, no surprise really. I spoke to Apple, they won't help. Can they track a stolen iPad? - of course they can, every time the thief uses iTunes. Could they work with the police and report the IP address every time the stolen unit is used - of course they can. Will they? - No!

Crime is proliferated by those people who allow it to happen around them, unreported suspicions, unreported crimes, protecting known villians. We could all make the world a better place by being the sort of people we want others to be. Apple could stop this sort of crime DEAD if they chose to and it would cost them little or nothing, why they choose not to I can only guess. By not recovering my stolen equipment they ensure their line of supply because I now have to go out and buy another Apple product at an inflated, undiscountable price.

ousmanefromdalevile says "Apple is one of the best companies and makes the best products". Not in my universe! (Now gotta reboot my windows 7 laptop because iTunes 10 installer has installed a file in the wrong folder and instructed it to run a program every time the system boots up, causing an error message - now THAT is Apple!!)