How to find the owner of an ipad that my dad found?

Question

Level 1

4 points

How to find the owner of an ipad that my dad found?

Hello,
my dad found an ipad about 20 days ago (wifi-3G). He didn't know what it was. Back from his trip, my sister bought a power cord to see if she could find information about the owner but the device looks blocked, deactivated, I don't know how to say it (I don't have the ipad in my hands, and English is not my first language 🙂.
I called the airport where it was lost, and I haven't heard back from them.
I called Apple, left the ipad serial number and reported the find, I haven't heard from them either yet (this happened today though).
My guess is that the owner thought it was lost (after 20 days) and wiped it off? Deactivated it? Or what else? I told my sister to leave it on. It just got a message that says: Welcome to roaming international... etc etc (what does it mean, other than it's in a different country? that it's working?)

Anyway, do you think there is a way to ever return the ipad to the legit owner?

For obvious reasons I am not going to post the serial number here 🙂
I only wish that when I called Apple, they would match the serial number with the owner and give me the contact. Think this will happen?
Thanks

Posted on Dec 1, 2010 11:37 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Dec 1, 2010 11:43 AM in response to fetta

When I found an iPod, I did what you did -- called Apple and provided the serial number and left my contact info. Within a week, I received an email from the previous owner who was overjoyed that his unit had been found. I mailed it to him and everyone lived happily ever after. So I expect you'll likely hear from the owner.

Reply

Answer 2

Aug 7, 2015 3:15 PM in response to Go_Linux

Go_Linux wrote:

This doesn't appear to be Apple's approach anymore. What number did you call to report the iPad you found? I have had one posted on Craigslist for over a week with no hits. The police will just put it in an evidence locker.

The post to which you're replying almost 5 years old.

Here is Apple's current support article:

If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is lost or stolen - Apple Support

Reply

Answer 3

varjak paw

Level 10

182,668 points

Dec 1, 2010 12:00 PM in response to fetta

You should also, if you haven't already, report the finding to the police in the area where your father found the iPad, just in case the owner happened to file a lost item report.

I only wish that when I called Apple, they would match the serial number with the owner and give me the contact. Think this will happen?

Apple for privacy reasons could not give you that information. They have no way of knowing that you are indeed honest and are not trying to contact the owner for some illegitimate purpose. If Apple contacts anyone, it will be the owner directly.

Regards.

Reply

Answer 4

fetta Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 1, 2010 12:01 PM in response to Robert Sandhaus

ah thanks, I was confused about what the operator told me (neither one of us spoke english as a first language, so I hope we got our spelling and numbers right!)
It sounded like eventually the owner would contact me, so your reply is confirming this.

Reply

Answer 5

Chris CA

Level 10

82,513 points

Dec 1, 2010 12:07 PM in response to fetta

I only wish that when I called Apple, they would match the serial number with the owner and give me the contact

Hopefully you left Apple your contact info (name phone #, email address).
Apple would simply pass your contact to the last registered owner. It would be up to the owner to contact you. As Dave mentioned, Apple will not give you any info (except may to tell you it was or was not registered, but not to who). Turn it on once in a while and maybe they have activated FindMyiPad and a message will pop up (don't need to be logged onto the iPad to a message).

Reply

Answer 6

fetta Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 1, 2010 12:12 PM in response to varjak paw

Dave, yes I said it wrong, I just meant I hoped they could match the serial number and the owner right away, and have me and the owner (somewhat) get in touch.

+report the finding to the police in the area where your father found the iPad+

this would be complicated. he found it in Amsterdam, and is now in Italy. But I called the airport reporting the finding, date and location. I thought that was enough, hopefully the airport lost and found communicates with the airport police?

Thanks for your answers though, I hope this will end well.

Reply

Answer 7

fetta Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 1, 2010 12:31 PM in response to varjak paw

Yes Dave, correct.

If I don't hear from the guy in a few days, I will call Apple back with my case number and make sure they got my email address right, just in case.

Forum question: I want to mark the replies as helpful. But I guess my question is answered? How does it work? It's my first time here. Thanks

Reply

Answer 8

Chris CA

Level 10

82,513 points

Dec 1, 2010 12:38 PM in response to fetta

If your question is Answered (even if any posts did nothing) click Answered at top left of the topic. This shows the question as complete.
If a specific post solved it for you, click Solved at the top of the correct post. Only one post per question can be Solved.
If any other posts here helpful, click Helpful at the top of the specific posts. Only two posts per question can be Helpful.

You can use any/all/none you want but you should at least mark the question as Answered.

Reply

Answer 9

fetta Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 1, 2010 12:42 PM in response to fetta

Thanks for the replies, I've been thinking for 2 days about how to return this ipad!
I will wait until the owner contacts me, let you know about the happy ending, and then hit "solved"!
I know that solved is related to my question, and it has been solved... but I like to think about it as in "case solved"!
thanks again

Reply

Answer 10

Dec 1, 2010 2:40 PM in response to fetta

I think i have a solution, if Apple took along timr and didnt find the owner, you can somehow unlock the ipad, and check the owners Email, and then contact him through the registered email on his lost ipad, remember , unlocking is breaking his privacy, but its the last solution to reach the owner.

Reply

Answer 11

Dec 1, 2010 4:49 PM in response to varjak paw

You might be right, but there is "an under table illegal ways to get it unlocked" i dont know how, but ive seen shops in my country set posters " Unlock your ipad, iphone or blackberry" . So maybe its possible then.

Reply

Answer 12

fetta Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 2, 2010 5:06 AM in response to koban4max

As of now, I haven't been contacted by anybody (not the airport where it was lost, not the owner through my Apple report).
I thought the same about unlocking it, that it would wipe all the data? That is, if the owner hasn't remotely wiped it already when he was he wasn't getting it back after days.

If I don't get any call/email later, I will call Apple back and make sure they got my email right.

Reply

Answer 13

Dec 2, 2010 6:47 AM in response to fetta

Surely if your dad found the iPad in an airport the logical thing to do would be to hand it in at the customer services desk, which is the first place someone is likely to check if they'd lost something?

Reply

Answer 14

fetta Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 2, 2010 9:54 AM in response to Richard Olpin

+Surely if your dad found the iPad in an airport the logical thing to do would be to hand it in at the customer services desk, which is the first place someone is likely to check if they'd lost something?+

Richard, yeah that would have been logic. They were boarding, he walked around the waiting room showing the ipad hoping that someone would claim it; then he told the boarding attendants but they didn't take it, and he didn't have time to go to lost and found. He was hoping he could find the owner on the plane, but then he figured that anybody could have claimed it as theirs... he is not very tech savvy, he had no idea what he had in his hands, and he didn't speak the language. So he figured that once home, after getting a power supply, someone could look into it, figure out an email address, a name...

Reply

Answer 15

fetta Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 3, 2010 9:44 AM in response to fetta

still no answer from anybody, but my sister found a sticker on the back of the ipad with a company website. I called the company, they said they will check if someone lost an ipad traveling through Amsterdam, and will get back to me

Reply