If my ipad was stolen, how to register my ipad for the stolen goods, and lock the hardware requirements?

If I understand correctly what you're asking, you report it stolen by contacting your local police (Apple does not track stolen hardware), and you lock the iPad by using Find My iPad, if you set up MobileMe or iCloud on the iPad and enabled that feature BEFORE it was stolen.

I'm not sure what you're asking. As I said, Apple does not keep track of stolen devices, so you can't register it as stolen with Apple. That also means Apple will not know if a device was stolen when brought in for service.

It's really disappointing as a newly converted Apple customer who has already had his iPad stolen, that Apple just sits back and let's this happen.

I've viewed a number of posts regarding stolen iPads. Yes, I did have the "find my iPad" enabled. That's how I knew when the iPad was gone for good. It's a useless function in the case of theft because the thieves know how to hack into your iPad. It disappeared from my list of devices in the "find my iPad" utility that very same day.

Apple loves the fact that their devices get stolen all the time! That way they sell more of them. Theft could easily be significantly reduced if Apple chose to give users a means to report stolen devices on the Apple site. They choose not to do this. If the black market for Apple devices was limited to hackers who know they have a stolen device, the items wouldn't be such a hot commodity! Apple knows this... I guess they want to get their devices into as many households as they can.... Legally or not.

So for all you hard working folks out there, find a way to make sure your Apple products are secure because if they get stolen, you're out of luck. Apple refuses to help when they could easily do so.

Completely and total nonsense. Apple cannot help, pure and simple. Apple can accept a theft report only from authorized law enforcement or a court. They cannot just take a user's word for it, since users lie. And Apple has never promoted Find My iPad as a theft deterrent, only as a way to locate the iPad if you lose it.

Sorry you had your iPad stolen, but your expectations are unrealistic, as has been pointed out many times in these many posts to which you allude.

If you lose a Samsung phone, Dell laptop, HP tablet, Blackberry, etc, do all those companies do anything to help you get your stolen device back? No. Why do you expect of Apple what nobody has ever expected of any other portable electronic manufacturer?

None of those manufacturers have the infrastructure in place that Apple does. Not even close. Apple products are extremely limited (as in... useless) unless you sign up for the full meal deal, which Apple pretty much forces every user to do from the moment you open your device, agree?

How hard would it be to offer theft protection... Better yet, charge for it. People would gladly pay a reasonable fee for this kind of protection. I purchased my device from Apple Verjak Paw. I have a case number from the local police. It's not difficult to check validity of a theft. How difficult would it be for Apple to put a lock on that device and prevent it from being used on any of their services? Not difficult at all. It baffles me as to why the user community thinks this is an unreasonable idea.

I'm not sure why someone would lie about a device being stolen. They typically just want it back. It's not like there's a monetary benefit for reporting a device as stolen.

I suspect that your perspective on this subject would change if you were in the same boat; not that I wish this grief on anyone.

On a less futile note...

Is there a software/app that you would recommend for theft prevention/recovery? There are quite a few but they all seem pretty easy to defeat if the theif were to just wipe the device.

What "infrastructure" does Apple have that they do not? Are you referring to iCloud? That's hardly an infrastructure. Not sure what the "full meal deal" you mention is either. Seems like you have some opinions ungrounded in reality.

There's no need to be so insulting.

I thought I was pretty clear. Have you tried using an iPad, iPod, or iPhone without registering an Apple ID? It's not possible. The device is useless without the user ID and all that goes with it.

Okay. And how does an Apple ID help avoid all the privacy and legal issues associated with what you expect? I mean, people scream when their phones are storing data about where they've been, for local use only... You don't think they'll freak just a little bit if Apple decides to start actively tracking and interfering with the operation of those devices?

All the infrastructure Apple has created (iTunes et al) is very restrictive unless you jailbreak the device. If a device could be reported as stolen, Apple could easily cut off access to all those services, effectively rendering the device useless unless it is hacked. This would limit the marketability of stolen Apple devices. The concept isn't complicated nor is it unreasonable.

And yes, android phones could have similar functionality now that you mention it. They don't get stolen anywhere near as often as Apple devices do though.

No tracking would be necessary. Beside that... All the "tracking" is already being done. Any Apple device can be tracked with existing approved apple software... It doesn't do any good though because theives know how to wipe the device and bring it back to factory settings. That's easy to do and there are lots of videos on Youtube that show you how to do it.

I'm suggesting a "shut off" for devices on the Apple services infrastructure when a device is reported as stolen. Scary... I know. For devices that were purchased from Apple it would be easily adminstrated. Particiularly if Apple charged a fee for the protection. Make it part of Apple care. Another perk for buying the product from Apple. Again... Not complicated.

But why can't I go and tell Apple that your iPad is stolen, and then "the Apple services infrastructure" would be shut off on your iPad.

Also, Apple is not law enforcement so it is not their duty to recover or disable stolen property.

Wow... Somehow, magically you the serial number to my device? Think about it. Again... It's not complicated.