Stolen Apple device - Serial Number Issue

This thread seems to be updated every now and then (few and far between) so I'm going to weigh in.

In my case, it was a laptop stolen a week and a half ago. 2011 Macbook Pro. It has Find my Mac enabled, is password protected, guest account disabled and I *think* I turned on FileVault when I upgraded it to Yosemite. As far as I'm aware, you can't connect to a WiFi network unless you can log in (correct me if I'm wrong). Sure you can reset the admin password pretty easily but I doubt they will.

My problem is that because it's so locked down, they're better off wiping it or replacing the hard drive. Either of these options I'm pretty sure will negate Find my Mac as well as cause me to lose all my data (I'm writing it off as gone already). My shock of which, I can't register my serial # as stolen with Apple?! Sure you can spoof these, but unless you're doing something dodgy, why would you? I have the original box it came in, I have the serial number, the serial number is printed on the case as well as accessible from OSX software. You would think it extremely easy to know if a device with a serial number matches a number in a list. WiFi tracking (pretty accurate) is great and complicated, but serial number tracking is so invariably simple for any device running OSX.

Also, yes, I know that the serial number is not guaranteed to be available on Apple devices, a hardware change can cause it to lose the serial and there's no way to restore it. But for those that keep their serial, why not track it? Why not link it to the device attached to your Apple ID?

My Mac may end up with a new hard drive and may even end up with Windows on it, but in general, serial number tracking of stolen devices would make a huge difference instead of relying solely on physical access to the device.

There are a few places online where people can add to a database of stolen Apple device serial numbers, but even that requires the end recipient to check against these databases and I can guarantee they won't.

To thread opener:

1. They dont have that policy, nor are they oblieged to actively go "hunting".

2. They could notify you about re-registration attempts, that doesnt neccessarily mean they have to do it.

3. It is technically possible to block re-registration attempts; wether they chose to implement that in their software is another issue.

For example if you clicked "lost" on the "Find my iPhone" page but do not have "Find my iPhone" active on the device itself, it can not be traced.

Basically the officiel page to check "wether an iPhone is stolen or not" does not tell you anything about wether the iPhone is stolen or not. All it tells you is wether the device is locked or not.

For as far as I know, I had a pinlock on the device, entered my apple-data when I upgraded to iOS8 and everything else.

After it got stolen, I entered "lost" mode on the "Find my iPhone" page.

On https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/ though it tells me the device has no activation lock.

Reading through different forums, I determined that Apple lets iPhones be re-registered, even if they are marked as "lost" on the internet page.

Rly a shame considering the price of the devices.

It should be made an option that Deactivating an iPhone requires a pincode too, so thiefs should not be able to turn them off and get rid of the tracking before they manage to open it and replace the IMEI.

I also find it really doubtfull, that my local Gravis Store is buying old hardware for reselling to a salvaging company without prior checking of the IMEIs.

I Lost my IPad 2 and the person who found it wanted me to pay them for its return, I declined and have never gotten my IPad returned. I did get their telephone number and probably should have gone to the police. With just a T-Mobile number, I don't know if they could locate it. I had registered it and set it up with the find my phone app, but the phone is offline.

Hi Sir/Madam, I lost my iphone on 2nd March 2016. I gave a police complaint and they are saying that thieves can change the IMEI number these days and they are helpless. I used to check 'FIND MY PHONE' via icloud. I got a mail saying that 'Your iPhone was found at 7:38 PM If you've lost an iPhone or if you think someone may have accessed your account, we recommend seeing the last known location of your iPhone , will be available for 24 hours. To see the location of your iPhone you must visit the link below http://www.icloud.com.1i.pm/view/site/********'. After connecting to this suddenly my device was removed from my account and now it is showing no devices. What's happening? Help me out. I need to lock my iphone.

<Link Edited by Host>

You can possibly erase the device, but you will never be able to set it up to use it again. The Activation Lock will remain in place, and as soon as you try to set up the device, you will be asked for that Activation Lock screen Apple ID and Passcode....

GB

"Registering" an electronic device is NOT like registering a car. Apple is NOT a law enforcement agency. There are legal reasons why Apple can not prevent someone from using the device, or prevent them from "registering" it.

The police can get a court order that requiring them to provide whatever relevant information they have regarding the device to the proper authorities.

Nalongo wrote:

Hi my iPad was stolen. I can't trace it because it's not connected to internet. Any way apple can help me to find it?

No.

It is not Apple's job to find stolen property and since they are not the police, they are not authorised to do so. You should report the theft to the police, although the prospects of getting the device back are slim. Does your house contents insurance cover you for the theft?

As has been pointed out by KiltedTim, there are privacy laws which prevent anyone from simply giving out information about someone else.

Your repeated posts into this thread will change nothing. Report the theft to your local police.

That was before iOS 7.

iCloud: Find My iPhone Activation Lock in iOS 7

Double post.

GB

Thanks for pointing that out lllaass....

My apologies to Help Mac-gyver in overlooking your iOS version that you had clearly posted in your profile.

Sorry about your iPod Touch.... 😟

GB

For info, this is what Gazelle does with regard to not accepting stolen/lost devices

http://www.gazelle.com/law_enforcement

You are correct. I'd forgotten that my old iPad wasn't running iOS7.

"Never mind." - Emily Latella

Yes. You should have gone to the police.

Nothing you can do except change the passwords for all accounts used on the device.

Apple will not help