'Find My iPhone' Reunites Owner With His iPhone

[MacRumors]

While many users have tested out the iPhone OS 3.0's "Find My iPhone" feature, which allows MobileMe customers to track the location of their lost iPhone, send alerts to the device in order to assist with recovery, and to perform remote wipes for data security, few have had the need to activate the system in hopes of finding a truly lost iPhone. MacRumors member happywaffle, whose real name is Kevin Miller, is one of those (un)lucky few, and the story of his iPhone pursuit has drawn considerable attention in recent days.

Kevin's story begins with a trip to a Lego convention in Chicago, where he left his iPhone behind in a "sketchy dive bar". Despite immediately realizing that he no longer had his iPhone and returning to the bar within five minutes, it was nowhere to be found. The following day, the chase ensued, with Kevin and his friends traveling around Chicago using a MacBook Pro with a Sprint 3G dongle to track the missing iPhone.

Between tracking the iPhone via GPS and sending alert messages to the device via the "Find My iPhone" Web interface, Kevin was eventually able to locate his iPhone and the bar employee who had it in his possession. Kevin's story makes for an amusing and interesting read, demonstrating the value of the "Find My iPhone" feature while also revealing a few glitches and showing just how many things had to go right in order for him to find his iPhone.

Article Link: 'Find My iPhone' Reunites Owner With His iPhone

[joro]

I read this story when he initially posted it and while I want to believe its true, it sounded a little bogus. I mean running around a city with a laptop and being able to track down a guy in a group of people?

[jbgh]

phonecall
"hey mate i left my phone at your bar last night"
"oh no worries come pick it up"

[RainbowOfBeans]

I dont know how you could call this story creditable when there is so little detail into the search and into the "Luck" part.....what was the hard part that if that one thing hadn't happened he would still be without his iPhone now??

[yetanotherdave]

Who else was waiting for the "three white nerdy dudes" walking round a bad neighbourhood with a macbook out to get mugged?

Glad he got it back, but that could have made it a whole lot worse.

[Shasterball]

Lucky he didn't get hurt, but pretty entertaining!

[joro]

Originally Posted by yetanotherdave

Who else was waiting for the "three white nerdy dudes" walking round a bad neighbourhood with a macbook out to get mugged?

Glad he got it back, but that could have made it a whole lot worse.

Now THAT would have been funny. Imagine the guy looking for his iPhone, finding the guy, and the guy beating him and his friend up and stealing the MacBook.

[SuperKat]

Congrats Kevin!
Would be better though if they were driving around town in a special little car like GeekSquad.

[mdntcallr]

apple ought to make a mobileme page login for mobile handsets, so you can login and control the find my iphone functions faster and easier when on the go. ie be able to use your friend's iphone/blackberry to send the notes to the phone, or track the phone.

[slu]

The most amazing part of this story to me is that there is such a thing as a Lego convention. Getting the iPhone back makes sense. That is exactly what the feature is designed to do.

[AforAndromeda]

hmmm.... not sure...

Anyways - I had problems getting Mobile Me setup and I cancelled it all. I'm not sure I want it back on my Windows setup.

Is the MobileMe the only route for this security idea, or is there another route.

I might have to 'bite the bullet' , but I'd like to check out options.

[avigalante]

While there is a possibility this story is true, I do remain skeptical to say the least.

The fact that the iPhone battery had just enough power to be reunited with its rightful owner screams Hollywood...

[RTiii320]

saw this here on these forums a couple days ago, it is a great story.. Luckily it ended how it did and nothing happened to the "hunters" while they were locating the phone.

[MacBoobsPro]

I had to use Find my iphone today. I got to work only to realise I had not got my phone but I genuinely believed I had it in the car at some point.

I jumped on a PC (of all things) at work and used find my iphone only to tell me it was still at home.

I sent a message to the phone saying "Dumbass" so when I retrieved it...

[diesel]

"Find My iPhone" wouldn't even be necessary if Apple simply provided a service by which if a phone/ipod is lost or stolen, the owner can report it stolen to apple, and then if the thief or finder attempts to plug it into a computer to sync or restore the device, the serial number is sent to apple, apple realizes it's a stolen device and contacts the appropriate authorities and provides the itunes account name/address. This was discussed before but people have been killed for their devices and I believe if the above was implemented then this would be deterrant enough to not completely eliminate violence against iphone/ipod owners by thieves, but definitely lower it.

[marco114]

I think it was real, they provided a bunch of screenshots of what the phone showed as they were tracking the person.

[EgbertAttrick]

Lego Convention?

[rdowns]

Originally Posted by marco114

I think it was real, they provided a bunch of screenshots of what the phone showed as they were tracking the person.

The blog said the pics were simulated.

I call BS on the whole thing. Can't believe sites are eating this crap up. Oh wait, they get hits from it and can add Find my phone to their keywords for increased traffic.

[Blue Fox]

Originally Posted by rdowns

The blog said the pics were simulated.

I call BS on the whole thing. Can't believe sites are eating this crap up. Oh wait, they get hits from it and can add Find my phone to their keywords for increased traffic.

Wow, you can just go out there and claim B.S. without having to do any sort of validating or research?! You must be what they call a "credible source" lol.

As for the rest of us that enjoy a good story (exaggerated or not), it was entertaining, and was written to be so. A good story is a good story, take it for that. As to if it was overly-exaggerated or not, who cares. That's why they call it a story.

(and for the record, unless they were saving screen shots during the tracking, OF COURSE the images they show would be simulated. They posted "simulated" shots to show you what they were seeing.)

[SatanLover]

Originally Posted by Blue Fox

Wow, you can just go out there and claim B.S. without having to do any sort of validating or research?! You must be what they call a "credible source" lol.

As for the rest of us that enjoy a good story (exaggerated or not), it was entertaining, and was written to be so. A good story is a good story, take it for that. As to if it was overly-exaggerated or not, who cares. That's why they call it a story.

(and for the record, unless they were saving screen shots during the tracking, OF COURSE the images they show would be simulated. They posted "simulated" shots to show you what they were seeing.)

+1 i wish all the whiners would stop saying its all made up. too many whiners in macrumors forums...

[chr1s60]

Sounds believable to me. Kind of makes me want Find My iPhone.

[naivetesucceeds]

Originally Posted by yetanotherdave

Who else was waiting for the "three white nerdy dudes" walking round a bad neighbourhood with a macbook out to get mugged?

Glad he got it back, but that could have made it a whole lot worse.

well, that's not actually a bad neighborhood where he was wandering around, pretty funny that he seemed to think so though. i know quite a few nerdy white dudes (and girls) who live within a few blocks of there.

[twoodcc]

glad he found his phone.

i really like this feature of mobileme and iphone. i just wish i could access the site from my iphone though, cuz i have one, and my wife has one as well

[avigalante]

Originally Posted by SatanLover

+1 i wish all the whiners would stop saying its all made up. too many whiners in macrumors forums...

Not a whiner, just a realist.

[SatanLover]

Originally Posted by avigalante

Not a whiner, just a realist.

a realist? LMAO. so somebody losing their iphone and using mobile me to find it, then writing a blog about the experience is somehow unfathomable to you? spare me your response. this is my response: ITS A STORY. just because some minor details MAY have been embellished for entertainment purposes doesn't make the experience he had untrue.