Apple's New 'Find My' App for macOS and iOS Can Find Your Devices Even When They're Offline

[hank moody]

This was the only thing that i didn't like.
This would open doors to hacking. Jailbroken devices with creepy apps connecting to my iPhone without i even know... only god knows what they can do

I hope i can turn this off completely.

 

[M_Json]

Wish this great feature had come earlier. Had my apartment broken into few months ago, and got robbed of all my Apple stuff except the iPhone which I had with me...

 

[skinned66]

This is great news.

 

[littlecrossrace]

Honestly, how necessary is this feature? How do people misplace their phones when they are virtually sewed to them.

I don’t think you’ve met my mother-in-law.

 

[jezbd1997]

Honestly, how necessary is this feature? How do people misplace their phones when they are virtually sewed to them.

No, it’s most important for Macs. I once had a family member call me and ask if their Mac that had been stolen or lost could be tracked and I said there was really no way since it will likely never be connected to a known wifi network again

 

[Defthand]

Phones? What about when they get stolen out of gym lockers. What about when an iPad was stolen out of my car when it was broken into? What about those with Mac laptops when their house gets broken into?

Really? This is the prime example of consumers having no vision unless theyre told explicitly what something is good for

If theft is the reason for it missing, you're better off not recovering it. You should have a rider on your homeowner's policy to cover the loss (theft, fire) of expensive purchases. The stories of people tracking stolen phones or laptops don't usually end well.

 

[Yod4]

Apple said that when a device is offline and sleeping, it sends out a secure Bluetooth beacon that can be detected by other Apple devices nearby

So just to be clear, this means that the feature works when the device is not connected to the internet but Bluetooth is turned on. It does not work in airplane mode or when the device is off.

Or does it?

 

[TrulsZK]

This will work very well with a Tile like Bluetooth tracker as earlier rumoured.
Apple’s community is much, much larger than Tile’s community find is.

With Apple’s community you can expect someone to pass your device within minutes or hours (instead of days or never).
For that reason alone I am replacing all of my Tiles with Apple’s tracker when/if Apple makes one available. (assuming it is equivalent or better than Tile in performance and reliability)

 

[MikeF1185]

It blows me away that Apple has never implemented a very simple fix to keeping track of any stolen devices... require password entry before anything can be powered off or removed from the network (WiFi, Bluetooth, airplane mode, etc.).

Yes there are still professional phone and other device thieves out there and they know exactly what to do - swipe the phone and turn it off immediately. My wife was a victim of this a few years ago at a concert where both her and a friends phone was stolen out of their bag. Never showed up on find my iPhone but the thief managed to make over $2,000 worth of calls to Cuba in a period of less than 24 hours (it’s tough to call at&t and deactivate from a concert where neither of you have phones - and long distance call fraud wasn’t the first thing going through her mind).

 

[mwd25]

Honestly, how necessary is this feature? How do people misplace their phones when they are virtually sewed to them.

Phones? What about when they get stolen out of gym lockers. What about when an iPad was stolen out of my car when it was broken into? What about those with Mac laptops when their house gets broken into?

Really? This is the prime example of consumers having no vision unless theyre told explicitly what something is good for

Right on!!! Thats why they call it an accident. Your at a restaurant and check your phone, then set it on seat next to you and forget it. Ive been in a store looking at items. I set my phone down on the shelf. I have come close to forgetting to pick it back up. I havent but I can see it happening. Plus add all the theft scenarios. Someone finds or steals a phone, first thing is to turn it off so it cant be tracked. This will shut that sh*t down!!!!

 

[Defthand]

Right on!!! Thats why they call it an accident. Your at a restaurant and check your phone, then set it on seat next to you and forget it. Ive been in a store looking at items. I set my phone down on the shelf. I have come close to forgetting to pick it back up. I havent but I can see it happening. Plus add all the theft scenarios. Someone finds or steals a phone, first thing is to turn it off so it cant be tracked. This will shut that sh*t down!!!!

Explain how you're going to recover your device. It's one thing for a good Samaritan to discover it and hold it until you determine where you left it. It's another thing if it's stolen. In that case, what do you do? Alert the police? Tell them you have an approximate idea of its location? It's been my experience that personal property thefts are a low priority, or authorities don't have enough resources to manage the reports. The process can take a long time. Meanwhile, you've replaced the device. If the original is recovered, you still incurred an expense.

 

[joss.b]

Explain how you're going to recover your device. It's one thing for a good Samaritan to discover it and hold it until you determine where you left it. It's another thing if it's stolen. In that case, what do you do? Alert the police? Tell them you have an approximate idea of its location? It's been my experience that personal property thefts are a low priority, or authorities don't have enough resources to manage the reports. The process can take a long time. Meanwhile, you've replaced the device. If the original is recovered, you still incurred an expense.

If you go to the police and say: "MacBook stolen, but I don't know where it is", then yeah, they might not do anything, because they probably can't. But if you say "MacBook stolen, and I know where it is", then they are obligated to act immediately. It probably also helps if you have some additional information, e.g. from anti-theft apps like VUWER or Prey. Those will give you IP addresses, geolocation based on surrounding WiFis, screenshots, photos of the thief from the camera… unless you have remotely locked your Mac. Then all you have is Apple's services.

 

[Ghost31]

Wish this great feature had come earlier. Had my apartment broken into few months ago, and got robbed of all my Apple stuff except the iPhone which I had with me...

Just wanted to say how sorry I was that happened to you. I had my car window smashed and broken into a few years back and it really messed up my day

 

[Defthand]

Just wanted to say how sorry I was that happened to you. I had my car window smashed and broken into a few years back and it really messed up my day

Thank You. Back at you.

It's odd more homes and cars aren't broken into when you realize that glass is so vulnerable. We were burglarized at our previous house over twenty years ago (glass French doors). It was unnerving to my exwife, but I had seen burglaries before and saw how random they are. It's rare to be burglarized multiple times. Kid ransacked the master bedroom and media room. They caught the kid but it took weeks to reclaim the things he tried to pawn (Pawn shop alerted police). Funny thing is, he didn't touch my office and its Mac. He stole jewelry, my grandfather's medals, a CD carousel, and a large CRT TV. He left the TV by the gate. Was too heavy for one person.

At that same neighborhood, cars were routinely broke into during the Christmas season if they weren't garaged. Apparently, people like to hide gifts in their trunks. I didn't want my car windows shattered, so I left the car unlocked during the holidays. Sure enough, someone pocketed some spare change and CDs but did no damage. Meanwhile, my neighbor's daughter, who had nothing valuable in her vehicle, locked her car and its window was shattered.
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If you go to the police and say: "MacBook stolen, but I don't know where it is", then yeah, they might not do anything, because they probably can't. But if you say "MacBook stolen, and I know where it is", then they are obligated to act immediately. It probably also helps if you have some additional information, e.g. from anti-theft apps like VUWER or Prey. Those will give you IP addresses, geolocation based on surrounding WiFis, screenshots, photos of the thief from the camera… unless you have remotely locked your Mac. Then all you have is Apple's services.

Reminds me of some service I subscribed to when my laptop was new. LoJack something? But that wasn't a theft recovery service per se. Instead, it offered a reward to the finder. I wonder how helpful Apple is if a stolen device is associated with a new AppleID. I know an AppleCare warranty is invalid if it isn't formally transferred to the new owner.

I recall a podcast story of a young couple who lived near high-voltage utility towers. They were visited on multiple occasions by persons who were using Apple's Find My Mac feature. Every time they opened the door to greet a stranger, they'd say, "Let me guess why you're here."

 

[hank moody]

delete this

 

[Shanghaichica]

It would be nice if this could be used for the AirPods.

 

[iameMQue]

My MacBook Pro was stolen a few years back. It still appears under Find My iPhone as offline. What are the odds Find My will help me finally find my MacBook?

 

[hank moody]

My MacBook Pro was stolen a few years back. It still appears under Find My iPhone as offline. What are the odds Find My will help me finally find my MacBook?

It needs macOS Catalina to work.