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I'd maybe contact apple, see if they can tell you what IP address it is connecting to iCloud from, which should then give you enough information for the police to contact the ISP involved, maybe get the customer connection address and pay them a visit.

If the person is connecting to the net via DSL, this should be a no brainer, assuming the parties involved (apple, ISP) are willing to divulge the info you require. Apple, to tell you where your machine is connecting from, and the ISP, to give the cops the info they need.


If they have your macbook, i'd wager that it is likely there is also a whole heap of other stolen property and other criminal activity going on at the premises, so I wouldn't write off the cops as being disinterested too quickly - its likely not just a single macbook they'll recover.
 
I suppose its time apple starts installing Assisted-GPS units in all Mac computers esp MBPro's and MBAir's...would be extremely helpful....and Find my Phone(Mac) should not be wipeable....so even if a thief restores the MBPro/MBAir OS we should still be able to located it.
 
If this thief is dumb enough not to wipe your Mac as soon as they stole it, and keep using it for months as is, they might be dumb enough to leave their wifi and local network exposed. You may be able to drive by with a laptop, join an open network, and see if your computer is on it. If so you might be able to identify an ip address or other info. This, of course is a long shot, but worth considering.

Good luck!

That's what I am thinking! The network has to be unencrypted for me to see it on iCloud right? But if I drove over there while they were online and connected to the open network, how can I go about
1) seeing if my mac is connected to that network and
2) pinpoint which residence owns that network?

The only problem is that if it is an open network the person who stole my macbook might be stealing his neighbors internet as well :/

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Guys thanks for all the awesome replys! unfortunately I do not have back to my mac, or Prey, or any other anti theft software installed other than iCloud, or I would have recovered it already as the thief is online for most of the day almost every day!

The Evil in me would want to connect via VPN tunnel, delete your stuff, enable file sharing, open that computer up, grab the IP and port #, then challenge 4-Chan to "Hack this computer full of child porn - u know u don't have Teh Skillz!"

Wait 6 hours, call cops again.

Of course the rational being in me knows this is impossible, immoral and illegal, but still a fun thought. :D

Connect via VPN tunnel huh? Googling now...I am not interested in anything other than getting my computer back in a safe way, although that is kind of a funny idea lol. But seriosly I am trying to get creative here, is there a way to connect to my computer without back to my mac?!

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I'd be parked in their driveway, unless they looked like they had weapons..

I've been to the location multiple times and taken pictures of vehicles in the area in case the laptop moves and I can pinpoint the vehicle it is being transported in.

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I'd be parked in their driveway, unless they looked like they had weapons..

I've been to the location multiple times and taken pictures of vehicles in the area in case the laptop moves and I can pinpoint the vehicle it is being transported in.
 
That's what I am thinking! The network has to be unencrypted for me to see it on iCloud right? But if I drove over there while they were online and connected to the open network, how can I go about
1) seeing if my mac is connected to that network and
2) pinpoint which residence owns that network?

The only problem is that if it is an open network the person who stole my macbook might be stealing his neighbors internet as well :/

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Guys thanks for all the awesome replys! unfortunately I do not have back to my mac, or Prey, or any other anti theft software installed other than iCloud, or I would have recovered it already as the thief is online for most of the day almost every day!



Connect via VPN tunnel huh? Googling now...I am not interested in anything other than getting my computer back in a safe way, although that is kind of a funny idea lol. But seriosly I am trying to get creative here, is there a way to connect to my computer without back to my mac?!

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I've been to the location multiple times and taken pictures of vehicles in the area in case the laptop moves and I can pinpoint the vehicle it is being transported in.

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I've been to the location multiple times and taken pictures of vehicles in the area in case the laptop moves and I can pinpoint the vehicle it is being transported in.

back to my mac is a checkbox in iCloud. You probably have it on. Just go into finder on the mac your using, if you see your mac as a shared device click it and choose share screen.

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Sadly as you're experiencing, knowing about where it's at is futile. Even if you had the precise location you'd be screwed. The cops don't care, they're far too busy with worse crimes in a state that's as good as bankrupt.

I'm not so sure that it's impossible to get my mac back with a good idea of where it is. Maybe $1,200 isn't much to you but that's a hunk out of my wallet.

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I would call in a couple of hard, pipe-hitting, large men of African-American descent to sort out the problem.

Haha what should I do...google san diego body gaurd services and hire them to muscle their way into these duplexes to find my macbook? Lol...seriously though..

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back to my mac is a checkbox in iCloud. You probably have it on. Just go into finder on the mac your using, if you see your mac as a shared device click it and choose share screen.

Image

WHAT?! Holy **** really?! Checking now! Thank you! *glimmer of hope*

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back to my mac is a checkbox in iCloud. You probably have it on. Just go into finder on the mac your using, if you see your mac as a shared device click it and choose share screen.

Image

Can I just turn back to my mac on for all my computers right now? Once on, if the thief goes online I will be able to see my stolen mac as a shared computer in my Finder right?
 
Alright so I never turned back to my mac on with my stolen computer. So the big question is, is it possible to turn back to my mac on via icloud or some other method?
 
I'm not so sure that it's impossible to get my mac back with a good idea of where it is. Maybe $1,200 isn't much to you but that's a hunk out of my wallet.

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Haha what should I do...google san diego body gaurd services and hire them to muscle their way into these duplexes to find my macbook? Lol...seriously though..

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WHAT?! Holy **** really?! Checking now! Thank you! *glimmer of hope*

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Can I just turn back to my mac on for all my computers right now? Once on, if the thief goes online I will be able to see my stolen mac as a shared computer in my Finder right?

unfortunately you have to enable it on the target computer. But I was assuming that maybe you had it enabled since you had find my mac enabled.
 
unfortunately you have to enable it on the target computer. But I was assuming that maybe you had it enabled since you had find my mac enabled.

Damn! Back to square one. Thanks for the tip though, my new mac definitely has back to my mac on now.
 
even before you turned on your locater it may have been resold already so the location you see may have been an "innocent" buyer.
 
Damn! Back to square one. Thanks for the tip though, my new mac definitely has back to my mac on now.

This is easy to solve. The problem is you contacted the wrong police agency. The crime is "accessing a protected computer." It's a federal crime.

Call the FBI.

Within two weeks the FBI will get the IP address from Apple and have the idiot thief in custody. The "news" media will love the story too, which is also why the FBI will jump on this case that solves itself.
 
This is easy to solve. The problem is you contacted the wrong police agency. The crime is "accessing a protected computer." It's a federal crime.

Call the FBI.

Within two weeks the FBI will get the IP address from Apple and have the idiot thief in custody. The "news" media will love the story too, which is also why the FBI will jump on this case that solves itself.

Really?! That..would..be..awesome.. Ok I am calling them.
 
Really?! That..would..be..awesome.. Ok I am calling them.

Yes I'm completely serious about every aspect of my post.

Maximum penalty is twenty years, though I would be surprised if the thief got more than two. Depends on the criminal history.
 
if the network is an open network and u connect your iphone or android to it.... there is an app to get the public ip address of the open network eg u could use the speedtest app.... that would have that info and then u would be able to get the ip address!!
 
If they have your macbook, i'd wager that it is likely there is also a whole heap of other stolen property and other criminal activity going on at the premises, so I wouldn't write off the cops as being disinterested too quickly - its likely not just a single macbook they'll recover.

Not sure everyone who steals MBP has a meth lab in their kitchen, unless it was pinkmen that stole it.
 
Not sure everyone who steals MBP has a meth lab in their kitchen, unless it was pinkmen that stole it.

Not everyone no. But if they've stolen a macbook, chances are they steal other things too.


Know plenty of people who have had stolen gear recovered from houses that contained a huge amount of stolen property.
 
Can anyone tell me what settings I'd need to turn on in back to my mac to ensure that if its stolen I will be able to access it?
 
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