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Stolen WiFi iPad! Located it with Find My iPhone App

U

UCBruins

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 17, 2010
48
6
My dad's car was broken into this afternoon in his driveway! He went in the house for 1 hour and came back out to find a thief had taken his iPad 2.

I found it using the find my iPhone app and reported it to the police. It looks like it's currently in an apartment complex in a shady part of town. Police won't help. I'm surprised I found it since it's a wifi model and my dad had a pass code lock. I sent a message to the iPad with a few choice words and remote locked it.

Now I'm considering what to do next. Wipe it or try and follow it somehow if it moves in the morning. I could still pick it up live right now.
 
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That sucks op. Keep a watch on it and see if anything develops, I'm sure your dad will file a homeowners claim, so don't worry about trying to retrieve the iPad (especially in a shady part of town). Best bet is to do a remote wipe, make sure the iPad is reported stolen, and get a new one with the insurance money.
 
The message with "a few choice words" was probably your only mistake. Why exactly wont the police help?
 
I'm new to this Find My iPhone App, how can you find it if the thief can not login to your ipad? I thought to connecting the WiFi you need to type in the wifi password that mean the thief need to able to login to your ipad first? right?
 
The iPad and iPhone need "remote self-destruct" commands. Send the command and a confirmation, and the device fizzles into a useless paperweight. It could emit lots of smoke too, just to spite the blight to society who stole it.

The onboard Li-Poly battery has more than enough juice to power this self destruction!

Thieves will be much less willing to steal these devices if shortly after they combust into worthless scrap! :)
 
godzill said:
The message with "a few choice words" was probably your only mistake. Why exactly wont the police help?
Click to expand...

The local PD said they get claims like this all the time. They can only take a report and won't go looking for it because the signal is usually off by a few hundred feet. Using google, you can make out the apartment complex being 3 stories high with at least 50 or so units.

What I don't understand is how the iPad is being picked up by the app right now. It's a WiFi model. Wouldn't it need to be connected to WiFi for it to be located?

It's still at the complex as of now.
 
NineFace said:
I'm new to this Find My iPhone App, how can you find it if the thief can not login to your ipad? I thought to connecting the WiFi you need to type in the wifi password that mean the thief need to able to login to your ipad first? right?
Click to expand...

Changing this as I better understand your Question. Maybe someone has an open wifi signal nearby?

And why would you send "a few choice words" to the device and let the idiots know that you have any connection to them. They might not know anything about how the iPad works either. As for the police, I find that very disappointing since you can give them a general idea of where to look.
 
TheWheelMan said:
Changing this as I better understand your Question. Maybe someone has an open wifi signal nearby?

And why would you send "a few choice words" to the device and let the idiots know that you have any connection to them. They might not know anything about how the iPad works either. As for the police, I find that very disappointing since you can give them a general idea of where to look.
Click to expand...

OP said its a low-rise appartment complex with 50 or so units, what are the police going to do knock on every door and search their appartments?

I think the police are more concerned with the guy selling crystal meth in front of the building than the stolen $400 iPad inside it
 
Let me clarify a how the police department responded.

As soon as we noticed the iPad missing, I got the location of the iPad and immediately called the police. I thought it was a house at first without checking the satellite image from google. I told the police it was house and I have the location. They said since the signal is usually off, we can't go knocking on doors. I later found it was an apartment when I was trying to figure our options of getting it back.
 
UCBruins said:
Let me clarify a how the police department responded.

As soon as we noticed the iPad missing, I got the location of the iPad and immediately called the police. I thought it was a house at first without checking the satellite image from google. I told the police it was house and I have the location. They said since the signal is usually off, we can't go knocking on doors. I later found it was an apartment when I was trying to figure our options of getting it back.
Click to expand...

I don't mean to beat a dead horse but I'd like to add this...

While the locator signal may be off there are options if the cops aren't too busy. 1. They can check their db for names of residents listed at the surrounding addresses. They can cross check those names with past reasons for contact plus check if any are on probation with a 4th Amenent waiver. Or alternatively if they are on parole.

2. If any have 4th waivers or on parole a search can be done w/o a warrant.

3. If nothing pans out on #1 they absolutely positively can do a knock & talk. But to search would take consent or a warrant. The downside is most street wise thieves won't consent so if they are the responsible theft they can destroy it.

4. iPads are not usually pawned but a good detective bureau will be actively checking local pawn shops and if any of your other items show up gives them leads.
 
Arnezie said:
Where are you? State city ? I'd love to help if your nearby
Click to expand...

Yes please give us your personal information. It's clear you are awash in highly fencable goods.

/sarcasm off

Seriously OP. Just chalk it up as a loss and let insurance deal with it. Cops don't have the time or resources and this isn't worth endangering your life over so move on.
 
To be fair the mistake was leaving it in the car! If it was viewable even worse. I think the lesson to learn here is never leave your expensive goodies in a car.
As I assume you live in America I would certainly not start bagging on doors in a shady part of town. I would guess the shady thief may well be armed.
 
zorinlynx said:
The iPad and iPhone need "remote self-destruct" commands. Send the command and a confirmation, and the device fizzles into a useless paperweight. It could emit lots of smoke too, just to spite the blight to society who stole it.

The onboard Li-Poly battery has more than enough juice to power this self destruction!

Thieves will be much less willing to steal these devices if shortly after they combust into worthless scrap! :)
Click to expand...

Hehe, have you seen this concept video for the iPhone 5?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMP2n1BE5gU
 
ReallyBigFeet said:
Yes please give us your personal information. It's clear you are awash in highly fencable goods.

/sarcasm off

Seriously OP. Just chalk it up as a loss and let insurance deal with it. Cops don't have the time or resources and this isn't worth endangering your life over so move on.
Click to expand...

I don't see the need for your sarcasm actually. Most pd's take residential and auto burgs seriously. While I do agree a patrol officer probably won't put in much time here an investigative unit will look at yr losses and if serials are provided enter them. Also pawn shops in most states are required to open their receipt books for LE inspection. This is a fairly routine practice and a very very common way leads are developed, dirtbags arrested, burglaries cases cleared, and importantly to crime victim some property returned.

Sheesh.

/end your education
 
ReallyBigFeet said:
Yes please give us your personal information. It's clear you are awash in highly fencable goods.

/sarcasm off

Seriously OP. Just chalk it up as a loss and let insurance deal with it. Cops don't have the time or resources and this isn't worth endangering your life over so move on.
Click to expand...

Why do you feel the need to quote me and be an ass. I was offering assistance , and for the record some cops would love to help ;)
 
iisforiphone said:
I think the police are more concerned with the guy selling crystal meth in front of the building than the stolen $400 iPad inside it
Click to expand...

They care even less about drug dealers than thieves. The only thing law enforcement seems to be enforcing are citations. The department needs to generate income somehow.
 
UCBruins said:
Now I'm considering what to do next. Wipe it or try and follow it somehow if it moves in the morning. I could still pick it up live right now.
Click to expand...

Unless you're lucky enough to get help from a detective or law enforcement....

Wipe it and forget it. It's not worth the trouble to attempt to recover on your own or even with hired help, not to mention legal/medical fees if something goes wrong.
 
Arnezie said:
Where are you? State city ? I'd love to help if your nearby
Click to expand...

I'm in Los Angeles. iPad is still showing up. I'm considering posting a pic of the map for you guys. I'm having trouble hitting the wipe button and letting him get away with it.

Dad called home owner's insurance and he has a $500 deductible. Lesson learned!
 
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