New iOS 13 'Find My' app helps Redditor recover iPad lost at airport

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited October 2020
Thanks to #iOS13 beta testers and how the new "Find My" feature works in conjunction with Bluetooth, a Reddit user was able to locate a misplaced iPad a day after a flight.

Reddit user reunited with iPad thanks to iOS 13


Reddit user robby_c137 took to Reddit to tell the tale of how the revamped "Find My" feature in iOS 13 helped them locate their Wi-Fi-only iPad at the Las Angeles International Airport.

Robby stated that they had originally assumed the iPad was lost forever, forgetting that the new feature even existed in the first place. However, upon waking up the next day, they'd received two notifications that their iPad had been seen by other devices at the LAX airport.

After a bit of legwork and with the help of the LAX airport staff, Robby was reunited with their iPad.

In iOS 13, "Find My" now uses Bluetooth to help locate devices that don't have an LTE or Wi-Fi connection. It does this by allowing the devices to ping other nearby Apple devices using iOS 13, similar to the way products like Tile do.

Apple's iPhones and iPads aren't the only devices that can be located, either. Your MacBook, Apple Watch, and AirPods can all be tracked via Find My in iOS 13 as well.

The only caveat to the new "Find My" is that Bluetooth must be enabled in order for it to work. Many users have gotten into the habit of disabling Bluetooth to preserve battery life, which would preclude this method of location. Stories like Robby's do make a compelling argument for leaving it on, though.

At least one other user in the comments of the Reddit thread has claimed that the new "Find My" feature had reunited them with their Apple device as well.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    payecopayeco Posts: 581member
    Why is iOS 13 a hashtag in the first sentence?
    alanhgutengel
  • Reply 2 of 11
    blurpbleepbloopblurpbleepbloop Posts: 197member
    I know it’s not a big city or anything, but it’s Los Angeles, not Las Angeles.  I should know, I live near Son Francisco. :p. I mean, my son, Francisco, who lives in Los Angeles.
    edited September 2019 alanhEsquireCatsgutengellkruppsully54JanNLDeelronjeffythequickcornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 11
    WgkruegerWgkrueger Posts: 352member
    Hopefully Apple will find ways to encourage people to turn on Bluetooth and to stop tinkering with settings they know nothing about. 
    lkruppwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 11
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Sweet! I've tried the upgrade feature several times since the betas dropped but couldn't get it to ping my sleeping MBP. I'm glad to know it's working.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 11
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Wgkrueger said:
    Hopefully Apple will find ways to encourage people to turn on Bluetooth and to stop tinkering with settings they know nothing about. 
    Unfortunately people tend to believe what they read in print without question or research. Recent security scares being overhyped by the tech media include warning people to turn off Bluetooth or risk their bank accounts will be emptied out.
    watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 6 of 11
    frantisekfrantisek Posts: 756member
    Great. There will be more and more such situations. Hope they all wont be filling newspapers :-). Or that newspapers will be doing just daily summary :-)
  • Reply 7 of 11
    JanNLJanNL Posts: 327member
    blurpbleepbloop said:
    I know it’s not a big city or anything, but it’s Los Angeles, not Las Angeles.  I should know, I live near Son Francisco. :p. I mean, my son, Francisco, who lives in Los Angeles.
    And you drive to him on your Davey Harlidson  ;)
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 11
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,921member
    lkrupp said:
    Wgkrueger said:
    Hopefully Apple will find ways to encourage people to turn on Bluetooth and to stop tinkering with settings they know nothing about. 
    Unfortunately people tend to believe what they read in print without question or research. Recent security scares being overhyped by the tech media include warning people to turn off Bluetooth or risk their bank accounts will be emptied out.
    Except the advice to turn off Bluetooth to save battery life can be found on Apple’s own support pages. 
  • Reply 9 of 11
    racerhomie3racerhomie3 Posts: 1,264member
    MplsP said:
    lkrupp said:
    Wgkrueger said:
    Hopefully Apple will find ways to encourage people to turn on Bluetooth and to stop tinkering with settings they know nothing about. 
    Unfortunately people tend to believe what they read in print without question or research. Recent security scares being overhyped by the tech media include warning people to turn off Bluetooth or risk their bank accounts will be emptied out.
    Except the advice to turn off Bluetooth to save battery life can be found on Apple’s own support pages. 
    Maybe Bluetooth 2.1 in the iPhone 4 era. Since Bluetooth 4.0 it’s super low power. Disabling WiFi will definitely save power , if you disconnect from a connection.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 11
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    racerhomie3 said:
    MplsP said:
    lkrupp said:
    Wgkrueger said:
    Hopefully Apple will find ways to encourage people to turn on Bluetooth and to stop tinkering with settings they know nothing about. 
    Unfortunately people tend to believe what they read in print without question or research. Recent security scares being overhyped by the tech media include warning people to turn off Bluetooth or risk their bank accounts will be emptied out.
    Except the advice to turn off Bluetooth to save battery life can be found on Apple’s own support pages. 
    Maybe Bluetooth 2.1 in the iPhone 4 era. Since Bluetooth 4.0 it’s super low power. Disabling WiFi will definitely save power , if you disconnect from a connection.
    I pop my Watch onto Airplane Mode when I sleep with it on, but I do that to disable all radios (save for NFC since that works regardless). For my iPhone I will often go to Low Power Mode to reduce the power drain, but moving to Airplane Mode for power savings is very rare. I think I did it earlier this year at a theme park because I would be going a very long day on a single charge with an aging iPhone 7 Plus battery. I don't expect to do that one I get my iPhone 11 Pro Max.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 11
    jeffythequickjeffythequick Posts: 269member
    My wish (and I don't know if it is true now, but...) is to have lost mode power down the screen, turn off all apps except location tracking and cell/wifi radio for known networks, and prevent power off from occurring (it can fake power off, if needed), and wake up and ping location every minute to my Apple ID.

    Last Tuesday, my iPad was stolen from work, and I tracked it down, and the person found with it now has 4 counts of felony possession of stolen material charges pending against him.  He stole about $14,425 of value from me, and I got it all back, thanks to my persistence (it was 20 feet away from me at one point, and the police were too busy with other things, but I was told not to confront the people... and I didn't, even when one of them asked me for gas money for their getaway car that was out of gas... really, I can't make this stuff up...), and FInd My iPhone app, and a fully charged battery.

    The only way I got my stuff back is that the thieves did not shut my iPad off.  If they had, there's no way I would have caught them.

    Rules to live by:
    Keep your stuff charged
    Have "Find my ..." turned on
    Don't leave it laying around.  (Yeah... I shouldn't have done that, but it was an open area at work, with 360 degree views, and I was one of 18 people that got stuff stolen)
    If stolen, notify the police immediately.
    If stolen, put in lost mode immediately.
    watto_cobra
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