My iPad was stolen… again.

 

For the second time in 6 months, I had my iPad stolen. 

 

………

 

The story

Yeah. It sucks. The first time I was in Spain with my family and someone picked it up while I was loading luggage.  This time, it was quite a bit more painful, since I was at a work event and my passport was in the iPad case as well.  That’s right ladies and gentleman, stuck in the US with no passport is not a situation I recommend to anyone.  For the record, I don’t think it was any of my work colleges, they were ALL so supportive and were constantly offering me suggestions on where to look and whom to ask.  ( I did exhaust all possibilities ). 

Now this was a 3g iPad, but since I was roaming, I didn’t have the 3G capabilities turned on.  As well, since the convention centre we were at was all captive portal which had to be renewed every 24 hours, I missed my window when I could have used my  ” Find my iPhone” application to use the location services that Apple turns on.

Yes, I checked with the convention centre staff.

Yes I checked with the hotel staff.

Yes I checked with my companies event staff.

Yes, I tried the apple app multiple times.

Yes, we did make multiple announcements throughout the week. 

 

Nothing.

 

The issue with Apples Location System

 

Right now, the Find my iPhone devices are linked to the iCloud functionality. What sucks about this is that if the device is not online, I can’t find it. And because the device is locked, it’s going to require someone to connect it to iTunes and wipe the whole device to access it and get it on a network.  Wiping it will of course cause the iCloud linkage to disappear and now someone else has a gently used and much loved iPad 3 with 64Gb and LTE.  

 

And I have NO WAY AT ALL OF FINDING THEM.

My Request

As anyone who’s bought a device from Apple in the last few years, we are required to activate the iPad/iPhone devices before we are able to use them. This means that we need to give our information to Apple to register the device. What’s included in this?  The device serial number.

 

Why can’t Apple institute a stolen iPad reporting system that would enable them to block the activation of any iPad that makes it on that list?  It’s going to cost me $1,000 (taxes) to replace that device. Why does someone else out there who’s dishonest enough to steal my iPad and not return it ( yes, my business cards are in there, and this time my passport too! ) get to simply wipe my device and move on.  Especially when it’s SO easy for Apple to put this kind of a policy in place. 

 

The only reason for them NOT to do it is because they view it as a residual income stream. They wait until someone like me makes their device a totally integrated part of their work life and then depend on them buying multiple times as the market for stolen iPads increases.

I’m not suggesting that they tell me who stole it, but it would be great if they could work with the local authorities to send someone over to pick up my iPad.  Am I been crazy here? This of course also presumes that the police care enough about the law to through some resources at this issue. 

At the very least, I would like Apple to brick my iPad completely. Don’t let anyone activate that device unless they receive an email from the registered owner, i.e.  Me. 

 

is that too much to ask?  I want my passport back, I want my iPad back, and I want Apple to help me justify why I spend a premium on their devices. They own the ecosystem and this is the least they could do for me, a loyal customer.  I’m all in. I’ve got iPads ( multiple ) iPhones, Apple TVs, Mini, MacBookPro’s etc…    

 

Please just brick my old iPad.  It’s serial number is  . Or better yes, when someone tried to activate it, display a message on the device, tell them it’s stolen and ask them to return it to the closest Apple store. I’d like it back. 

thanks,

 

@netmanchris