Well, you know what - I got the email that they found the ipad. Not wanting to say it had anything to do with posting on here, but it does seem very coincidental. If there is a United fairy watching the forum - thanks!

I recently lost an item at EWR and did all of the necessary reporting, including telling them exactly where I lost it, and it was never recovered.

Honestly likely to be coincidental timing. Based on the last location being in the baggage claim area, probably means it was with their baggage department for a couple day hold in case someone came back and then being prepared for it to be sent to the baggage recovery center in IAH. At which point it got entered into the system as a found item since no one had come to claim it and then immediately had a match with your report.

Left an AirPods case on a 777-200 #2473 near seat 1L, currently sitting at Gate C20 at ORD. Find My app is constantly sending alerts that it's been seen recently (every 10 minutes) since I placed it in Lost Mode. It may have been taken off the aircraft per the map or still near the seat. I already filed a report but does anyone know any Point of Contact I can call to increase my chance of recovery?

advice on United lost and found at Miami International Airport
 

Hi - I left a laptop on a United flight to Denver last Thursday. There's an AirTag in the case, so I spent a day tracking it around the country while trying to get the United baggage desk (1-800-335-2247) to put me in touch with someone at an airport the aircraft with that tail number was heading for.

It appears it was finally noticed and taken off the plane Friday night at Miami International Airport, as last reading in FindMy was there/then. No further FindMy reports since then, so I'm guessing nobody in lost and found at Miami has an Iphone.

United lost and found at MIA was unfortunately closed over the weekend, so I called United baggage desk this morning and asked them to call United lost and found at MIA. No one answered, so they said they sent an email. They would not give me a direct number or direct email to contact them myself.

I'm trying to be hopeful, but have been deeply unimpressed by the baggage desk response so far, and would love advice. (I'm kicking myself for not thinking of just buying a ticket on that tail number while the laptop was still on the plane and just getting it myself when it swung back through Denver on Friday!) Would it help for me to fly to Miami and try to get to the lost and found in person?

Welcome to FT!

First, there is a master thread of lost items: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...ost-found.html

I would not go to MIA, as there would be no guarantee that it will be there when you get there. It will be making its way to IAH where once cataloged, they work on finding you.

You do not mention it, but Make sure you filed the lost item report https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/hel...ost-items.html

You will not be reunited with this today, but I got something back inside of 2 weeks (potentially sooner in that you have the airtag there).

Thanks! I searched on lost and found, but didn't see that thread. Oh, and yes, I forgot to mention I did indeed file a report at United's lost and found page (which seems to be some partnership with ChargerLost). Gave all the details, maps from FindMy, etc. I also activiated the AirTag lost message capability.

Good news! Miami lost and found called a couple of hours later, was super helpful, and is shipping my laptop.

cinnabar, thanks for updating the UA forum community about the resolution. I'll close this thread. If there are new developments, you may ask our Moderator team to consider re-opening. Ocn Vw 1K, Co-Moderator.

The Case of the "Missing" laptop at EWR
 

I few days ago, I was flying MIA-EWR-YYZ, with a solid 8 hour layover in Newark. After leaving the plane, I hopped on a taxi and spent a few hours visiting friends in the area, when I realized I had left my laptop on the seatback of my MIA-EWR leg. Immediately I got a hold of the 1K line, who told me best case is head to baggage claim lost and found, which I immediately did. Once there, the agent was telling me all laptops left behind are stored in a special room until 5PM, when they are brought down to lost and found, she suggested I head to the gate and ask for a supervisor, while at the same time file a lost and found report, which I immediately did. However, because of the nature of my trip, and knowing full well my laptop was at EWR, I had a sense of urgency in getting it. I went back to my original gate, where the gate agent working at the time told me "I've been working this gate for 6 hours, no laptop has been reported", I asked for a manager, which the gate agent refusingly got, telling me I am wasting my time. Once they showed up, I explain my situation, their response "I've been working here 12 hours, any laptop lost is immediately reported to me" and "Well if we haven't received one, your best case scenario is to hope you have insurance on it". I tried pushing for them to look around or radio around, but their Storie persisted, how EVERY laptop lost gets reported to them. Going in circles after a few minutes, I walked away. At that point my flight was boarding, and as a last push (which I didn't think of before), I tracked the laptop on FindMy, with its last location pinged near the Customer service desk by the rotunda lounge. I sprinted to the desk, told them the same story I've now told multiple times before to a CSA, which was confused telling me I'm at the wrong spot, before her colleague overhead me, and handed me my laptop, telling me "Yeah idk why this was even handed to us" (keep in my mind, I had arrived at the central concourse).

While at the end off the day I got my laptop, I am just shocked over the wild goose chase I had to do to find it, and the fact that a supervisor straight up lied to my face saying "We don't have it", making me believe I was in the wrong. Yes at the end of the day, its my fault for leaving my laptop on a plane, but the way this was all handled was just depressing. Especially since the only person really willingly to help me was the baggage claim attendant, although her ability to help was very limited.

As I read this I had I had two thoughts - first I checked my bag for my laptop, and next you are more lucky than you know at EWR - my wife left her iPhone in the ladies room and it was gone one minute later never to be seen again….

So since I've been doing a ton of griping about United the past couple days (nothing like having a flight where the gate agent never even shows up to work the gate despite it being "on time" and FA's waiting to board) but my feel-good story...

I'm an Android user, but prefer iTunes for managing my music library, so I have an iPod touch that travels with me. Back in May, my wife and I started off a road trip in Atlanta to celebrate my birthday (goal is to visit all 50 states before I turn 50 and missing Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas with no signs of business bringing me that direction we decided to drive Atlanta->Dallas) -- as soon as we got to the ATL hotel I realized my iPod had slipped out of my pocket on the flight. Did the "Lost on Board" claim and figured I'd never see it again despite having a name/email/phone number label on it -- this was also the same week Apple killed the iPod.

Seeing the writing on the wall we made a slight detour and I picked up the last iPod touch available in the state of Mississippi from an Apple store (none in Georgia) and basically forgot about it. After a while I got the "Yeah, we've given up too" email from United and I really thought that was that.

in September -- almost 6 months to the day -- I got a "We found your item, pay us $30 in Stupid Tax to overnight it back to you" (really... ground isn't an option? after 6 months it's not like a few more days matter) email -- took me a minute to figure out what they were talking about because I had completely pushed it out of mind. Next thought that after so much time it had probably been folded in half, run over by a tug, etc. -- if it was even really my iPod and not just some random one that matched a claim. More out of curiosity than anything else I paid, it shipped from Houston, and when I got it it was basically exactly how I lost it.

In the last 10 years, I have found 3 passports. One on a barstool of an empty bar (one of those in the center of the concourse) and one in the ladie's room. And I struggled to find someone to hand them in to. Not sure if it was an odd time of day or I was between flights myself but I know I handed at least one to someone at the TSA checkpoint. Is there a Security Office that's easy to find airside? If I saw you leave your laptop. Let's say I was sitting beside you and saw the laptop in the pocket, and decided I would grab it and could catch up to you after deplaning . . . but there was a guy in front of me with 3 things in the overhead bin and I was slower than I thought I'd be . . . If I ended up with your laptop and couldn't see you, I would probbaly look for some sort of central desk area - Customer Service - like in your experience. I'm not sure I would hand it to a flight attendant. Not because I didn't trust them but they were trying to get the plane turned around. Lots of scenarios that aren't nefarious. In truth, when I find things (like a passport or an iPhone clearly left plugged in to a charger) I want to do the right thing but sometimes that isn't as obvious or logical as you'd think it would be?? Glad two out of three had a happy ending.

That's insane! GREAT, unexpected outcome!

(I think the overnight thing is because it's more secure/has better tracking....I guess they don't want to go though all the effort and then lose it in transport! :) )

Why would a supervisor that knew the actual location of the laptop choose instead to lie to you? Even if they were completely lazy or indifferent, the easiest thing for them to do would be to tell you "it's at the customer service desk by the rotunda" which would quickly end the conversation on a happy note.