Phone lost at IAH (17 Aug 2018) & now found
Aug 17, 2018, 2:35 pm
#16
Original Poster
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Having actually had my phone stolen most thief's turn the phone off immediately so you can't track them. Some will even immediately take the battery out. Typically they are stolen for parts. The fact that you could still follow it is actually unusual and maybe security of someone has found it. I have to assume you tried to call it.
Aug 17, 2018, 2:37 pm
#17
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Agree with much of what has already been said. Sorry for the inconvenience. Theft is when something is physically removed from yourself or a secure location. A "lost" item is everything else. So did someone remove this from your person?
Speaking from experience in trying to track lost iPhones... there is no reliable and consistent way to track these down to the foot on a concistent basis. The signal jumps around (or rather the device on a map). One can get it down to a house, a driveway, maybe a building... but saying it is in a trash can, a drawer etc. just because it stopped moving is an interesting theory/conclusion. Even Tile trackers cannot do that (but then you have to be within 30 feet for those things to work ;-)
Speaking from experience in trying to track lost iPhones... there is no reliable and consistent way to track these down to the foot on a concistent basis. The signal jumps around (or rather the device on a map). One can get it down to a house, a driveway, maybe a building... but saying it is in a trash can, a drawer etc. just because it stopped moving is an interesting theory/conclusion. Even Tile trackers cannot do that (but then you have to be within 30 feet for those things to work ;-)
Aug 17, 2018, 2:38 pm
#18
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Having actually had my phone stolen most thief's turn the phone off immediately so you can't track them. Some will even immediately take the battery out. Typically they are stolen for parts. The fact that you could still follow it is actually unusual and maybe security of someone has found it. I have to assume you tried to call it.
Yup. I didn't mean to start up a whole FT debate about what happened. I just wanted someone to take a look around the phone's location. But the discussion has been very enlightening.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Aug 17, 2018 at 2:55 pm Reason: merging consecutive posts by same member
Aug 17, 2018, 2:52 pm
#19
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Aug 17, 2018, 3:28 pm
#20
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Since you are DEN based, and I'm COS based, I'm happy to try and help this Sunday during my layover in IAH. If by chance you find out the airport has your phone and you would like me pick it up for you, I'm happy to help. Obviously this will require some communication and coordination, but let me know via PM.
Aug 17, 2018, 3:52 pm
#22
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To corroborate this...go to https://www.icloud.com/#find and "look" for your device. Chances are where Apple thinks your phone is, is different than where it actually is. In my case, it's off by about 30 yards. And the difference is pretty significant as I'm in an office with 50 desks and drawers, and the phone appears to be lying int he middle of the street outside my office. There are a lot of places to look....
Lesson learned. I had it in my hand to check gate, was late to the gate, and decided at the last minute to duck into the restroom just prior to the gate to wash my hands. I'll update this thread should there be any news.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Aug 17, 2018 at 3:56 pm Reason: merging consecutive posts by same member
Aug 17, 2018, 4:09 pm
#23
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Don't start blaming an employee because "it went out on the tarmac". I left my iPhone on an Island air flight HNL-OGG last year before they went under. I saw the location of my phone go to a military housing neighborhood near Honolulu airport. Island Air personnel found the phone and it never left the terminal.
Hopefully it's backed up so you can do a wipe w/o losing too much.
Last edited by IAH-OIL-TRASH; Aug 17, 2018 at 4:17 pm
Aug 17, 2018, 5:08 pm
#24
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,359
One thing to be wary of are any phone calls/emails and/or text messages sent to you or whatever phone number you listed in the find iPhone service. I've had a colleague get their iPhone stolen abroad only to receive a text from "Apple" claiming the iPhone was found and requesting they enter their iCloud username and password. Once they entered their email/password they noticed their iPhone mysteriously disappeared from their iCloud device list. Don't fall for this phish - always check the official Apple website (it's surprising Apple doesn't know how to design security into their processes).
Safe Travels,
James
Safe Travels,
James
Aug 18, 2018, 8:31 am
#25
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,115
It's entirely possible that the phone never moved. Assisted GPS also uses WiFi, as I understand it, which is then relying on the location information being set properly on the WiFi base station. (If you've ever moved and found that your phone still thought you were at your old home, now you know why...)
It is my understanding that the Find my iPhone interface will give an indication about the reliability of the location by showing a radius if it is uncertain. However, in the screenshot above, no radius can be seen, which should mean that Apple has determined the location to be accurate.
@OP any news?
Aug 18, 2018, 11:58 am
#26
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It's a bad day for sure. Haviing the phone stolen and enduring Murder on the Orient Express (if it was the Branagh one, if it was the David Suchet one then all is well). 
Aug 18, 2018, 12:03 pm
#27
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A Wi-Fi signal doesn't broadcast the location of the physical access point. Apple instead maintains a proprietary crowd-sourced database of Wi-Fi hotspot locations and cell phone towers, based on countless location reports of Apple devices. In an airline terminal environment, it tends to be quite accurate because so many devices pass through there. Combined with the fact that there often a lot of hotspots visible, very accurate locations can be determined, even without the availability of GPS.
Aug 18, 2018, 3:06 pm
#28
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A Wi-Fi signal doesn't broadcast the location of the physical access point. Apple instead maintains a proprietary crowd-sourced database of Wi-Fi hotspot locations and cell phone towers, based on countless location reports of Apple devices. In an airline terminal environment, it tends to be quite accurate because so many devices pass through there. Combined with the fact that there often a lot of hotspots visible, very accurate locations can be determined, even without the availability of GPS.
It is my understanding that the Find my iPhone interface will give an indication about the reliability of the location by showing a radius if it is uncertain. However, in the screenshot above, no radius can be seen, which should mean that Apple has determined the location to be accurate.
@OP any news?
It is my understanding that the Find my iPhone interface will give an indication about the reliability of the location by showing a radius if it is uncertain. However, in the screenshot above, no radius can be seen, which should mean that Apple has determined the location to be accurate.
@OP any news?
Aug 18, 2018, 5:00 pm
#29
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It's too late now, but I saw on your map that there was a CIBO Express near the reported location of your phone. I'm sure if you had looked them up, they probably had a phone number. You could have tried calling and see if an employee was willing to look in the trash cans nearby.
Aug 18, 2018, 6:36 pm
#30
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I probably missed it, but why does one assume that a stolen iPhone ends up in a trash can?
Just seems unlikely to me that someone steals an iPhone at an airport and then dumps it in a trash can at same airport.
Just seems unlikely to me that someone steals an iPhone at an airport and then dumps it in a trash can at same airport.