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View Full Version : iPad returned after 2 years!!



topmade
02-23-2016, 06:25 PM
Thought I'd share this as I pretty much lost hope in getting this thing back. I'll make it short.

- Purchased new Ipad Air, 128 new for about $850 in Feb 2014 in preparation for a work trip scheduled Feb 23, 2014
- Trip day comes and plane is delayed giving me a 10 minute window to catch my connecting flight in Minneapolis
- I start to watch a movie on the ipad but got tired so I put it in the front pouch and fall asleep
- Plane lands but everyone is a like a bat out of hell trying to get off the plane to make their connections.
- I forgot my iPad on the plane in the frenzy of things and don't realize this until I miss my flight and get another ticket for the next flight.
- I run back to the arrival gate and plane is gone and agents no ipads were returned to them.
- I start to send a ton of messages to the ipad because I had it locked with find my iphone enabled. I included my number in the messages and a reward offered. I opened a lost item case with Delta and that was the end of it.
- I called Delta back in a month and still nothing so I've pretty much accepted the loss already.

Fast forward to Dec 25, 2015
- Yes Christmas day, I get a surprise VM that I didn't listen to until after the new year. The message said they found my iPad and wanted a reward to return it. The phone number was from Chicago.
- I called back and got a vm, left several messages over the month of January.
- No word back until the end of Jan 2016, this time it's a txt message. Guy say's he found my iPad but would like to use it.
- I say no, I want it back. I offered $150 for it's return and the guy again says he wants to use it and I say no again and I want it back.
- Guy doesn't negotiate and is fine with the amount so we start talking about how the money exchange is going to happen.
- guy doesn't have paypal so I asked for his banking info to do a money wire and I said I'll pay $50 first, then $100 when I receive the iPad. I'm fine with losing $50 since the ipad is still worth a good $550.
- About two weeks go by and no reply from the guy but suddenly send's me a txt saying Ipad is in the mail and I should get it in about 20 days.
- I say great and send him a $50 usd money order right away to do my end of the deal.
- Feb 23, 2016. iPad received!! Case is missing, but in otherwise good condition. I'll go to the bank tomorrow and send him the rest of the money.

The conversations leading up to the return was a bit shady and I wasn't very confident that it would be returned. I was also getting texted by different numbers and the guy sounded like a kid. I think someone probably gave it to him after unsuccessfully trying to hack it and they realized it's just a paper weight now so might as well try to get some money.

Moral of story. Make sure icloud and find my iphone is enabled with your number displayed so someone can get a hold of you when they find it. My iPad was just wifi.

J.M.
02-23-2016, 07:03 PM
Glad to see you got it backed. Thought the guy/person was feeling pretty ballsy though by contacting you and saying he wants to use it instead of returning it wtf :rofl:

danno
02-23-2016, 07:57 PM
Should have gave it back for no reward. Unless he paid for it i guess.

carson blocks
02-23-2016, 09:06 PM
Pretty shitty thing for him to do to ask for money to return someone's stolen property. Glad you got it back though.

Xtrema
02-23-2016, 10:04 PM
The nice thing about Apple is that you can't do a factory reset (as far as I know). So you still have a chance of getting it back.

Because $50 is better than a useless tablet.

EDIT: NVM, I guess you can with iTunes. So a miracle that you actually got it back.

NoPulp
02-23-2016, 10:18 PM
Really weird you got in back after such a long time!
Would be interesting if it could tell you where it's been.

Who contacts the owner asking to use their stolen property lol

rage2
02-23-2016, 10:59 PM
I lost my iPad on a plane once. Still haven't got it back haha. This was before find my iPhone and locks.

MR2-3SGTE
02-23-2016, 11:11 PM
Originally posted by Xtrema
The nice thing about Apple is that you can't do a factory reset (as far as I know). So you still have a chance of getting it back.

Because $50 is better than a useless tablet.

EDIT: NVM, I guess you can with iTunes. So a miracle that you actually got it back.

You can do a factory reset, but it would ask you for your icloud email and password to activate it after resetting. Without it, it becomes useless. Android tablets have now started doing the same.

shakalaka
02-23-2016, 11:18 PM
Lost a brand new iPhone 4S in a taxi once when it first came out. Could even track it to an apartment complex and everything, but not to a specific apartment. Police didn't want to help, all the messages went ignored. Never got it back. You're lucky.

topmade
02-24-2016, 07:48 AM
Yeah I'm pretty lucky. iCloud is pretty bullet proof and even if you do a wipe, you still need the apple id to unlock it and you can add a message which is where I had my number listed and "reward offered". I think IOS versions earlier than 7 you could get around it.


Originally posted by danno
Should have gave it back for no reward. Unless he paid for it i guess.

I had stated reward offered and am at the mercy of this stranger but I only paid $50 right now and received the iPad already so I'm ahead ;). But I always keep my word and will send the other $100 tonight. Also, the first VM received from this guy specifically stated they were looking for the reward so I think I actually got it back for a decent price.


Originally posted by NoPulp
Really weird you got in back after such a long time!
Would be interesting if it could tell you where it's been.

Who contacts the owner asking to use their stolen property lol
I was thinking the same thing and had been randomly checking find my iphone app when I remembered and it never did come up.
He actually politely asked for my apple ID, and I politely said NO!

I just double checked the dates and I actually lost it Feb 23, 2014 so it was exactly two years that I got it back. I have bad memory and just remember it being cold so I thought it was the later months. Plus this was the Chicago airport and not Minneapolis, again bad memory and I was travelling a lot that year. This was probably taken by a shady airport staff.

Minimalist
02-25-2016, 09:57 PM
Nice... still some hope I get my 2002 Palm Pilot back from the Tokyo to Taipei flight? Had a sweet new aftermarket stylus.

Sugarphreak
02-25-2016, 10:34 PM
....

max_boost
02-26-2016, 01:08 AM
Maybe someone will return my camera from Cambodia lol the gf didn't pick it up after this picture lol blue camera bottom left.

TomcoPDR
02-26-2016, 03:38 AM
Originally posted by max_boost
Maybe someone will return my camera from Cambodia lol the gf didn't pick it up after this picture lol blue camera bottom left.

So looks so yung in this pic. (Yes, I know that's not her name)