How to recover a lost or stolen iPad

If you believe your iPad is lost or stolen, here are a few tips to help you recover it. If you have Find My iPad enabled on your device, you can go to iCloud.com from a computer or use the Find My iPhone app from another iOS device to track your iPad and find its location.

You can then choose to send a message or play a sound to help you find it or set a passcode lock to prevent anyone from accessing your personal data. If you are really serious about keeping your personal information out of the hands of a stranger, you can also remotely wipe the device to remove all of your information.

Using Find My iPad to locate a Wi-Fi only iPad can be a problem since the feature requires a data connection. However, you can get an email alert if the device joins a Wi-Fi network.

To get an email notification when your iPad is found;

Go to iCloud.com, click on the Find My iPhone icon, select your device and check the box next to “Email me when this iPad is found”.

Find My iPad / iPhone is a completely free service and I highly recommend setting it up on all of your Apple devices, but if you haven’t you may be able to use FaceTime, iMessage, Skype, etc. to call or send a message to your iPad. Of course, this would only work if the apps have already been set up on the device.

Will Apple help me with my lost or stolen device?

Apple does not have a process to track or flag lost or stolen product. However, you can use find a list of serial numbers that have been purchased or registered with your Apple ID by using My Support Profile.

To get your serial number:
1. Go to My Support Profile*.
2. Sign in with your Apple ID.
3. View your purchases in “My Products”.

Although, Apple does not track or flag stolen products, if law enforcement recovers an Apple Product they know is lost or stolen they can contact Apple Corporate Security directly to notify you using your contact information. Apple will send you an email similar to this;

Dear Steve,

You are receiving this email because a law enforcement agency has contacted Apple regarding an iPad they recently recovered.

Our records indicate the iPad was registered with Apple using this email address.

To discuss this matter, please contact the following law enforcement representative:

Detective’s name
Police Department Name and Phone Number
Case Number

We understand that your privacy is important. Please be assured that Apple has not shared any of your personal information with this third party. You may review Apple’s Privacy policy at http://www.apple.com/legal/privacy.

This concern has been documented in Apple case number *******4.

Best regards,

Apple Customer Care

Report it Stolen

Your next step will be to report the stolen device to your local law enforcement agency. Make sure you have the serial number to give to law enforcement.

You can also report your device as stolen online using websites like Stolen-Property.com. This is a free website that enters your item into a database that is used by pawn shops and others to track stolen property that comes into their business.

Hopefully, you will find your iPad, but if your are unable to recover it you may be able to file an insurance claim if it was stolen from your home or car. Check with your insurance agent to find out if the device was covered under your policy.