Can a MBP that's been lost for years be tracked?

[xflatearthx]

Hello,

Cleaning up at work, we found a MBP that's been in our lost and found department for over 2 years.

The person that lost it has never returned to claim it.

We were wondering if we wipe it, could it be used or could it still be tracked even though it hasn't even been booted up in years?

We would gladly return if the owner tracked it, but we just wanted to know to avoid any possible problems beforehand.

Thank you all in advance.

 

[velocityg4]

Yes, if they never removed it from their account. It will show up.

 

[Mr.Fox]

Hello,

Cleaning up at work, we found a MBP that's been in our lost and found department for over 2 years.

The person that lost it has never returned to claim it.

We were wondering if we wipe it, could it be used or could it still be tracked even though it hasn't even been booted up in years?

We would gladly return if the owner tracked it, but we just wanted to know to avoid any possible problems beforehand.

Thank you all in advance.

Can be tracked. Completely wiping the hard drive will do nothing. When turned off, the laptop can lie around for many years - 2, 5, 10 years. Turn it on, the trigger will do its job. Whether there is an account or not is not important.

 

[xflatearthx]

Yes, if they never removed it from their account. It will show up.

Thanks. I don't know who the owner was, so am not sure.

For what it's worth, it's a 2018 MBP, so not sure if the model would make a difference.

 

[xflatearthx]

Can be tracked. Completely wiping the hard drive will do nothing. When turned off, the laptop can lie around for many years - 2, 5, 10 years. Turn it on, the trigger will do its job. Whether there is an account or not is not important.

Yeah, not sure if there is or not.

 

[ObsidianIce]

Can't really guess. I would say plug it in, power it up and see if anyone comes looking for it.

 

[Mr.Fox]

Yeah, not sure if there is or not.

There may not be a physical hard drive on it, but you can track your computer, phone, etc. You cannot touch or delete data! This is someone else's thing! They forgot it, or left it on the bench, it’s someone else’s thing! Appropriating a forgotten item is theft and papers will not help. It’s not clear, open the law

 

[Mr.Fox]

Can't really guess. I would say plug it in, power it up and see if anyone comes looking for it.

Stupid idea if it was stolen and lost in quotes. Take it to the police.

 

[ObsidianIce]

Stupid idea if it was stolen and lost in quotes. Take it to the police.

Not really. Taking to the police is a good idea as well, but no the worst thing to power it up. I've done it with lost phones at least a dozen times.

 

[Fishrrman]

Was this a MBP that was "issued" by the employer ("work") to an employee who is no longer with the company?

If so, could it be considered to be "company property"?

If so, couldn't the company's IT department sort this out?
Either find the owner and return it, or... "reclaim" it?

(Having said that, a 2018 MBP with the butterfly keyboard may not be worth "reclaiming"...)