Creepy... Found a recording file on new 5k imac

[vmflapem]

I got a new 5K imac from Apple Store about two weeks ago. I opened iTunes for the first time today and found a 30-second long recording file, apparently recorded on December 24, 2015. When I played it, it had some clicking sounds (I think from mouse click or tapping) and sounded very much like someone recording to test the microphone (no voice heard but can hear a man breathing).

Is this imac USED? I'm not sure where this file came from... Obviously, it was factory reseted when I received it, but is it possible that itunes files didn't get deleted somehow from the previous owner? I checked my iphone and my macbook pro many times to make sure it wasn't from icloud or something like that. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[agustinbg]

I don't think they would give you an iMac that was used for display at any store. :/ If it was sealed and with the plastic screen covers, it's almost impossible for your iMac to be "used".

The encoder says it's from the Voice Memos iPhone app (I don't know if any desktop app uses the same encoder) but... why would it record clicking? Even in your iPhone, it'd be strange to record a clicking sound even by accident.

It sounds super creepy. :S
[doublepost=1472531059][/doublepost]And as far as I know, the only buit-in app you can record on is Quicktime. And it saves the file as: AIFF-C audio.

 

[vmflapem]

I don't think they would give you an iMac that was used for display at any store. :/ If it was sealed and with the plastic screen covers, it's almost impossible for your iMac to be "used".

The encoder says it's from the Voice Memos iPhone app (I don't know if any desktop app uses the same encoder) but... why would it record clicking? Even in your iPhone, it'd be strange to record a clicking sound even by accident.

It sounds super creepy. :S

I got a BTO imac from apple store online, so I think the chance of it being used is very slim. I think it was recorded on an iphone and then uploaded to itunes somehow. I don't know how this is possible... I do have icloud linking all my apple devices but this is the ONLY machine that has this file, suggesting that it's not from icloud. Besides, I don't even have that recording file on my iphone...

 

[agustinbg]

I got a BTO imac from apple store online, so I think the chance of it being used is very slim. I think it was recorded on an iphone and then uploaded to itunes somehow. I don't know how this is possible... I do have icloud linking all my apple devices but this is the ONLY machine that has this file, suggesting that it's not from icloud. Besides, I don't even have that recording file on my iphone...

Besides, there'd be no reason for the recording to last for more than 6 months "hidden" in your iCloud and only syncing on your iMac.
[doublepost=1472532720][/doublepost]Okay, I recorded something in Voice Memos and:

1) It's not saved to iCloud automatically (just as phone backup but that's another story).

2) It's "synced" to iTunes directly but you need to check the "Sync Voice Memos" option at iTunes (check if is is, otherwise, it's impossible for the voice memo to appear in you iTunes)

3) The save file is manually named at the iphone app. It'd be weird for someone to name it so computer-ish with the date and hour. It'd be more likely be saved as "My recording" or something.

So it gets even weirder. But, hey; maybe it's a rare recording of Jony Ive testing a new functionality on the iPhone and yours is the only copy.

 

[vmflapem]

Besides, there'd be no reason for the recording to last for more than 6 months "hidden" in your iCloud and only syncing on your iMac.
[doublepost=1472532720][/doublepost]Okay, I recorded something in Voice Memos and:

1) It's not saved to iCloud automatically (just as phone backup but that's another story).

2) It's "synced" to iTunes directly but you need to check the "Sync Voice Memos" option at iTunes (check if is is, otherwise, it's impossible for the voice memo to appear in you iTunes)

3) The save file is manually named at the iphone app. It'd be weird for someone to name it so computer-ish with the date and hour. It'd be more likely be saved as "My recording" or something.

So it gets even weirder. But, hey; maybe it's a rare recording of Jony Ive testing a new functionality on the iPhone and yours is the only copy.

OK, this is creepy as ****. I'm so confused now. Should I send this recording to Apple to further investigate?

 

[agustinbg]

OK, this is creepy as ****. I'm so confused now. Should I send this recording to Apple to further investigate?

Nah, if I was you... I'd delete the file and keep enjoying my new iMac.

How did the file ended up there, who knows?! There is surely a logical explanation (and probably someone knows in this forum).

Your iMac is new, otherwise it'd be sold as refurbished. Apple wouldn't risk it to sell you something used (even if it was factory reseted) as new.

You've got an incredible computer and a file of someone tapping the iPhone screen while trying to record something (and that person could even be you or a friend of yours!) is nothing to be worried about. And while it's always entertaining to create supernatural and creepy stories in our mind, reality is way more boring than that.

 

[NMSUballa]

Steve Jobs was testing out your iMac!

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

It is the voice of Steve Jobs, trying to communicate with you in morse!

The heavy breathing part.. Well, he is dead.

 

[agustinbg]

It is the voice of Steve Jobs, trying to communicate with you in morse!

The heavy breathing part.. Well, he is dead.

Great theory! What if you are THE ONE, the spokesman of Jobs on Earth and he is trying to return to Apple through you; to tell you his new great idea.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Actually, you may be right! I better call Cook and tell him to get out of my CEO chair.. I have some changes for Apple with regard to how they approach Mac updates..

 

[Dopeyman]

As long as the recording didn't say "seven days", then you should be ok

 

[DesertSurfer]

OK, this is creepy as ****. I'm so confused now. Should I send this recording to Apple to further investigate?

Send it to the people at SETI. You may have discovered another semi-intelligent species!

 

[agustinbg]

I've got a new theory!

The file was created December 24... what if... IT WAS SANTA!

Look at the evidence: December 24, heavy breathing (only fat guys breath so heavily for the sound to be recorded), tapping on your phone so he could see if you had been a good guy through the year.

 

[danckwerts]

The Ghost in the Machine!

 

[/V\acpower]

Honestly, if it was a brand new mac, my most plausible explanation is you having recorded once without knowing it something with your iPhone in voice memo, it being somehow sinced to iCloud Drive and when you opened iTunes you somehow asked the app to scan for files and it found this one.

I think it's more likely than a brand new iMac, scelled in box (there is a sticker that you must break first time you open it) containing a bizarre file.