Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Found a MacBook Pro in the road can I use it or how do I find its owner
- Thread starter Dave2024
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
What comes up when you boot it?.. I found a mid 2012 MBP in the electronics recycle bin at work a week ago that powered on and the name and his picture came up...I tracked the person down and person said keep it.. I put 16gb new ram and 1TB SSD and it works ok.. if persons name comes up maybe lookup in Facebook in the area for that person and contact, or maybe just leave it on for a while and see if perhaps the person has Find My turned on they will track it down..
It has a name and place to enter password I'm guessing it was stolen because I found it in the road wrapped in tin foil.it still turns on despite having been run over by a car or two I tried looking up the name by Google but it's a famous tennis players name it hadn't been there to long I drove past an noticed it an after I got off work an walked back it was still there I was surprised to find a macbook pro wrapped in about a full roll of tin foil
If the username is that of a famous person, then you could try to contact them, via twitter, or see if you can find their management/representation.
But, realistically, every Mac is pretty secure. If it's linked to an AppleID, then you won't be able to use it for your own.
Also, is it damaged? Is the screen cracked? TBH, I'd hand it in to an Apple Store. Even a brand new M4 Max with 64Gb RAM and 8Tb. If it's stolen and damaged, it's more trouble than it's worth.
But, realistically, every Mac is pretty secure. If it's linked to an AppleID, then you won't be able to use it for your own.
Also, is it damaged? Is the screen cracked? TBH, I'd hand it in to an Apple Store. Even a brand new M4 Max with 64Gb RAM and 8Tb. If it's stolen and damaged, it's more trouble than it's worth.
You find yourself in the possession of a stolen item with a tracker on it, maybe turn it over to the police?
Go to Cop Shop.
zero other options. And do it ....quickly.
Or actually there's another option: put it back where you found it (after you remove fingerprints
)
Then again, there's the possibility that it was lifted from a very wealthy person, who would pay out-of-pocket, for DNA and other trace tests, because the perp did other things, and well, they are really pissed off and will stop at nothing.
zero other options. And do it ....quickly.
Or actually there's another option: put it back where you found it (after you remove fingerprints
)Then again, there's the possibility that it was lifted from a very wealthy person, who would pay out-of-pocket, for DNA and other trace tests, because the perp did other things, and well, they are really pissed off and will stop at nothing.
Last edited:
Legally, a thing that someone forgot, lost and no matter where - on a table, under a table, on a bench in the park, on a tree or on the road or at the bottom of a lake - cannot belong to you - it is the appropriation of someone else's property - theft.
If it is switched on, get contact information out of it and give it to the owner.
How do I find the owner? That's easy. Go to the police. If you don't want to go to the police, you can do it yourself. Social media, newspaper ads. The only question is, how can you prove that it was broken and you found it that way?
if it was wrapped in tinfoil then someone stole it and tried to prevent it from connecting to wifi or bluetooth. Something is fishy and a half damaged MBP is not worth keeping it and end up with a theft charge. You get more out of it if you drop it off at the police hoping the owner had some millions of bitcoins on it and gives you a finders fee.
A fateful thing. I would have seen that, with the tinfoil on it, and wouldn't have touched it for a thousand bucks.
But that's just me (thank God)
There wouldn't have been a stressful moment of wanting to reunite something with an owner, feeling for their loss.
This is because I have a brain that still functions.
But that's just me (thank God)
There wouldn't have been a stressful moment of wanting to reunite something with an owner, feeling for their loss.
This is because I have a brain that still functions.
Last edited:
