Stolen iPad + re-installed iOS = SOL?

[jenzjen]

I posted this in the iPad forum but think it belongs here ...

My iPad was stolen this morning, and it is not showing up on Find my iPhone, so I'm guessing the person turned the iPad off?

Now, if that person goes home to connect it to iTunes and decides to completely restore iOS so everything gets erased, am I SOL from ever seeing it come up on FindMP again?

 

[Rooskibar03]

To answer your question.

If the person who found/stole it disables Find My Phone under settings or does a fresh install of the iOS then yes you are SOL.

Sorry. That really blows.

 

[Dalton63841]

So essentially, Find My iPhone is worthless. Anyone with a brain would shut it off till it had the opportunity to be restored.

 

[jenzjen]

To answer your question.

If the person who found/stole it disables Find My Phone under settings or does a fresh install of the iOS then yes you are SOL.

Sorry. That really blows.

Thank you, and I had a train of thought like the post above, because either you (a) leave it without a password auto lock leaving your data open for others but at the same time giving you a chance to use FindMP if the person decides to just start using it or (b) like me, you have the auto lock set for a short duration so if lost your data isn't compromised but at the same time this forces the person who steals it resorting to a full wipe to gain access = no FindMP.

I don't like (a) and I guess with (b) unless they power it off, you still have a window where you can try and track them down. Both are better than nothing but still far from ideal.

 

[QuarterSwede]

Thank you, and I had a train of thought like the post above, because either you (a) leave it without a password auto lock leaving your data open for others but at the same time giving you a chance to use FindMP if the person decides to just start using it or (b) like me, you have the auto lock set for a short duration so if lost your data isn't compromised but at the same time this forces the person who steals it resorting to a full wipe to gain access = no FindMP.

I don't like (a) and I guess with (b) unless they power it off, you still have a window where you can try and track them down. Both are better than nothing but still far from ideal.

They have to turn it on the restore it. The only issue is that if it doesn't connect to a wifi network you're out of luck.

 

[rdowns]

So essentially, Find My iPhone is worthless. Anyone with a brain would shut it off till it had the opportunity to be restored.

Hardly. More people misplace their devices than have them stolen. Find My iDevice has value.

 

[jenzjen]

They have to turn it on the restore it. The only issue is that if it doesn't connect to a wifi network you're out of luck.

Right, because it is almost 100% that my iPad has never seen their wifi network before so it will not connect to their wifi so no more updates on FindMP

If for some strange reason it did connect to a wifi network, then there's like a 5 minute window where it would probably show up, but I'd have better luck playing the lottery than hitting that window.

This blows.

 

[Dalton63841]

Hardly. More people misplace their devices than have them stolen. Find My iDevice has value.

Ahh, that is an excellent point. Even at that though, it is dependent on either not being around other people, or being around honest people.

 

[Dufus Del Dia]

When I run Mobile Me, if it can't locate my devices, it remembers the last location, and when it was located there. The Mobile Me Map pops up in the last known location while it's trying to re-locate the device.

So, it seems to me that if a stolen units hits WiFi long enough to update Mobile Me Location, you'd at least have a clue as to where it was before getting lobotomized...

 

[jenzjen]

So, it seems to me that if a stolen units hits WiFi long enough to update Mobile Me Location, you'd at least have a clue as to where it was before getting lobotomized...

Right, but only if I'm logged into FMP at the same time the thief is connecting my iPad to a wireless network before restoring it.