Possible to track a stolen laptop ?

Is it possible to track a stolen laptop ?
My Macbook Pro has been stolen and I am wondering if there is any way Apple can track if it is being used and by whom. I am guessing that when the thief (or whoever buys the laptop) signs on to the Apple server and quotes the number on the bottom then this information is recorded. I would like to get my computer back so I can carry on using it for my photography.

Sorry to hear about that -- I haven't used that service, but have never had problems with UPS or FedEx...although I know those are a lot more expensive in Europe than here....
Sorry about your loss. Apple does not track serial numbers either, except as they relate to repairs, they don't track who owns what when - macbooks change hands frequently within groups of friends, passed on through family members, or eBayed....they do not track anything for legal purposes.

Similar Messages

Is it possible to track a stolen ipods usage via serial number

Is it possible to track a stolen ipods usage via serial number

No. The SN will only help identify the iPod as yours if it is recovered
- If you previously turned on FIndMyiPod on the iPod in Settings>iCloud and wifi is on and connected go to iCloud: Find My iPhone, sign in and go to FIndMyiPhone. If the iPod has been restored it will never show up.
- You can also wipe/erase the iPod and have the iPod play a sound via iCloud.
- If not shown, then you will have to use the old fashioned way, like if you lost a wallet or purse.
- Change the passwords for all accounts used on the iPod and report to police
- There is no way to prevent someone from restoring the iPod (it erases it) using it unless you had iOS 7 on the device. With iOS 7, one has to enter the Apple ID and password to restore the device.
- Apple will do nothing without a court order
Reporting a lost or stolen Apple product
- iOS: How to find the serial number, IMEI, MEID, CDN, and ICCID number

Is there any way to track a stolen laptop using the mac address, or by triangulating the wifi, or even by checking to see if the macbooks serial number has been registered online anywhere?

A little info on my question,
I had it stoeln on June 22nd 2013. I had recently bought it so had not installed any software on it nor did I have registered with icloud. I had contacted police, registered it stolen with Apple (but then just discovered this week that apple do not have a database for stolen products, which makes no sense at all).
I have contacted all the major pawn shops and computer stores in town etc etc. I have recently discovered that each laptop has a unique MAC address whcih begs the question, is that traceable somehow? I have been made aware that the router strips the mac address before it connects it to the internet but does the isp log the laptops MAC address? If i contacted all the major isp in my country would they have the ability to search for the mac address of my latop and then link that with an ip address?
Any help would be great please!

karlgporter wrote:
Yeah but I registered it stolen with Apple first thing, then called local police etc. Apple told me on the phone that the serial has been logged as stolen, which I assumed would limit the computers use online.
Every machine has a unique serial number what I was getting at is there must be some way to track the serial number and for example if the theif logged onto facebook using a stolen machine, if there were a register of stolen equipment then red flags would pop up, you know what I mean?
Well, I hadn't heard of that before. If it's true, then what you say should also be true but the Mac would have to publish its hardware serial number over the Internet and I haven't heard of that either. The only Apple tech that is supposed to constantly track you is iCloud.
You said you assumed the database would limit use online but if that's only an assumption, you need to ask Apple what exactly the stolen database does. It is possible that the serial number might only get flagged if it comes into an Apple Store for service, if it ever does. You need to clarify this with Apple.

Is It Possible To Track A Stolen Ipod?

My Ipod Was Stolen a Few Months Ago And I Wanna Find Out If Their Is Tracker On It

Device tracking is valuable for misplaced devices, not stolen devices. The mechanism can be defeated by any thief with half a brain. Sorry.

Possible to track lost/stolen iPhone without sim card?

I managed to lose my iPhone last night ( )and I think it may have been picked up by someone as it was lost in a bar and the bar hasn't got it. I've tried calling it but it just goes straight to my voicemail.
Since it was fully charged, I don't think it's died. If someone has taken the sim card out and restored the phone, is there any way to track the actual phone?

With a MobileMe account and Find My iPhone enabled along with the Passcode Lock feature enabled which prevents someone from accessing anything on your iPhone, removing the SIM card prevents using the Find My iPhone features. The same if the iPhone is restored with iTunes as a new iPhone.

HT1918 can you track a stolen ipad

is it possible to track a stolen ipad mini?

roaminggnome, i had not set up find my stuff before it got stolen, but i was able to "speak" to my ipad through someone else's apple device by using my apple id. i received emails later that said that it had bipped and locked succesfully, erasing is still in process... what i don't understand is why Apple allows stolen goods to get a new apple id???

If an ipod touch is lost or stolen, is it possible to track it?

Is it possible to track a lost or stolen ipod touch and if so how is tracking done?

- If you previously turned on FIndMyiPod (Settings>iCloud) and wifi is on and connected go to iCloud: Find My iPhone, sign in and and go to FIndMyiPhone. You can also wipe the device, and have it play a sound .If the iPod has been restored it will never show up.
- Change the passwords for all accounts used on the iPod and report to police
- Apple will do nothing
Reporting a lost or stolen Apple product

How to track stolen laptops?

I lost my Lenovo G580 Laptop last week.
It doesn't have any tracking programs installed.
But i have the serial number and MAC id of my Laptop.
Is there a way that i can be able to track my laptop...

hi Arul_Prakash_V,
Welcome to the Lenovo Community and sorry to hear about your trouble.
AFAIK, the only method to track a laptop is via the Anti Theft Technology. It's a lojack for laptops that's embedded on the motherboard's BIOS (chip) and is usually bundled with tracking software (subscription) like the Absolute's Computrace. When this chip is activated with the help of Absolute CompuTrace then they should be able to track or remotely lock the unit. Otherwise, there's no technology yet to track the laptop via the serial number without the abovementioned methods.
I recommend you report the stolen laptop to the local authorities so that you can claim the unit back once it's recovered. You can also contact lenovo and flag the laptop (via serial number) as "stolen" so anyone who calls for support on the unit will also be flagged.
Regards
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How possible is it to track a stolen blackberry throug PIN & IME

Guys, I need a guide on how to use PIN & IME to track a stolen blackberry irrespective of SIM inserted in to the phone.
Thanks.

Very little.
1. If any post helps you please click the below the post(s) that helped you.
2. Please resolve your thread by marking the post "Solution?" which solved it for you!
3. Install free BlackBerry Protect today for backups of contacts and data.
4. Guide to Unlocking your BlackBerry & Unlock Codes
Join our BBM Channels (Beta)
BlackBerry Support Forums Channel
PIN: C0001B7B4 Display/Scan Bar Code
Knowledge Base Updates
PIN: C0005A9AA Display/Scan Bar Code

Stolen laptop shows up in Finder Sidebar?

I had my Macbook Pro stolen some months ago.
Recently (this week), a new device has appeared under the 'SHARED' section of the Finder window sidebars. The device is called "Azul azul's macbook pro", and has a Macbook Pro icon. (not a PC icon or desktop mac icon).
The 'computer name' of my stolen laptop under the Sharing preferences pane was 'Azul'.
I cannot connect to file sharing or screen sharing services on this device. I tried phoney username and passwords, and get told that isn't a valid account for this computer. This suggests the device is responding to connection attempts - as if I try to connect to (say) a non-mac device on the Network, I get a different kind of error.
I have turned off everything on our local network except for my one desktop Mac - but this rogue devcie still shows. I have turned off my desktop Mac, and left just my (new) Macbook on, and the device is still there. This suggests that the device is not some sort of ghost or VM system running on my desktop or new laptop.
So - what can it be? Seems a major coincidence that it has the same Computer name as my old laptop.
My router shows no network devices on the LAN side that I cannot account for.
Is my old laptop somehow using Back to My Mac or something to show up in my Finder sidebars? Is it possible for me to get the IP address of this device somehow?

Sounds like someone's using your stolen machine with your MobileMe account still active, which is a concern, obviously. However, it could work to your advantage. See:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/11/stolen-laptop-recovered-with-back-to-my-mac/
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/04/15/using-back-to-my-mac-to-catch-a-thief/
http://mac.appstorm.net/reviews/security/hidden-track-and-recover-your-stolen-ma c/

Tracking a stolen Iphone 2G

Is there a way to track a stolen 2G Iphone? My daughters 2G was stolen today and I m wondering if through GPS there is a way to locate her phone. I have a 3G, which I think might help in locating hers. Greatly appreciate any help. Thanks and Happy New Year!

As I'm sure you know, the first generation iPhone doesn't include GPS and even if it did, this wouldn't be possible. When using an app that requires location services with a first generation iPhone or with an iPhone 3G, the app requests your approval in order to do so.
Even with a police report, Apple nor AT&T will help unless the police request their assistance to do so which isn't likely.
If she didn't have the passcode lock feature enabled along with the erase data option after 10 failed passcode attempts, if she was accessing an email account with the iPhone's mail client, she needs to change her password for the account - for all email accounts if more than one email account was being accessed.
If you are in the U.S., you also need to contact AT&T to notify them that the iPhone was stolen.

How to use sharing to find a stolen laptop

I saw a news story about a guy whose laptop was stolen. He accessed the laptop remotely and watched the activity on it. He finally saw the thief enter his name and address to register on a web site, then he sent the police to that address and they recovered the laptop. (That was a windows machine.) I saw another article - a few months ago - about a stolen Mac laptop that was recovered when the woman who owned it accessed it remotely and used the built-in camera to take a picture of the thief. Cool stuff - which I could not do!
I use a Mac laptop as my only computer, and I travel a lot. If it got stolen, I'd like to be able to access it remotely and try to recover it. I looked at the sharing preferences, and there are ten different options that can be turned on or off. And the descriptions of each of those options are very minimal.
After reading the news stories about people who recovered their stolen laptops, I'd really like to know how to set up sharing services on my Mac to be able to do the same thing.
Are there any articles or web sites or support notes on the topic of "How to set up and use sharing to recover a stolen Macintosh"? If there are, can you direct me to them? If not, this would a great article or support note for somebody to write.
What sharing services would you turn on? If there are configuration options for those services, how should the options be set? If the computer is stolen, what actions would take to track the computer and try to recover it?

that's correct but there are ways around that too (if one knows them). physical access to the computer trumps any safeguards you can put. of course, not every thief would know how to circumvent a firmware password. Still, it's not such a great secret. the method has been discussed many times on this forum for example. I'm not trying to discourage you from buying the software. I just wanted to explain that none of this is foolproof.

How do i track a stolen ipod touch

how do i track a stolen ipod touch

Hello,
I am currently an owner of an iPod Touch 4th generation, running IOS 6.1.2. I will be glad to help solve your problem with your iPod/iPad/or iPhone.
Thats a good idea!
Lost or Stolen iPod/iPad/or iPhone:
If you have turned on “Find my iPod/iPad/or iPhone recently, then you can find it, by following these steps:
Log into www.icloud.com with the Apple I.D. Associated with your iPod/iPad/or iPhone
Click on Devices
Click on the device that has gone lost
Either put it in Lost Mode (suggested), or make it play a sound. (PLEASE NOTE: DEVICE MUST BE CONNECTED TO WIFI IN ORDER FOR THESE TO HAPPEN)
Hope that helps!
If none of the above solutions work, could you please reply back as soon as possible, as I will try to find another solution to your problem.
Sincerely,
Pizza98704
(Parts of this message was copied and pasted --> I have a document all ready to go)
Some Helpful Links:
Apple Support Link: http://www.apple.com/support/contact/
Genius Bar of an Apple Store: http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/

Is it possible to track a MacBook by its serial number

Is it possible to track a MacBook using its serial number?

A MacBook Air was reported stolen
From a room at my hotel that belong to a guest. I request a apple Id and password from the guest in order to track it though iCloud, when I login into the account the MacBook was not their, however I saw other device. A few days has past then the MacBook appear. How does that happened, please explain?

Anyway of tracking a stolen macbook pro?

anyway of tracking a stolen macbook pro?

I believe that find my iphone also works over icloud for laptops. If it's connected to the internet, just go online and look up find my iphone, and it'll show your device (even though its not an iphone) on a map.

Possible to track a stolen laptop ?

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