My stolen airpods are at an address about 100km from where I live. WWYD?

[franke]

That's it really. I left my airpods on a flight to the UK (I'm in mainland Europe). They were then picked up by someone who went on holiday in the UK. The airpods showed up on the findmy app as far as the airport of departure where the trail went cold. Several weeks on, they have now turned up in my home country at an address about 100km from here. The house has three apartments in it. What would you do?

Actually though it’d kill me to do this I’d just claim on insurance now.

In the UK finding something that isn't yours and keeping it is classed as theft, and I imagine similar in some other countries too. So they have been 'stolen'.

Just because it's showing as at a specific house doesn't mean it's there. My mum had a couple at her door recently because their lost/stolen iPhone was showing as at her address. She most definitely didn't have it. Be careful what action you take. Tracking isnt 100% accurats. My phone is currently showing as at my neighbours house.

I'd do nothing. Don't risk your life for air pods

Oh come on. 🙄

I'd do nothing, GPS location isn't usually accurate to within an individual building.

you loose nothing by trying, you may be surprised

This happened to us, but it was only a 30 min drive. We went there, knocked on the door and ended up getting them back. I wasn't confrontational, in fact I was very friendly, and I was prepared to not get them back but felt it was worth a shot. I don't think I would have done it if it was 100km away though, due to the high chance of it being a wasted journey.

They're abandoned, not stolen. I think you buy new ones.

Theft by finding is a crime.... There's no such thing as finders keepers.

There is a good article here…

https://appleinsider.com/inside/airpods/tips/what-to-do-if-your-airpods-get-stolen-or-go-missing

They advise not going after lost AirPods yourself.

Hi OP, the person who has them could be hoping to find the owner. I would write to all addresses in the building about the airpods saying that they are yours and have been tracked to the building give a contact number (not the one the airpods are associated with) and could they post them back to xyz address. If you recieved some airpods in the post great and if you don't you tried.

No harm in sending a letter. They may well not have actually stolen them or be intending to keep them: the nearest police station to me is several miles away in a direction I rarely travel in and has the same opening hours as my working hours. If I found some AirPods I’d probably take them to the police station eventually, but it certainly wouldn’t be immediately, it would be several weeks later when I got around to it. The owner contacting me with their details would likely reunite them much more quickly.

They weren't stolen. They were found. I dont think there's anything you can do. You lost your airpods, there's no one else to blame.

In the UK there is an offence called 'theft by finding' - I suggest you look it up before quoting 'facts'

There was a guy on youtube who lost his in Bali and went looking for them, when he was close enough he was able to make them emit a high pitched sound, might give the thief a nasty scare!

Where did I state my opinion as "fact"? 🤣

OP lost something. The idea they ended up in someone's pocket as opposed to the bin is irrelevant in that, it was her fault she lost them, and she's no more able to get them back just because she knows the general area that the person lives in.

Nothing.

Youve lost them, someone else found them and kept them. How would they have given them back to you?

And…

Do you think that the OP would have had her iPods back if they hadn’t kept them?

I have had stuff on planes a couple of times and got it back. My husband lost his wallet on a plane and got that back.

Not everybody is a thief.

There was a woman a few years ago who was convicted of theft for taking a £20 note she found on the floor of a convenience store: https://metro.co.uk/2017/02/28/woman-who-found-20-on-the-floor-ended-up-with-a-criminal-record-for-pocketing-it-6477942/

If there’s an easy way to reunite an owner with their possessions and you don’t attempt to do so (as should be the case with an item left on a plane) then I think legally, and certainly morally, it can be classed as theft by finding.

I'm really interested to know how this played out. Did the person take some persuading?

Exact same happened to us, the missing phone was actually in the house two doors down.

We drove to the address where DH’s AirPods were showing, having sounded the alarm through them so they couldn’t be used, and knocked on the door. By this time they were showing at the nearby shopping centre so the woman who was at the house phoned her boyfriend who then sheepishly returned with them. My guess is he was going to flog them, particularly as he’d removed the phone number we’d put inside the lid.

I never understand why people would take someone’s AirPods. They’re so unhygienic and can’t really be sanitised between people.

Someone stole my AirPods case once - my AirPods were in my ears. Must have pissed them off to find the case was empty!