How a GLITCH on Apple’s ‘Find My’ app led 12 strangers believe a Texas man stole their devices
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A Texas man claims he fell victim to an iPhone glitch that saw 12 irate strangers knock on his door demanding he hand over their missing devices.
He believes the problem stems from a glitch in “Find My,” which locates Apple devices using a combination of cellular, Wi-Fi, and GPS, but the feature has been known to display the incorrect location.
The app is pre-downloaded on iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and Macs and is also available to search for missing AirTags and AirPods.
Numerous reports are circulating the web of people seeing the wrong location for their devices, even from as far as 10 miles away, but there have been no known complaints about more than one item linking to a place.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Apple for comment and has not yet received a response.
Your device’s location can be incorrect for a variety of reasons, including triangulation of cell towers, landscape, and building materials that can put your iPhone 10 miles out of range.
DailyMail.com has put together a list of solutions below so that you don’t fall victim to the same glitch.
Scott Schuster claims he fell victim to an iPhone glitch that saw 12 irate strangers knock on his door demanding he hand over their missing devices
Scott Schuster, a resident of Richmond, said people immediately showed up at his door day and night asking for their missing phones and air pods back.
“I have to wake up and open the door and tell people I don’t have their device,” he said ABC 13.
“And people don’t like to believe you.”
Schuster, a software engineer, said he reported the problem to Apple several times.
He says at least 12 have turned up on his doorstep and he fears for the safety of his seven and nine-year-old children.
It’s unclear how at least a dozen people’s devices are linked to the same spot, but users have reported their devices showing the wrong location. But not on this scale.
What is Find My
Apple launched the feature, formally known as “Find My iPhone,” in 2010 with the iOS 3 software for paying MobileMe users. It was made free with iOS 4.2.
He claims the outage is a result of a glitch in Apple’s Find My app that caused people to search for devices in the wrong location
Find My includes a Lost Mode that locks your device with a passcode and can display a custom message and contact phone number on the lock screen.
Lost Mode allows your device to track where it’s been and report back so you can view recent location history right from the Find My iPhone app.
And the app displays a map so you can find your lost device.
The Find My Network and App is a crowdsourced network that uses millions of Bluetooth devices to track down a specific item.
Apple claims the process is end-to-end encrypted and anonymous.
How to use the Find My app to locate your device
First, open the app on an Apple device – probably from a friend or family, since your device is missing.
Click the “Devices” tab at the bottom of your screen and look for your device in the list.
Once you find the device you want to locate, tap it and you can select more options to find it.
These include: Play sounds, Get directions, Notify when found, Mark as lost, or Erase this device.
The app is pre-downloaded on iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and Macs and is also available to search for missing AirTags and AirPods
Numerous reports are circulating the web of people seeing the wrong location for their devices, even from as far as 10 miles away, but there have been no known complaints about more than one item linking to a place. The problem may be that you have not activated location services
Why the Find My app shows the wrong location
There are several reasons why the app shows you in the wrong place, but there are simple ways to fix it.
You may have the wrong location service setting, need updates, have a poor internet connection, or have obstacles blocking connection to cell towers.
If your device’s location service settings are not correct, location-based apps will not pick up the correct GPS information,
All you have to do is go to Settings and then Privacy where you can enable Location Service.
Another reason why a location is not correct is that your device needs to be updated
Also, make sure your device has the correct date and time zone settings
Check if the Wi-Fi network is working properly or if you have enough data to establish a stable internet connection. If not, try changing data settings to stabilize your internet connection
A similar problem occurs if your device needs to be updated to the recent iOS system.
And a strong, stable internet connection is crucial to getting the correct GPS data.
If your internet connection is down or unavailable, you need to give it a boost.
Check if the Wi-Fi network is working properly or if you have enough data to establish a stable internet connection.
If not, try changing data settings to stabilize your internet connection.
How to fix wrong locations
Restarting the app is the first solution you want to try, which you can do by closing and opening it.
Then check your location service settings and allow the Find My app to track your location while using the app or all the time.
Also, make sure your device has the correct date and time zone settings.
Resetting your location and privacy settings will restore your iPhone to its previous settings, eliminating incorrect location issues.
And if all else fails, reboot your device.