Two possible Apple Watch thieves have been jailed after the rightful owner “pinged” the device while police officers were searching the thieves’ home.
Pinging an Apple Watch from an iPhone is a way to find your watch if you’ve somehow misplaced it. From the sound of things, it’s pretty great to do if a couple of criminals have stolen your Apple Watch, too.
A Fox40 report notes that:
“Officials said investigators tracked down the location of an Apple Watch stolen in Roseville Wednesday to a parking lot on Auburn Boulevard near Whyte Avenue. In the parking lot was a motorhome with 21-year-old Elijah Filson and 38-year-old Jacob Cummins inside, both of whom were on probation, investigators said.”
While the police were searching the motorhome, the owner of the Apple Watch pinged it. This caused it to emit a sound, leading the officers to its hiding place in a cabinet in the back of the motorhome. The two suspected thieves were booked on charges including possession of stolen property and possession of a controlled substance.
Find My iPhone: Finding Apple Watch thieves and more
Most users know that it’s possible to ping an iPhone from an Apple Watch. However, not everyone knows that the reverse is also true. In order to ping your Apple Watch, it must be connected to the internet. Users must then launch the Find My iPhone app on their device, and sign into iCloud. Next, select the Apple Watch from the list of devices. The Watch will then appear on a map, showing its location. Tapping the Watch icon brings up the option of a “play sound” button.
Find My iPhone has been used to track down many stolen Apple devices over the years. The feature was first introduced in August 2011. It displays the location of iDevices on a world map, using GPS to pinpoint exact location. At last year’s Coachella music festival, Find My iPhone helped catch a thief who had stolen 100 phones. More notably, it was even used to save a kidnapped bride from a forced marriage.
