An Apple 'Find My' mystery keeps sending strangers to a Reddit user's house
in search of lost iPhones here's what's likely happening

Date:
Mon, 20 Jul 2026 11:54:59 +0000

Description:
Apples Find My is sending people to the wrong address looking for their lost iPhones.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter People keep arriving at a
Reddit users house seeking their lost iPhones It may be down to a quirk with how Apples Find My system works It sounds similar to another case from ten years ago If someone turned up at your door claiming their lost device was at your address and you knew it definitely wasnt you might be a little confused, but not too bothered. But if it happened repeatedly over a period
of years, youd start to get concerned. Thats exactly whats been happening to one long-suffering Reddit user, and the cause is still a mystery.

As recounted by the victim on their recent Reddit thread , About 3-4 years ago, we had two men turn up to our door because one of them had an iPhone stolen the night before, and the Find My app brought them to our house. The device wasnt there, however, and the men left. Ever since, weve had at least four or five more instances or random guys, iPad, or friends phone in hand, saying My phone is here, they continued. Its frustrating to have to explain
to them that this has happened and we dont have them. Latest Videos From
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But aside from the mere confusion of the incidents, the original poster was also concerned about their safety. Were both women, and I dont want one guy
to be absolutely fuming about his phone missing and hurt us, they worried.

Some people thought this might be more than a simple case of mistaken
identity or Find My having a glitchy moment. Ive seen videos from Ring doorbells being posted saying that this is a common scam nowadays, said one , with another adding that I would call the police. It may be someone trying to gain access to your property, whatever you do dont let them in. You may like iPhone age verification hits some people who live outside affected regions Selling an iPhone? Don't make this mistake that left one user 'mortified' She handed a repair tech her iPhone and then the worst happened here's how to protect your data and yourself Can anything be done? (Image credit: Ring) Situations like this can be concerning, especially if they keep happening
with different people turning up on your doorstep. But this is not the first time Apple s Find My feature has befuddled people in this way, with a similar case reported back in 2013 , for example.

And back in 2016, the Reply All podcast investigated after a strikingly similar occurrence in Atlanta, GA. In the end, the podcast concluded that it was all to do with the digital desert present in the area, with the Atlanta victims being one of the few homes with a router in the area. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

As the podcast explained, if a lost phone is trying to broadcast its
location, it might do so by connecting to GPS. If thats not feasible, itll next try to find the nearest IP addresses and Wi-Fi networks, triangulating itself based on the relative strengths of those networks.

If the center of that IP address area happens to be a persons house, thats where people seeking their lost device will end up. Moreover, considering how few routers were in the area, any lost phone that was relatively nearby and couldnt connect to GPS might have found the victims router as a fallback, leading people straight to the home in question. What's the answer? Apples Find My feature uses Bluetooth to connect to a network of other devices,
using them to pinpoint a lost phones location. What to read next Met Police and Apple partner to reduce iPhone theft iPhones could soon get a handy anti-snatching upgrade from Android A weird bug is eating over 100GB of
iPhone storage heres how to fix it

Its therefore conceivable that the solution for the Reddit conundrum is slightly different to that suggested by Reply All. One alternative suggested on Reddit was that stolen devices are being handled nearby and send out a
ping before theyre disassembled or deactivated. That ping is an approximate location, but it happens to line up with the victims house, sending people to their door.

Another possibility relates to Wi-Fi networks, as in the 2016 case. This
time, it was pointed out that Find My can log local Wi-Fi networks if the victims home network strength is strong enough, lost devices nearby could
show it as the phones last known location. The answer this time could be to add _nomap to the home network SSID name, as one user suggested .

But without a solid idea of whats happening, solutions might not always be possible. As one commenter said , depending on where you live it could be
that your home happens to be the location that a lot of IP addresses default to on the map. Sadly there is very little you can do about it. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Todays best iPhone deals Contract Deals Sim Free gift Apple iPhone 17 24 months Unlimited mins Unlimited texts 10GB data 19 upfront 34.99 /mth View at Mobiles.co.uk See all prices voucher gift Apple iPhone 17 Pro 36 months Unlimited mins 5GB data 30 upfront 67.32 /mth View at EE See all prices voucher gift Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max 36 months Unlimited mins 5GB data 30 upfront 60.32 /mth View at EE See all prices voucher gift Apple iPhone 17e 36 months Unlimited mins 5GB data 30 upfront 42.22 /mth View at EE See all prices voucher gift Apple iPhone Air 36 months Unlimited mins 25GB data 30 upfront 52.32 /mth View at EE See all prices We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/an-apple-find-my-mystery-keeps-sending-strang ers-to-a-reddit-users-house-in-search-of-lost-iphones-heres-whats-likely-happe ning


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