Find your lost phone. Or not.

I read an article the other day about using the "Find My Phone" App to locate a missing phone. It seems that someone walked off with another person's iPhone and the owner, using "Find My Phone" established the address where the phone was located and wanted police to retrieve it. But there was a problem. The more the police looked at the app, the less sure they were about where the phone actually was. It seemed to be moving back and forth between several houses. Which address should they use for the search warrant?

I'm familiar with this phenomenon. Consider, for example this screen shot from the "Find My Phone" App on my iPad, used to locate my iPhone (yes, I drank the Koolaid), which was sitting right next to me. According to this photo, the phone is next door in my neighbor's house. We don't have a boat - that's definitely the neighbors.

Now here's another screen shot, taken just a couple of minutes later.

 Now the phone is in my front yard. Or maybe in the tree. Not until several refreshes did I get the phone actually inside our house, but even then it seems to be in one of the bedrooms, or perhaps the bathroom, not right beside the recliner in the living room.

I actually used the "Find My Phone" App to watch my phone's progress from hospital #2 back to hospital #1 where I was. I knew where the phone was - secure in a lock box at hospital #2, along with all other metal objects (watch, eyeglasses, etc.). I was in a hurry to leave #2 (here's why) and forgot to collect my items. The friendly EMTs called #2 and requested that the items be handed to the next ambulance headed to hospital #1.

Back at #1, I picked up my iPad and pulled up the "Find My Phone" App just in time to see the phone move from #2 to the street out front, then onto the freeway headed my direction. Then it veered into a residential area. Then back to the freeway, then near a bunch of apartment buildings, then to a commercial area which had one or two night clubs identified on the map.

Was the ambulance really wandering around town, and did the EMTs stop off for a beer? No, the phone icon quickly moved back to the freeway, and then after a few more side trips ended up at hospital #1, and in a bit the nurse walked in with my possessions.

So be warned. If you are looking for your phone with this application, don't be surprised if it stopped off for a drink. Or if the neighbor has it.