What you’re dealing with
Their advantage is battery: a tablet that has been missing a week is often still alive enough to answer a scan, which is rarely true of earbuds.
| Broadcasts as | iPad, or the device name you set in Settings |
|---|---|
| Typical battery | About 10 hours in use, several days to a week in standby |
| Findable by scan | Yes, while powered on |
| Search window | Days to weeks |
Once the battery is gone: iPads hold standby charge for a long time, so a tablet missing for a few days is usually still broadcasting.
Where it usually is
Between the mattress and the wall
Used in bed, slid down the side.
Under a sofa cushion
Large enough to be under a whole cushion rather than in a seam.
In a case that looks like a book
On a shelf, indistinguishable from the books around it.
A child’s room
If there are children in the house, start here rather than finishing here.
How to search for it
- Check the last-seen map firstBefore you search a room, find out which building. A pin saves you from searching the right way in the wrong place.
- Scan from the middle of the roomNote everything that appears, then select the device you want so the rest of the list drops away.
- Walk and watch the signalSweep in a straight line, give each position a few seconds, and turn 90 degrees when the reading stops rising.
- Search inside things, not across themA strong signal with nothing visible means it is underneath or inside something. Fabric and metal block Bluetooth badly.
Tips specific to ipad
- Give the device a distinctive name in Settings. Anonymous hardware in a scan list is much harder to act on than something called Kitchen iPad.
- Standby means the last-seen pin is often still current rather than historical.
Other things people lose
The same method applies to these, with different battery windows and different hiding places.
- How to find a MacBook in the building, Up to about 18 hours in use
- How to find lost Sony WH-1000XM headphones, About 30 hours with noise cancelling on
- How to find lost Bose QuietComfort headphones, Around 24 hours over-ear
- How to find lost Samsung Galaxy Buds, Roughly 5 to 8 hours per earbud depending on model and ANC
- How to find a lost wallet, n/a
- Bluetooth scanner for iPhone, Scan tab
- How to find your phone when it’s on silent, The silent phone problem
- All device guides, the complete list
Common questions
Can I find an iPad that has been off for a week?
If it is asleep rather than powered down, quite possibly, standby drain is slow. If it was shut down deliberately, no scan will detect it and the last-seen location is your starting point.