Headphones lead police to the perpetrators

The theft was a failure: the police were led directly to the criminals by the location of the headphones in the stolen goods. Following a search warrant, the loot was seized in a Munich apartment and the perpetrators were brought before a magistrate.

Easy game, five young men probably thought, when they approached a 24-year-old party guest after a visit to a club and then robbed him of his bag and jacket. But the ill-considered act was to be avenged later that night. The amateur thieves didn't realize that the bag they had stolen contained headphones. Or they were unaware of the features of the expensive Apple AirPods. The victim pulled out his smartphone and was able to determine the location of his stolen headphones. He alerted the police, who immediately took up the pursuit and were able to recover the bag, money and headphones just a few hours later.

Better take a closer look: What trackable devices can do

Not only thefts, but also many an infidelity has been discovered because the full scope of the benefits of location-enabled devices was not considered. The practical function ensures that the small in-ear products can be easily found again using a tablet, computer or smartphone. The prerequisite for this is that Bluetooth is activated. There is usually an app on the device that is used together with the headphones, with which the external products must be registered before they are lost or stolen. Alternatively, it is only necessary to log in. Various features are then available to start the search: The location is displayed on a map, or an acoustic signal sounds. The loss of headphones can also be officially reported by setting their status to "Lost". This enables other cell phone owners of the same provider to find them.