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GitHub - matthiasgoergens/find-ipad: BLE proximity scanner: find a lost Apple device by walking around with a beeping MacBook · GitHub

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matthiasgoergens

find-ipad

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find-ipad

A tiny macOS BLE proximity scanner for finding a lost Apple device (an iPad<br>mini, as it happens) by walking around with a MacBook and watching/hearing the<br>Bluetooth signal strength get warmer or colder.

Build

swiftc -O find-ipad-scan.swift -o find-ipad-scan

Use

List mode — survey what's around:

./find-ipad-scan

A live table of nearby Apple BLE devices, sorted by signal strength<br>(RSSI, higher/less negative = closer). Devices on your own Apple ID may<br>show their real name. Rows marked ◀ FindMy beacon are devices<br>advertising Find My offline-finding frames — prime candidates for a<br>sleeping/lost device. Rows that follow you as you walk (your phone,<br>your watch) are not the target; the target's signal changes with its<br>position, not yours.

Track mode — Geiger-counter for one device:

">./find-ipad-scan --track

Beeps faster and louder as you get closer, and prints a timestamped<br>scrolling log (RSSI, signal bar, warmer/colder trend) so you can read<br>back the trail if the beeping misleads you.

Options: --all (include non-Apple devices), --min-rssi ,<br>--timeout (auto-exit, for testing).

Notes

First run prompts for Bluetooth permission (System Settings → Privacy &<br>Security → Bluetooth). Run it from Terminal.app/iTerm — a shell that can<br>show the prompt.

The device IDs shown are macOS-assigned UUIDs for the (rotating) BLE<br>address; they change every ~15 minutes, so re-pick the target from list<br>mode if the signal vanishes for good.

Rough RSSI intuition indoors: −40 ≈ same cushion, −55 ≈ same room,<br>−70 ≈ next room, −85 and below ≈ far away or through walls. Your body<br>blocks 2.4 GHz:<br>rotating on the spot and seeing the signal drop when your back faces a<br>direction is itself a direction hint.

About<br>BLE proximity scanner: find a lost Apple device by walking around with a beeping MacBook<br>Resources<br>Readme<br>Activity<br>Stars<br>0 stars<br>Watchers<br>0 watching<br>Forks<br>0 forks<br>Report repository

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