Man travels 6400km to track down stolen Airpods: 'Pettiest thing I’ve done'
A 31-year-old man has revealed how he flew 6,437km across the world to track down his stolen AirPods – spending almost $4000 to do so.
Lewis Ellis, from Manchester, left his headphones behind after he got off a Qatar Airways flight from Bangkok to Doha, Qatar.
After realising his mistake, he says staff couldn’t allow him back in the cabin to retrieve them, but he expected to be reunited with them once inside the airport.
To his dismay, four hours later, they were nowhere to be found and he left.
Lewis later had the idea of checking their location on the Find My app on his phone – and was stunned to learn they were on the move.
“I then had the joy of watching them travel the world for no less than five months,” Lewis, founder of Hussel Marketing, told NeedToKnow.online.
“I don’t know who took them but my AirPods went on the holiday of a lifetime.
“I watched as they flew from Qatar to Katmandu, before heading to a small village in the Himalayan mountains overlooking Nepal.
“They then took a short jaunt to Thailand before finally coming to rest back in Doha.
“I just couldn’t stand it any longer – so I decided to track them down.”
Dare leads to epic trip to find AirPods
What started as a joking dare from friends to go and retrieve them in person turned into an adventure for Lewis.
He flew out to Doha and commenced the hunt for his lost headphones, constantly checking the app so he could get as close as possible.
Accompanying Lewis was friend Tom, and a local man called Karim who they met at the hotel they were staying at, and who was keen to help.
“We went hunting. It was an adventure and felt like I was in a lost treasure film, it was all very exciting,” Lewis said.
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They tracked the AirPods to an apartment block – the closest the app would get them – and then went floor-to-floor trying to connect to them by Bluetooth.
Finally, outside one of the rooms the headphones connected to Lewis’ phone.
“We knew they were inside and I was determined to get them back. I would go back every day of the trip until I got them," he said.
“I had the box with the serial number on it so was ready to prove they were mine.”
'My mum thinks I'm mental'
Lewis, Tom and Karim were eventually allowed inside where several people were staying.
Thankfully, the presumed-lost headphones were handed over without incident.
“We high-fived and cheered, it was all fun and games and there were no hard feelings,” Lewis said.
“As we left, one person apologised for the inconvenience, but I was just happy to have them back.”
Despite spending a total of £2,300 (A$3,963) on flights, accommodation and food, Lewis has no regrets.
“My mum thinks I’m mental but it was fun! We had no real plan but just hoped to find them again,” he said.
“The fact you can track tiny headphones around the world is unbelievable.
“I didn’t really expect to get them back and I joked that flying to Doha to get them is the pettiest thing I’ve ever done.
“But it’s just great that we managed to find them – and now I don’t need to buy a new pair!”
Jam Press has contacted Qatar Airways for comment.
Ria Newman/Jam Press/Australscope
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