Atlanta man follows his stolen iPad’s location to Walmart. Then the locked machine reveals where it was hiding

An Atlanta man’s alleged search for his missing iPad took him to a Walmart phone trade-in kiosk.

The clip, posted by creator Tez on TikTok, opens with the caption, “POV: I tracked my stolen iPad to a Walmart phone trade-in machine.” From there, the video shows Tez standing near a self-service trade-in kiosk inside a Walmart, where customers can trade a used phone or tablet and receive payment on the spot.

A Walmart employee and a police officer are seen near the machine as it’s accessed, and by the end of the roughly eight-second clip, someone is holding up an iPad while people look on.

The search itself remains off-camera

The video doesn’t show a tracking app, a serial number, or paperwork confirming the device’s identity, and Tez’s account of how he pinpointed the machine happens off-camera. It’s also unclear whether he used Apple’s Find My app or another way to locate the iPad.

The story, as told, is that the kiosk was tracked down and the iPad was recovered there, though the clip picks up at the moment of arrival rather than showing the search that led to it.

Under the post, one commenter focused on the payout, writing, “They got 4$ for that iPad.” 

Another commenter described a similar situation, saying, “At least they opened it for you, somone stole my iPhone 16 and turned it into one of those and the cops refused to open it and so did the company who owns the machine.”

A third commenter questioned whether ecoATM could face liability for receiving stolen property, asking, “so is ecoatm in trouble for receiving stolen property?”

The comments also raise questions about how trade-in kiosks handle devices that may have been stolen and how much verification happens before a device is accepted.

Machines like these typically require sellers to verify their identity before a payout goes through. The video doesn’t show what that verification process looked like here. It’s also unclear whether staff were confirming Tez’s ownership claim, checking the alleged seller’s identity, or dealing with something else. As of this writing, Tez has not posted a follow-up explaining how the situation was resolved.