However, in my case, the device keeps showing as offline and I’m getting no updated location at all.
Here is the accurate information that you are seeking. First of all, you do not know if the phone has been powered off, but this is a possibility. There are multiple reasons why a phone might appear as "Offline"
- The battery has run down
- The phone was powered off.....see more info below
- The phone does not have an Internet connection
- A thief has wrapped aluminum foil around the phone or placed it in a Faraday bag.....so the phone cannot send or receive a signal. (Any iPhone thief is well aware of this).
In theory, the phone can be located if it has been powered off.....But....this depends on whether there are other iPhones or Apple devices in very close proximity to the phone to pick up the intermittent Bluetooth signal that the phone sends out when it has been powered off.
We can discuss "close proximity" more if you wish, but think of a device in the same room or within 25-30 feet of the missing phone.
Of course, if the battery has run down.....something that you may not have thought about.....the phone cannot send out a signal at all.
Frankly, as long as the phone is showing "Offline", there is nothing that you can do other than keep checking every few hours to see if the status of the phone has changed and look for the phone physically in the area where it was lost.
Were you at a restaurant or shop when the phone was lost? Have you checked to see if someone has turned the phone in to the management?
Yes, you can blame Apple if you want, but it's not their fault that you cannot locate the phone.
