Airline closed her missing AirPods claim with no answers — then she tracked them to an employee’s locker and pulled one-tap revenge from home
When people find lost items, it is a basic courtesy to return them to the person to whom the item belonged. Reddit user u/jadewildaz had a layover in Houston when she realized that she had dropped her AirPods. However, even after providing the location and details of the airport employee who took the user's headphones, the airport authorities chose to ignore her complaints. Taking matters into her own hands, the user decided to take petty revenge that left the employee pulling the AirPods out each time they used them. Sharing the petty story on February 21, 2026, the Reddit user revealed how the employee's dishonesty left them regretting their choice.
The Reddit user was on a flight with a layover at Houston when she realized that her AirPods had fallen out of her pocket. After reaching out to the airlines for help, the issue was not resolved. So she plotted revenge and used the “play sound” option to blast the ears of the person who was using them. Her action made the thief regret stealing her AirPods. But she executed this plan only after the airlines failed to recover her lost items despite the clues the user provided about the suspected employee.
When the passenger lost her AirPods, she immediately filed a claim with United Airlines and gave a description of the silicone case they were in, along with her travel details. Since she was able to track the AirPods' location, she also emailed them stating that her item was moving from a residence to United's office. Having confirmed that they had been taken by an airplane cleaner, she requested that authorities track her AirPods. "I watched them go from the apartment building to the airport, back and forth, and tracked the schedule."
Unfortunately, United told her that since her AirPods had left the airport property, they could not do anything about recovering them, and hence closed her claim. While the authorities urged her to file a complaint with the Houston Police Department, the Reddit user decided to take petty revenge on the person who stole her AirPods. She used Apple's Find My feature and set it to play a sound whenever the earbuds were in use.
Each time she activated the sound, she watched the earbuds being kept back in the case. "I am slowly working toward making them go deaf, so no one else loses a set of headphones to them," she wrote. The user also noted that had the employee been honest and returned her AirPods, they would have been rewarded with enough money to buy a new pair. "I understand they are expensive and not everyone can swing a pair," she noted. Soon after her post gained traction, many users praised her idea.
u/auntwewe mentioned, "I think Apple needs to create a tone called 'these missing items are in the possession of someone I don't know.'" u/Roadgoddess recounted, "My sister literally tracked her AirPods to the person's house and went to the door and demanded them back, and the person looked so guilty and handed them over." u/holitrop remarked, "Am I the only one grossed out about wearing someone else's AirPods? Even after sanitizing, it's like wearing used underwear for me."