Absolute Home & Office Standard: Laptop Theft Recovery With a Team That Goes and Gets It
Absolute Home & Office Standard is a $39.99-a-year anti-theft subscription for Windows and Mac computers, formerly sold as Absolute LoJack Standard. It lets you locate, lock and remotely wipe a missing laptop, and if it's stolen, Absolute's Investigations Team works with the police to recover it. On many PCs the agent is backed by a module in the firmware that survives a factory reset or a new hard drive. It's for people and small businesses whose laptops travel and would hurt to lose, data and all.
Most "find my laptop" tools stop at a dot on a map, and the dot disappears the moment a thief wipes the drive. Absolute's pitch is the two steps after that: an agent that comes back after a wipe, and investigators who take the location to the police.
Quick facts
- Developer: Absolute Software Corporation (Absolute Home & Office is its consumer and small business line; the name replaced LoJack for Laptops)
- Platforms: Windows 10 and 11 (Home and Pro), macOS 13, 14 and 15. No iOS, iPadOS or Android
- Standard includes: Locate (GPS, Wi-Fi and IP geolocation), remote Lock, remote Wipe, and theft recovery by the Investigations Team
- Persistence: on devices whose maker embeds Absolute's module in the BIOS/firmware, the agent reinstalls itself after a reset, a new OS or a drive swap; not available on Macs
- Price: $39.99 for one year per device, or $89.99 for three years; renews automatically unless you turn it off
- Free option: Locate is free for the first year after you register
- Accounts: up to 50 devices per account
- What we checked: $39.99 for one year of Absolute Home & Office Standard, renewing every 12 months, on the order page on November 11, 2026, and the plan details, guarantee terms and requirements on the vendor's site the same day. We didn't install the agent or test a recovery
Download Free TrialBuy Basic ($19.99/yr)Buy Standard ($39.99/yr)Buy Premium ($59.99/yr)
Overview
Absolute Home & Office has two parts: a small agent you install on each computer, and an online console at app.absolute.com where you see your devices and send commands. The agent checks in with Absolute's Monitoring Center when the computer is online. From the console you can see where a device was last located, freeze it, or delete files from it. If it's stolen, you file a theft report and a police report, and the Investigations Team takes over.
There are three paid plans. Basic ($19.99 a year) has Locate, Lock and Wipe. Standard adds theft recovery by the Investigations Team. Premium ($59.99 a year) adds a payment of up to $1,000 if a stolen device isn't recovered within 60 days, and is sold only in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. Absolute renamed its products in its rebrand: LoJack Premium became Premium, LoJack Standard became Standard, and Absolute Data Protect became Basic.
Features
Locate a missing computer
Absolute Home & Office shows a device's last known location using a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi and IP geolocation, so you can tell whether a laptop was left at a café or is moving across town. The device has to be online to report, and if a computer hasn't checked in for 30 days in a row, Absolute emails you about it.
Lock it remotely
Absolute Home & Office can freeze a device from the console, which blocks access to it until you release it from the console. It's the step to take when you don't yet know whether a laptop is misplaced or stolen.
Wipe files permanently
Absolute Home & Office can delete some or all files from a device remotely and permanently, the next time it connects to the internet. That protects tax records, client files and saved logins when recovery looks unlikely.
Recovery by the Investigations Team
Absolute Home & Office Standard includes Absolute's Investigations Team, which uses investigative procedures and forensic tools and works with local law enforcement to recover a stolen device and return it. Absolute says it has recovered more than 50,000 stolen devices in 122 countries and that its work has led to over 5,000 criminal charges. The team tracks a stolen computer for one year from the theft report, and it needs your police report information within a set time to start.
Persistence built into the firmware
Absolute Home & Office uses the Computrace (Absolute Persistence) module that many PC makers put in the BIOS/firmware at the factory. Once the software is installed and active, that module restores the agent after a factory reset, a new operating system or a replacement hard drive. Absolute says the module is embedded in over 600 million devices, and it has an online compatibility checker. It can't be added to a device that doesn't have it, and Apple doesn't allow it on Macs.
Benefits
- A real chance of getting it back. A location alone rarely moves the police; a specialist team that works with them does.
- Hard for a thief to shake off. On a PC with the firmware module, wiping the drive doesn't remove the protection.
- Your data covered either way. Lock and Wipe protect what's on the device even if the hardware is gone.
- Small fleets in one place. Up to 50 devices in one account, for a family or a small office.
Real-World Uses
- A student's laptop. Protect a laptop in a shared apartment or dorm, where theft is common and the files are a semester of work.
- A small business with field staff. Cover sales and service laptops that live in cars and hotel rooms, and wipe client data if one goes missing.
- Business travel. Locate a laptop left behind at a conference, and lock it until you get it back.
- An expensive workstation laptop. Add recovery to a machine that costs thousands to replace.
Who It's For, and Who Should Skip It
It's for owners of Windows laptops (especially models with the firmware module) and Mac laptops who want recovery help, not just tracking, and small businesses with up to 50 computers.
Skip it if you only want to see where your laptop is: Windows and macOS have free built-in device finders, and Absolute's own Locate is free for the first year. Skip it for phones and tablets, which it doesn't support. If you want cash back when recovery fails, you need Premium, and only if you live in the US, Canada, the UK or Australia. A company with hundreds of devices should look at Absolute's enterprise products instead.
Usage Guide
- Buy and get your code. After you order, you receive an activation code by email (usually within about five minutes; check spam if not).
- Create your account. Go to the sign-up page, verify your email, set a password and log in.
- Activate. Enter the activation code to activate your subscription.
- Install the agent. Download the installer from the console on the computer you want to protect and run the MSI file. The device can take up to 20 minutes to appear in your account.
- Add more devices. Use Add Device on each further computer, with a license for each.
- If it's stolen. File a police report, then report the theft in the console (Report a Theft) with the police details so the Investigations Team can begin.
Before you buy
- It renews automatically. Every Absolute license is set to auto-renew each year. You can turn auto-renewal off per subscription in the console, and you'll then get a reminder email 30 days before it expires.
- Check for the firmware module. The self-healing persistence works only if your PC maker included it. Use Absolute's compatibility checker or ask the maker before you count on it.
- It isn't pre-installed. Even if you bought a license with a new laptop, you still install and activate it yourself.
- It's per device. Prices are per computer; a license can be moved to a new device by removing it from the old one in the console.
Where it falls short
- Weaker on Macs. Without firmware persistence, a Mac thief who replaces the drive or reinstalls macOS removes the protection. Absolute's own advice is to password-protect your account and set up a Guest account so the thief stays online.
- Recovery isn't guaranteed. The device has to connect to the internet, and recovery depends on local police. Standard pays nothing if it fails.
- A sloppy website. The vendor's plan tables currently show placeholder text ("Add Text") instead of feature descriptions, so rely on the FAQ and product pages for what each plan includes.
- A firmware agent has a security history. In 2018, researchers at ESET found a state-sponsored rootkit, "LoJax", built from a trojanized 2008 version of the LoJack agent. Absolute said its recent agents aren't affected, but it's a reminder that a firmware-level agent is powerful software to have on a machine.
- Not for phones. iOS, iPadOS and Android devices aren't supported.
What Users Say
Independent reviews of the current Home & Office line are scarce: Absolute's Trustpilot page has only three reviews, none about this product. What's available is mainly customer stories on the vendor's own pages, which are naturally the happy endings.
Customer stories on Absolute's site
- Jaime, Boca Raton, Florida: "The investment is worth every penny…. I had an experience with one of my kids in college. Someone broke into their apartment and stole his laptop and his roommates. Unfortunately my son's laptop didn't have [Absolute Software], but his roommate had one on his laptop. Guess who got his laptop back and who didn't?.."
- Mreed, Sacramento, California: "We are so excited to have our laptop back! The computer was only 3 mos old when stolen so what a relief to hear that they were tracking our computer and then later notified that it had been recovered. Worth every penny!!"
- Glen, Troutdale, Oregon: "I have had the fortune to not have to use [Absolute Software] but the peace of mind in knowing my laptop is protected is priceless."
The pattern: customers who got a laptop back are enthusiastic, and the value is mostly peace of mind for everyone else. There's no independent data on recovery rates beyond Absolute's own totals, so treat the service as good odds, not a promise.
Comparisons
Absolute Home & Office vs. free device finders
Windows' Find my device and Apple's Find My show a location and can lock a device, at no cost. Absolute adds the two things they don't have: recovery by investigators working with police, and (on supported PCs) an agent in the firmware that survives a wipe or a new drive.
Editions and Pricing
| Plan | 1 year | 3 years | Includes | Availability |
|---|
| Locate (free) | $0 first year | - | Locate | Register an account |
| Basic | $19.99 | $39.99 | Locate, Lock, Wipe | Worldwide |
| Standard | $39.99 | $89.99 | Basic plus theft recovery by the Investigations Team | Worldwide |
| Premium | $59.99 | $109.99 | Standard plus up to $1,000 if not recovered in 60 days | US, Canada, UK, Australia |
Buy Basic ($19.99/yr)Buy Standard ($39.99/yr)Buy Premium ($59.99/yr)
Prices are per device, from the vendor's plan page. On the order page on November 11, 2026, one year was $19.99 for Basic, $39.99 for Standard and $59.99 for Premium; each button below orders one year of that plan (Premium only completes for buyers in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia). Premium's payout is a share of the device's original price that falls each year of the term: 90% (up to $1,000) in the first year, then 80%, 60%, 40% and 20%, with a proof of purchase and a police report required. No payout is made if the device is recovered, or if a Lock or Data Delete has run on it during the 60 days.
FAQs
Is Absolute Home & Office the same as LoJack for Laptops?
Yes. Absolute Home & Office is the new name for Absolute LoJack, with the same technology and Investigations Team: LoJack Standard is now Standard, LoJack Premium is now Premium, and Absolute Data Protect is now Basic.
Does Absolute Home & Office still work if the thief wipes the hard drive?
On a PC with the Computrace module in its firmware, yes: once activated, Absolute Home & Office reinstalls itself after a factory reset, an OS reinstall or a drive replacement. On a Mac, or a PC without the module, wiping or replacing the drive removes it.
Can I move my Absolute Home & Office license to a new laptop?
Yes. In the console, remove the license from the old device (you don't need to have it with you) and add the new device. Moving a license from a stolen device closes its theft report.
How do I stop Absolute Home & Office from renewing?
Log in to the console at app.absolute.com, open the Subscription page, choose the subscription and click Disable under Auto Renewal, then confirm on the payment site. Auto-renewal is set separately for each subscription.
Does Absolute Home & Office protect phones or tablets?
No. Absolute Home & Office supports Windows 10 and 11 and macOS 13 to 15 only; iOS, iPadOS and Android devices aren't supported.
How do I uninstall Absolute Home & Office?
Absolute Home & Office is removed from the console: choose the device and click Remove License. The removal is sent the next time the agent checks in, usually within 15 minutes of the device being online, though some models need a few check-ins and a reboot.
System Requirements
- Windows 10 or 11, Home or Pro
- macOS 13, 14 or 15
- An internet connection for the agent to check in
- Firmware persistence only on PCs whose maker includes the Absolute module
- Not compatible with iOS, iPadOS or Android
Conclusion
Absolute Home & Office Standard is worth $39.99 a year if your laptop is valuable, travels a lot, and ideally has the firmware module. The one reason to buy it is the recovery service: investigators who work with the police, backed on supported PCs by an agent a thief can't wipe away. The main reason not to is that the free device finders already cover locating and locking, and on a Mac the protection is easy to remove, so if you never expect to need a recovery team, Basic or the free Locate plan is enough. Remember that it renews every year unless you switch that off.
Download Free TrialBuy Basic ($19.99/yr)Buy Standard ($39.99/yr)Buy Premium ($59.99/yr)