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scouser75

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 7, 2008
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Hi guys, I bought 4 AirTags in September. 3 months in and one of the tags is showing a low battery warning. I thought the batteries were to last a long time. Possibly defective?
 
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Thanks for the suggestion Mark. Alas, the kids were whinging about putting the itsy teeny air tag in their bag. I doubt very much they'll be happy to carry this thing 🤣

To be fair to them, their school bags weigh an absolute ton and a half. Even I struggle to walk with it on my back. This gadget could be the straw that broke the camel's back!!
 
Probably just a bad battery or you received old stock where the batteries have drained. They should be lasting at least a year. Replace them with fresh batteries and make sure they don't have the bitterant coating. I've had good luck with Energizer batteries, lasting me about 1.5 years.
 
Thanks iStorm. I have some batteries so will replace. Just hope they don't have the coating.
 
Unless you ran the speaker many times, you probably got really old stock. The battery typically lasts at least a year.
 
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Replace the battery, if it happens again, contact Apple Support.

My first AirTag lasted 4 months on the first battery, then 2 months on the next two replacement batteries. I contacted Apple Support, went through diagnosis with them and then they were happy to have it sent in and it was replaced.
 
I had this problem a few months ago. In a set of four, one reported low battery about 3 weeks after activating. I replaced the battery. It reported low again 3 weeks later. I contacted Apple support. They suggested a reset. I thought this was nuts and booked an appointment at the local shop. The assistant insisted on reset. That's remove and replace the battery five or more times until the beep sound changes - it's easy: just slide the battery in and out. That fixed the problem. Another one in the same set of four reported low a month later; I reset it too. Both are still fine, as are the other two in the set.

Summary: reset the AirTag. You will have to go through the setup again. Apple remembers which Apple-ID had it before but nothing else.
 
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Thanks guys cute the tips. PeterLD I'll try your tip of resetting.

I'm baffled as the alarm hasn't beeped once.

I'm not sure afar batteries my wife bought, but normally she buys Duracell or Energiser.

Thankfully the other 3 tags are OK.
 
Hi guys, I bought 4 AirTags in September. 3 months in and one of the tags is showing a low battery warning. I thought the batteries were to last a long time. Possibly defective?
How much were you using the airtag for it to show low battery in 3 months
 
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How much were you using the airtag for it to show low battery in 3 months
Is it possible to use an Airtag too much? All my wife does is leave it in her bag.

Now check this, the replacement Duracell battery I replaced is now also showing as needing replacing. Surely a faulty tag???
 
Is it possible to use an Airtag too much? All my wife does is leave it in her bag.

Now check this, the replacement Duracell battery I replaced is now also showing as needing replacing. Surely a faulty tag???
Note in the article here that Duracell sells batteries that are specifically labeled as AirTag compatible: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102600

Some Duracell batteries have a bitterant on them that won’t allow the battery to work properly with the AirTag. You can clean these batteries with alcohol and they should work after they’ve been cleaned.
 
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Hey chrfr long time no chat. I specifically bought the batteries that were recommended on this forum so they shouldn't be the issue. Is it possible to have had a dodgy tag? I've been meaning to email the place I bought them for, but my worry is I'm outside the 3 month period. I might email Apple directly too.
 
Hey chrfr long time no chat. I specifically bought the batteries that were recommended on this forum so they shouldn't be the issue. Is it possible to have had a dodgy tag? I've been meaning to email the place I bought them for, but my worry is I'm outside the 3 month period. I might email Apple directly too.
Have you tried reset? It worked for me on two AirTags.
 
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I have several tags in use. Probably close to two years now. I’ve noticed that the battery life between them is inconsistent. Meaning, I’ve replaced the battery twice in some vs once in others, during the same time period.
 
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Just seems to be luck of the draw I’m afraid, unless ALL of your batteries seem to last this long it’s probably not a dodgy tag. My first battery lasted about 18 months before giving the warning, replaced with one of the same brand and 6 months later it was giving warnings. Replaced with another of the same brand over a year ago and haven’t heard a peep.
 
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Just seems to be luck of the draw I’m afraid, unless ALL of your batteries seem to last this long it’s probably not a dodgy tag. My first battery lasted about 18 months before giving the warning, replaced with one of the same brand and 6 months later it was giving warnings. Replaced with another of the same brand over a year ago and haven’t heard a peep.
Thanks Dr McKay.

It's just the one tag that has this issue. The other three Are A OK.
 
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