I'm thinking of taping and super-gluing an AirTag inside my Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones. Would there be any issues or any reasons not to do it?

[Oneechan69]

I looked up teardown guides and videos for the XM5s but didn't find any, so I looked it up for the 4s. I found this iFixit battery replacement guide and it works all the way up to step 9. I took off the covers to see if there was any room for AirTags and (unsurprisingly / very obvious in hindsight), there wasn't.
I put the AirTag inside the left cup (the one that's exposed in the photo), clipped the pad back on, and tried it on my head. The AirTag felt uncomfortable on the lower side of the cup, but I didn't really notice it when it was on the upper side.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I don’t see a problem with it, as long as you make sure it’s accessible for battery replacement once a year or so.

 

[Feek]

Nope, I can't see any reason not to do that. Just be aware that it'll need the battery replacing from time to time so don't make it unretrievable.

 

[adrianlondon]

Doesn't it emit some kind of sound if it's not near your phone? You might not want that in your ears.

 

[fischersd]

Doesn't it emit some kind of sound if it's not near your phone? You might not want that in your ears.

If it's away from your iPhone for a prolonged period of time, it will emit a chirp when it's moved in an attempt to be found.

I'm kinda thinking the op would be using these with their phone? (being within bluetooth range of the phone will give the AirTag the opportunity to "hand shake" with the phone).

Edit: And, on-topic - op, is that the location you're planning on using? (it's in front of the speaker? - which would distort the sound) - me, I'd likely put it at the bottom, where there appears to be more room.

 

[Oneechan69]

I have an Android phone, I setup my AirTags using my iPad, which I would have using the headphones with. I know it does beep if it's away from the owner for a long time, if anyone steals it, they would be in for a surprise!

I haven't tested sound quality yet, I wanted to get answers first before actually trying it.

 

[cthompson94]

Curious if you are listening to something a little more bass heavy if there will be some sort of rattling or something, there has to be some sort of sound change, now how much so you would need to let us know. Have you thought about tearing down the airtag? There are guides on to basically take the airtag out of that housing which would probably give you less of a sound quality impact.

 

[waw74]

from the AirTag standpoint, there's absolutely no reason not to.

form the headphone stand point it's a horrible ideal.

1. That little clear disk that's behind the AirTag is the speaker in the headphones. It's made of very thin and delicate plastic if the AirTag touches that , you stand a very good change of damaging the headphones beyond repair. And even if you don't damage it, if it's touching the speaker while you're listening to something it will distort and sound horrible.
2. Sound requires air to move, for good sound you need to know how much air you're moving and how it's moving inside the headphones. And because headphones are realitivly small, so is that air chamber. You've now reduced the volume of air inside by quite a considerable percentage, and you've affected the airflow patterns inside the headphones both of which will affect the sound. Also because of the way noise cancelling works, that could also be affected. There are people with highly specialized degrees and years of experience who have designed the inside of the headphones, and you're now modifiying their design.
3. The AirTag is designed to be heard from several feet away. You're now basically putting the tag against your ear and cupping something behind it, so all of that sound pressure will go directly into your ear. If for some reason it makes noise, it will be very loud. The AirTag noises contain some high frequencies, not sure if it would be enough to damage your hearing, but it will probably hurt.
4. as cthompson said, there's a really good chance the tag itself will rattle, either the parts inside the tag against each other, or the outside of the tag against the inside of the headphone. So your expensive headphones will sound like the rattle from the trunk of a car with too much bass.

 

[seadragon]

I wouldn’t do it as you might get blasted by the beeping sound right next to your ear as already mentioned. I also don’t understand why people attach these things to their animals. They can’t cover their ears or escape the sound if it starts beeping.

 

[fischersd]

I wouldn’t do it as you might get blasted by the beeping sound right next to your ear as already mentioned. I also don’t understand why people attach these things to their animals. They can’t cover their ears or escape the sound if it starts beeping.

Huh? It starts beeping if it loses contact with the owner's iPhone for a prolonged period (not a published duration, but my guess would be days, not hours). Pretty sure if someone's walking their pet, they'll be within the 80+ feet range of bluetooth when they are.

If you're irresponsible enough to lose your pet and not track them down within days? Yeah...your pet has bigger problems than the relatively quiet chirp of an airtag.

 

[waw74]

but my guess would be days, not hours).

your guess would be wrong.

from various places in this forum, It's hours, and not many, definitely under 3

what's the point of an anti-stalking feature, if it lets someone track you for a few days before it notifies you?

it might be quiet for you at several feet away, but for an animal which much more sensitive hearing and a few inches away? it's defiantly louder for them.

 

[addamas]

You guys know that you can remove a speaker from AirTag easily? But even without it I also vote for - don’t put it inside headphones.

 

[fischersd]

your guess would be wrong.

from various places in this forum, It's hours, and not many, definitely under 3

what's the point of an anti-stalking feature, if it lets someone track you for a few days before it notifies you?

it might be quiet for you at several feet away, but for an animal which much more sensitive hearing and a few inches away? it's defiantly louder for them.

Talking about two different things. The primary anti-stalking feature is the notification that an airtag is travelling with you - that's hours (or less) - my spouse's airtag in my dog's harness will trigger a warning on my iPhone when I return home with the dog.

You're talking about the "find me" notification that the airtag does when it's lost contact with its owners iPhone. That's when the airtag is moved/detects motion and that should take days for the airtag to believe it's been lost.

If this was hours - then my dog's harness would start chirping long before my wife returned home from work.