It's Possible to Drill a Hole Through an AirTag

[MacRumors]

Unlike a Tile or some other item trackers, Apple's new AirTag does not have any holes or openings for attaching it directly to a keychain, forcing customers to purchase accessories like a leather key ring for this purpose.

Interestingly, though, MacRumors forum member smythey has proven that it is possible to drill a hole into the AirTag without breaking it, allowing for a string or a thin key ring to be fed through the opening. The result doesn't look very cosmetically appealing, but smythey said the AirTag seems to function normally after the do-it-yourself job.

A teardown of the AirTag shared on YouTube today provides a first look inside Apple's item tracker, revealing a circular circuit board with seemingly just enough room around the edges to drill a small hole in the plastic.

Keep in mind that drilling a hole into an AirTag will unsurprisingly void Apple's warranty and could damage the accessory if done incorrectly, but this still proves as a neat proof of concept for those looking to save a few dollars.

Is your AirTag order arriving today? Discuss with others in our AirTag forum.

Article Link: It's Possible to Drill a Hole Through an AirTag

 

[nwcs]

A measure of last resort and a good way to get 15 minutes of fame. If I buy some AirTags, I probably won’t do this…

 

[mtneer]

Cool.. can’t believe that Apple’s design engineers did not think of this use case.

 

[ForkHandles]

All it needs now is a button you can press to help you find your iPhone, it will be as useful as a Tile then.

 

[JM]

Enter the $15,000 luxury after market tag with a gold lined hole and case.

 

[Gasu E.]

Cool.. can’t believe that Apple’s design engineers did not think of this use case.

They did. They just decided the solution was a holder. So they designed some model holders, which Apple is selling as a product. Cheap third-party holders will be on the market in a few month. You can bet some are racing.

 

[mrr]

Apple really missed the boat on this.

 

[AngerDanger]

Man, I really wish I'd seen that teardown video before I made mine…

 

[dannyyankou]

I imagine it isn’t safe to drill inside electronics

 

[Mousse]

I'd J-B Weld a tiny loop to it's side and string it up that way. No way would I drill through it. That's a good way to get dust/water infiltration.

 

[usagora]

Or, you know, instead of taking frugality to a ridiculous, risky, inelegant extreme, you could just buy a third-party holder (example, example 2) on Amazon. Just a wild thought . . .

EDIT: I'm assuming all you 👎 people are just sore that Apple didn't include a hole/loop on the AirTag itself and are taking it out on my post for some strange reason 😂 Surely you're not pressing 👎 to say you think drilling a freaking hole through your AirTag is preferable to buying an inexpensive holder.

 

[ccraig13]

All it needs now is a button you can press to help you find your iPhone, it will be as useful as a Tile then.

I love this feature. Sad they didn't add it.

 

[davie18]

Cool.. can’t believe that Apple’s design engineers did not think of this use case.

I mean they obviously did... seeing as these will probably be most useful for keys how could you not consider how peple will attach it to keys.

The cynic would say they did it on purpose so people have to buy the holder to attach it to keys = more profit for apple

I cant think of any other reason they would leave it off.... maybe they woul just say they want the 'cleanest design possible' or something, but I think the cynical assumption might be correct

 

[laszlo182]

All it needs now is a button you can press to help you find your iPhone, it will be as useful as a Tile then.

this is so illogical, you need to look for one thing to find another. just use the apple watch or homepod

 

[G5isAlive]

They did. They just decided the solution was a holder. So they designed some model holders, which Apple is selling as a product. Cheap third-party holders will be on the market in a few month. You can bet some are racing.

I got my cheap holder off of amazon a few days ago .. it arrived before my airTags lol

 

[Davelfc]

I hated that I'd knock the button on my Tile that then made my phone start going off so for me I'm happy it does not have that feature. I can use my Apple Watch to find my phone. I do realise that many can't do that.

 

[LeadingHeat]

I mean they obviously did... seeing as these will probably be most useful for keys how could you not consider how peple will attach it to keys.

The cynic would say they did it on purpose so people have to buy the holder to attach it to keys = more profit for apple

I cant think of any other reason they would leave it off.... maybe they woul just say they want the 'cleanest design possible' or something, but I think the cynical assumption might be correct

It probably was to make more money on accessories to be honest. But I could also see them wanting to make sure that the stainless steel on the back gets as scratched as little as possible, so to put it in a case instead of getting scratched to pieces banging around with your keys in your pocket bare like that. Not like the matte plastic on Tiles.

 

[kstotlani]

All it needs now is a button you can press to help you find your iPhone, it will be as useful as a Tile then.

You have to pay a little more and get an Apple Watch for that. How much can a $29 item do for you. Jeez /s.

 

[cmaier]

Cool.. can’t believe that Apple’s design engineers did not think of this use case.

I’m sure they thought of it, but then they decided not to address it in this way.

 

[mannyvel]

Waterproofing

 

[FrogHat1]

Man, I really wish I'd seen that teardown video before I made mine…

View attachment 1767363

Question: How do you make these types of animation? What software? Seems like you did it pretty fast etc.

Thanks

 

[G5isAlive]

I'd J-B Weld a tiny loop to it's side and string it up that way. No way would I drill through it. That's a good way to get dust/water infiltration.

This. Even if successful initially the device would fail at some point. Not worth it.

 

[fredrik9]

This the dumbest product Apple has made in quite some time, why would I buy an accessory to a tag? That's just ridiculous. Tile beats Apple in design here.

 

[CarpalMac]

I mean they obviously did... seeing as these will probably be most useful for keys how could you not consider how peple will attach it to keys.

The cynic would say they did it on purpose so people have to buy the holder to attach it to keys = more profit for apple

I cant think of any other reason they would leave it off.... maybe they woul just say they want the 'cleanest design possible' or something, but I think the cynical assumption might be correct

Nothing cynical, it is almost certainly the truth. Like selling a phone without a charger but with a different cable than before.

Slapping something like this on my keys (which is one of the very few use cases I have for them, given the fact it lets thieves know its there and allows them to disable it) means just through bulk I am less likely to lose them anyway.

I might as well get a cheap cork keyring so at least if I drop them in deep water, they will float.

 

[Jbusick7944]

New feature-- Airtags with iHole. Or would it be Airhole.