You just replaced the battery in your AirTag and immediately get the message that it is empty again. What is that? Don’t worry! We have the solution.
AirTag empty despite new battery? This is what’s going on
An AirTag is incredibly useful and the battery also lasts quite a long time. But there comes a time when your trusted AirTag also needs a new battery. For the AirTag you then need a CR2032 battery. That is a round, flat battery that you often see hanging at the checkout in the supermarket.
However, it does happen that you have just replaced the battery and your AirTag still gives the message that it is (almost) empty. Of course, you could have just got a bad battery, but that chance is very small. There is probably something else wrong.
Some of the button batteries have a special coating. This coating tastes very bitter and helps prevent babies from swallowing a stray battery. This coating is not only on batteries, but also on the game cartridges of the Nintendo Switch. We do not recommend tasting it yourself, because it is really very nasty.
Due to this special layer, the AirTag has problems with these button cells. In a Apple Support Document it even states that ‘some CR2032 batteries with bitter-tasting coatings may not work with the AirTag or other battery-powered products.’
So you should always check the packaging to see if the battery works with an AirTag. Do you have a battery with such a coating that does not cause any problems? Then you can try to very carefully sand off the coating with a very fine piece of sandpaper. Just make sure you wash your hands very well afterwards.
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