Maximum amount of AirTags

thanks! i have been stuck on this issue for weeks. apple support and the half dozen people i contacted there were totally incompetent on the question and i became quite disappointed. i returned the 4 last airtags i bought but now will buy them again and try connecting after temporarily disabling the 3 airpods i have. i also noticed that 2 airtags i left with my mother (who only has an "old" ipad) did not update their firmware and was led to think this could be the solution but the procedure depicted here makes more sense... it remains disappointing that apple produced such a flaw in a new device launch

We’ll, I bought one and it was stolen from my car, so I put it on Lost Mode. I can see where it is but it’s not worth the hassle to confront the person, (assuming I could even know for sure which specific person was the actual thief…) So I put that one in lost mode and bought 4 more Now the Find My app won’t let me activate even ONE of the four new ones because it gives me this same error, that I have to remove one before I can activate this new one. So we’re not talking 14-16 additions, just one! Please let me know if anyone finds a solution, otherwise these are useless to me. When they work, they are amazing, and amazingly accurate.

I had a similar issue. When I first tried to set up a set of AirTags I received this error. I needed to remove all airpods on my device, connect the AirTags and then re-add my airPods. Contacted support about this issue, said it was a bug or just a need to upgrade software eventually.

I’ve fought removing the original/stolen one because it constantly shows me where it is- but I guess I will have to go ahead to be able to add on the new one (s)…bummer. I know where it is and can’t get it!

removing various airpods, installing new airtags and re-installing the airpods worked for me... some apple guy in an apple store told me he knew of a customer who went well over the supposed 16 limit. has anybody tried?

Same issue trying to add my very first AirTag. After trying everything and nothing worked; I’m so glad I found this and read all the responses. I removed my AirPod device and it finally let me add the AirTag.

AAGism wrote:

I was able to find a solution online for being stuck at 14 airtags. I have my airpod pros connected to my account and available in Find My. Apparently the airtag limit counts the two airpod pro buds as two airtags IF added before a maximum of 16 airtags have been added to your account. Unpairing the airpod pros allowed me to add my two remaining airtags making my total connected equal 16. After successfully pairing the airtags I was able to pair the airpod pros with no issue and they appear to have the same Find My functionality as before.

This also is how I ended up getting it to work. However I only had 4 Airtags on my account. I suspect it is not actually counting the AirPod Pros as tags, but somehow having them associated with your iCloud account is causing an issue anyway.

Same here. I couldn’t even add one because it said I needed to remove devices from my iCloud account.

I was able to get one to work via my iPad by signing out and signing in. Tried on the second AirTag. Removed the first and added the second. Still stuck at one.

I have done every step and spoken to tier 2. I am going to call back and have it escalated because this is clearly an iCloud/software issue.

I just bought the 13 pro (had XR before) and still can’t add another AirTag (was only able to add one before). Definitely don’t have 16 devices on Find My. I agree that it seems this isn’t a phone issue, but an issue associated with the account/cloud. Also, it’s not an issue with defective air tags because someone else tested one of mine and it worked fine for them.

I can't see a way to edit my previous post. I see AAGism posted the same workaround, with more detail earlier (and someone expanded on it Dec. 7). That has been my experience exactly. Apple support people need to become aware of this workaround (I talked to several senior support people and none had a workaround that worked), and Apple Engineering needs to fix the obvious problem, of course. Meantime, however, if you don't have AirPods I'd recommend trying other devices you have paired though I have a number of non-AirPod devices paired and none of them interfered with the AirTags pairing activities.

Remove the batteries from all AirTags and leave aside for a bit, make sure you are updated to iOS 15.2, remove ALL bluetooth devices from your phone/iPad, reset your network settings, sign out of your iCloud account on your phone/iPad, then sign back in. Restarting your phone/iPad after sign in seems to help.

Once you've restarted your phone/iPad after the steps above, you will need to clear each AirTag one a time. To do this you remove and replace the battery five times. On the 6th time, put the cap back on and secure the battery. It will beep. Go to FindMy and set the AirTag directly on your phone/iPad screen and go through the steps to add it.

This is what I did to make it work finally. I couldn't use my phone because I didn't want to have to repair my watch, etc. I used my iPad to do it. I noticed on the iPad, that while I was adding them, it was only showing one or two in the items screen. When I looked at my phone, they were all there.

See if this helps! I know it's frustrating, and it seems to be an issue with iOS 15.2, FindMy, and iCloud. My guess is it's an iCloud issue that needs work on the back end. Other people I know have been able to add them with no issue until iOS 15.1 and 15.2 were released.

In response to BLRice's comments, the proposed solution may work but seems more radical than is probably required, especially if one has a lot of Bluetooth devices and AirTags.

The AirTag issue does not appear to be 15.2 specifically related. When I had issues trying to connect my 13th AirTag via 15.2 on multiple devices, I did get it connected on a not-yet-updated device that was on 15.0.1. However, when I tried connecting the 14th via that device, I got the same error message. That said, my iCloud "knows" my other devices are on 15.2 so perhaps BLRice's comment on OSs is valid if one has no up-to-date devices.

However, if one has AirPods paired, removing those then pairing the AirTags (with OS 15.2) is a lot simpler than BLRice's solution. One need not even clear (remove the battery) the AirTags before pairing them. I got the 15th and 16th paired immediately once the AirPods were unpaired, then the AirPods easily re-paired after i had the maximum 16 AirTags connected.

So, Apple senior advisor figured it out for me, but a slight pain. I “forget this device” on all my Bluetooth connections. Immediately after, I was able to add my first 4 AirTags without issues. Currently reconnecting all of my Bluetooth devices. Hope this helps.

thank you

Had the same problem and as you know no one had an answer. I just corrected my issue. Delete (Forget) all of your bluetooth devices in Settings, Bluetooth then reboot your iphone. From that point I was then able to load up my airtags.

Trying to setup my son’s AirTag, we have tried ALL of these options (not removed the watch). The error we get is “Maximum Items Added” but he only has 3 items connected to his Apple ID (watch, AirPod Pros, iPad)! I removed Bluetooth connections (non-Apple laptop & AirPod Pros), rebooted phone and still get same error… his Tag will connect to my phone just fine! Any other possibilities to try?