Replaced battery in AirTag but does not work

I NEVER WOULD HAVE BELIEVED THIS. Duracell coats these batteries with a very bitter coating that makes kids spit them out instantly if they are put in the mouth!! That's a great idea, but I don't know why that would interfere with an electronic connection, but it DOES. After reading other comments here I took the battery out, scrubbed it off with one of those mesh metal pads to clean pots and pans. The coating is only on the side that does not have any writing.

I tested it after the scrubbing with dish soap and that scouring pad. The bitter taste was still there! But I went ahead and reinstalled it into the AirTag. As soon as I pressed the top back on to tighten, a little bleep noise came from the AirTag. I completed twisting on the back, and then checked the AirTag with my iPhone and it no longer showed the low battery. It also now plays the sound when requested.

It doesn't make any sense, but it works. Before I scrubbed the back of the battery it would not work at all - would not even make contact with the iPhone. After I scrubbed, the terrible taste was still there but the battery worked great.

I was using Maxell CR2032s, but inserting a brand-new battery (at 3.27V) into my AirTag would not resolve the low battery warning.

I did find a solution, though: restarting my iPhone. That shouldn't help... but it did, immediately. Once the phone was restarted, the AirTag that had been reporting a low battery wasn't any longer.

Buggy software again.

The Energizers I bought absolutely do have the coating.

I installed CR 2023 batteries when iPhone said battery was low. After replacing battery, iPhone still said I tag battery needs to be replaced and was low. However, after reading your post, I took a paper towel, wiped the inside of the eye tag and wipe the battery with a paper towel for about 10 seconds and it worked. The paper towel may have been abrasive enough to remove any film or coatings. Thanks for the insight of the possibility that there may be a coating issue.

I’m not sure if it’s “buggy” software or simply a characteristic of the low-power, low-data rate, infrequent-updates of the AirTag.

The AirTag communicates infrequently - and slowly - in an effort to conserve energy so that it’s battery might last a year or so.

Your phone reset might have “forced” a retransmission, or else just “caught” the next regular update.

Regardless, glad that your’s is working again. 👍

No, I confirmed the Bluetooth connection was working by requesting the tags play a noise. The connection was live, but two different tags were reported as having low battery… until I restarted my phone.

This is obviously a bug.

Thanks for the update. 👍

I just checked a display at a local “big box” and they still do NOT ‘round here. (at least they’re not labelled as such) …

… so Energizer must now be following Duracell’s lead … to “protect the children” … AND limit their exposure to product liability.

My Duracells didn’t work either although several years in date. They did have the childproof coating - so after reading Apple’s blurb about some coatings not being compatible, I noticed the package didn’t say recommended for Air Tags. So I washed the coatings off and they work fine,

Did you make sure that the replacement battery did not have a bitterant coating? They are known to be problematic with the AirTags and Apple does not recommend using them.

How do you figure this out? I’m trying to find a list of battery brands/models that will work (i.e. have no coating), but it seems elusive.

Duracells DO have the coating.

Energizers do NOT.

Other batteries may / may not.

Look for a “child safety” bitterant markings on the packaging.

CR2032 batteries with child-safety coating (bitterant) most likely will not work in air tags. However, you can use a fine sandpaper (600) to clean the surfaces prior to installing.

Sandpaper works, too