Do AirTags Die? Battery Life Explained | Screen Rant
An AirTag runs on a lithium battery that can't be recharged. Here's how to check the current battery level and replace the battery when needed.
The AirTag won't last forever and while Apple did give it good durability, it's an electronic device and needs energy to operate. This inspires questions about how long it lasts and what to do when the charge runs low. Other related concerns might be how to check the current battery level and what happens when the battery is removed.
Apple introduced the AirTag in April of 2021 and the small location beacons were an instant success. There are two details that make Apple's tracker different from competing solutions, such as Tile beacons. Apple leverages a massive Find My network made up of a billion devices, stretching worldwide to provide the location of a lost AirTag on a map. No other tracking network is as large. The AirTag also features ultra-wideband technology that provides nearby tracking that's accurate to within an inch, displaying the range to the AirTag, and pointing an arrow right at it on the iPhone.
The AirTag is designed to be a durable product, being both water and dust-resistant. An AirTag doesn't require recharging, but the battery will need to be replaced eventually. According to Apple, the CR2032 battery should last for over one year and is user-replaceable. The metal back can be pressed in with two fingers and twisted counter-clockwise to unscrew the cover, revealing the battery. A CR2032 is an inexpensive and small lithium battery that can be ordered online or picked up at pharmacies and electronics stores.
Apple made it easy to check the status of an AirTag. On an iPhone, the Find My app is used to locate every paired AirTag's location on a map. The user should occasionally tap the Items tab in the Find My app then tap each AirTag to see its battery level, which appears as a bar just below its name. The charge level depends on how much usage an AirTag has seen. Playing a sound to locate the tracker, something that's inevitably done multiple times when first getting the beacon, would be the most unusual drain.
The power stored in an AirTag's lithium battery drops continually over time since it intermittently broadcasts Bluetooth and ultra-wideband signals. When an AirTag's battery is replaced, it doesn't need to be paired to the iPhone again since that connection is stored in non-volatile memory. In order to gift an AirTag to someone else, it would need to be removed from the original owner's Apple ID and then reset to factory settings. With over one year of battery life, checking annually should keep an AirTag working for a very long time.
Source: Apple