Best way to open and mute (disable speaker) an AirTag with zero damage to the AirTag. 

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Awesome, glad it worked for you!

Thank you!

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Yup - it kind of defeats the purpose of stealthily tracking your property in case of theft, if the damned thing alerts the thief of exactly where it is hidden. I don't mind the thief knowing it's tracked, I just don't want the thief to be able to find the tracker itself lol

Thanks!

Thank you for the feedback!

Hey David, you're not the first person to hear a faint sound after muting an AirTag, I didn't notice any sound coming from mine, but perhaps my hearing isn't what it used to be. ;)

Glad it helped

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Thanks for the feedback, glad the technique worked well for you!

This is great! I snapped one only because I didn’t get the scalpel blade deep enough to detach the clip from it’s seated position. Scalpel blades (11) is the best since it causes the minimal destruction with surrounding plastics but strong enough to bend and put through. A sharpened Philips (-) screw driver is the perfect pry tool. Thank you to the original poster!

Great to know it worked well for you!

Thanks!

Thank you sir, and thanks for subscribing!

Glad to hear you were successful in muting your AirPod with help from the video! Thanks for subscribing!

Thanks for the feedback and for subscribing. Best of luck with the AirTags!

You too!

Awesome! Thank you!

Glad you enjoyed it

Thank you!

Yes, please read the 'UPDATE' in the description below the video to learn how to eliminate the faint sound that persist after removing the magnet. Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback! I never noticed the faint sound after the magnet removal, but others have mentioned it. I suspected other metal parts, or the battery were reacting to the coil's electromagnetic field once the magnet was removed. I knew cutting the coil would eliminate the electromagnetic field, but didn't know if cutting the coil would negatively affect the AirTag. My concern was that the coil might also function as the AirTag's bluetooth antenna. Can you compare the bluetooth range of an unaltered AirTag and one with the coil cut?

@@Koolbob2 That's a fair point. Just tested the effective range between 2 AirTags - one with the coil cut and there other one is brand new. It feels to me that both are functioning just the same: both can be connected within 30ft in an open space, or within ~15ft behind a drywall. I'm only doing this because I want to put it on my cat's collar, and they've got excellent hearing so I don't want it to beep at all. Under most cases it shouldn't be noticeable.

@@liang-chiwuu4785 Thanks for confirming that the range isn't affected by cutting the coil! I'll add an update to the video description so others can benefit from your experimentation. We have two cats that we don't let outside anymore due to an incident a few years ago with a pack of dogs. I have a few AirTags left over and I had thought about attaching them to the cats collars, just in case they slipped out. How are you attaching the AirTags to your cat's collar?

That's interesting. Well, let's hope that there is no requirement to have a functional coil incase we need to take it out ;p

I got a pair of these and they look right at home on our bikes. www.amazon.com/Device-Therapy-Mount-Reflector-AirTag/dp/B097L13FQV

Did you manage to do this ?

yes it was super easy and you can use a little thin blade screwdriver too if you're careful.

Awesome, thank you!

@@Koolbob2 Update: managed to do it on two airtags, thanks to you! :D

@@DDcka Awesome!

I'm so glad to hear that my method worked well for you. Thank you for subscribing!

Thank you!

Another RU-vidr said they heard a very faint sound after the magnet removal as well. I'm stumped. The magnet interacts with the electrical signal from the coil to make sound. with the magnet gone I can only assume the battery or other metallic components are vibrating from the electrical impulses from the coil. Maybe snip and remove the coil?

Yeah same. Very quiet though. I doubt it could be heard if it wasn’t pressed against an ear

Maybe. It’s a transducer, not a traditional speaker. The transducer in the AirTag has a voice coil and a magnet (which is what I’m removing in the video), but there is no speaker diaphragm or speaker cone. The AirTag uses the plastic shell of the AirTag to move air and produce sound. IF you could get enough glue between the voice coil and the magnet it MAY prevent to magnet from moving and vibrating the AirTag shell. Maybe.

@@Koolbob2 thanks, it was a thought. Give it a try your way

Toby I'm sorry you are having problems activating your AirTag. I activated all four of my AirTags as soon as I got them and then discovered they sound an alert if a person who isn't the AirTag owner transports the AirTag. That's when I decided to mute one of my AirTags. It turned out so well I made my video so others could use the same method. Has anyone muted an AirTag and then activated it? If you have, please chime in!

Good question! I'm not an electrical engineer, just a guy who likes to tinker with things. :) My understanding is that there is a circuit on the board that generates an electrical signal, that signal is amplified and sent to through the coil. The function of the coil is to convert the electrical signal into an oscillating electrical field, the magnet reacts to the coil's oscillating electro-magnetic field and vibrates along with the case of the AirTag the magnet is glued to, creating sound. Removing the magnet eliminates virtually all of sound, but the pulsating electro-magnetic field generated by the coil is able to cause other metallic items in the AirTag to resinate ever so slightly. Cutting the coil wire disrupts the electro-magnetic field and eliminates all resonance within the AirTag. No electric-magnetic field = no resonance = no sound. believeI do not anticipate any benefit from removing the coil entirely versus cutting the coil. It would depend on the design of the circuitry. It could be that the circuit uses the same power and functions as it did before even with the coil disabled, or the break in the circuit caused by disabling the coil could prevent the signal generation and amplification portion of the circuit from functioning and drawing power. In my opinion, the power savings, if any, would be minuscule and very difficult to measure.

Good question! First of all, it's important to know the acknowledge the difference between water proof and water resistant. AirTags can not be submerged and even if unaltered, they may be damaged by water intrusion between the two halves of the case or past the battery door. Prying the case open does enlarge the gap between the two halves of the case where the knife blade is inserted, so yes the water resistance is compromised slightly. In my instance, the AirTags I've altered are inserted into a waterproof case designed to mount and conceal the AirTag, so I'm not at all concerned about the reduction in water resistance from opening the AirTag. However, if you are concerned it would be a simple task to add a minuscule ring of silicone caulk around the inside of the case before snapping the back of the case into place. I suppose it could even make the AirTag more water resistant than before the modification. Please Subscribe if you find the video helpful. Thanks!

@@uglyDuci I like this one from Device Therapy www.etsy.com/listing/998069956/airtag-bike-mount-reflector?gbraid=0AAAAADtcfRITS-0IQLNb1BHcbWKdEdCpr&gpla=1&gao=1&&Cj0KCQjwnJaKBhDgARIsAHmvz6eEMEJUehmi8kMd2BtYJTcWLjQ-jdO_1RssNEZ4vbYLmsBPE3i10j8aAtQGEALw_wcB_k_&gbraid=0AAAAADtcfRITS-0IQLNb1BHcbWKdEdCpr&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnJaKBhDgARIsAHmvz6eEMEJUehmi8kMd2BtYJTcWLjQ-jdO_1RssNEZ4vbYLmsBPE3i10j8aAtQGEALw_wcB

To be fair, Apple says the AirTags are 'water resistant', not 'waterproof'. There's a difference. Officially, AirTags are and have the same water resistance rating as an iPhone SE. The rating of IP67 means that it is splash, water, and dust resistant. According to Apple, AirTags can spend up to 30 minutes underwater with a maximum depth of 1 meter (3.2 feet) without experiencing permanent damage.

I have airtag in car. Battery drain fast with beeping

@ why is beeping?

Apple's intent was for people to use the AirTag to find items they had misplaced. Many of us would like to use the AirTag to locate items that have been stolen, so we mute the AirTag so it won't give away it's hidden location on a stolen item before we can track down the stolen item.

@@Koolbob2 can t mute it by software ?

@@Mangold108 You can turn sound alerts 'off' and that will prevent the AirTag from playing a sound for the AirTag owner. But it the AirTag will still play a sound if someone else with an iPhone brings your AirTag home with them.

True, but there is a logical reason for physically disabling the AirTag speaker. Apple is concerned that people will use the AirTag to unknowingly track another persons location. So Apple has designed the AirTag to audibly alert any iPhone user that brings an AirTag that isn't registered to them to their home, work or other place they use their iPhone regularly. Apple's 'anti spying alarm feature' defeats the purpose of attaching an AirTag to something of value if the AirTag is going to sound an alarm when and the thief brings the item to their home. Hiding and muting an AirTag when attaching it to an item of value greatly reduces the chance that the AirTag will discovered and disabled by thieves. Good luck retrieving anything of value if you have attached an AirTag in plain view or failed to physically mute it.