I was receiving a Low Battery message in FindMy on my iPhone.
I replaced the battery (Duracell CR 2032, same as before). I hear a soft, rippling chirp, when I push the battery in.
FindMy on my iPhone 17/iOS 26.1 doesn't detect it. Bluetooth is on.
iPhone 17 Pro, iOS 26
It sounds like the AirTag itself is powering on — that startup chirp confirms the battery is seated and making contact — but something’s blocking it from pairing back to your iPhone. I’ve seen this happen when the AirTag is still tied to your Apple Account but stuck in a limbo state after a low-battery event. Before proceeding, double-check that the battery you used doesn’t have a bitterant coating on the flat side; some CR2032 cells with that coating prevent proper contact, even though the tag chirps.
With that verified, try the following:
If it still refuses to appear, try toggling Bluetooth and Location Services off and back on, then restart your iPhone.
It sounds like the AirTag itself is powering on — that startup chirp confirms the battery is seated and making contact — but something’s blocking it from pairing back to your iPhone. I’ve seen this happen when the AirTag is still tied to your Apple Account but stuck in a limbo state after a low-battery event. Before proceeding, double-check that the battery you used doesn’t have a bitterant coating on the flat side; some CR2032 cells with that coating prevent proper contact, even though the tag chirps.
With that verified, try the following:
If it still refuses to appear, try toggling Bluetooth and Location Services off and back on, then restart your iPhone.
Thanks for the ideas.
The batteries I had did have a bitterant coating. Based on other posts, I wiped them with isopropyl alcohol. As the coating is clear, I don't know if I removed it, or not.
However, I did try permutations of the 5-press reset procedure, as well, with a couple of different batteries.
The net effect was that I killed two batteries. The AirTag would sometimes register, when it was first reset, but it wasn't a persistent behaviour. I saw it register twice, in all my experiments.
I bought another battery (Panasonic). My battery meter says it's good. However, now my AirTag won't even chirp, when the battery is seated into it.
I'm assuming it's dead, and that it was short-circuiting my batteries on the way down. Any idea how long these things last and what finally dies within them?
Yes, based on what you provided, there is a likelihood that the tag is defective. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't repair them. However, depending on when you got it, they may offer to replace it.
AirTag is not being detected by FindMy.
