AirTags and other accessories are locked to the phone they’re paired with. Apple calls this Find My Lock instead of Activation Lock, which is available for Apple devices, like iPhones and Macs. (See how Activation Lock protects a lost or stolen device.)
You can remove an AirTag from an Apple Account using the native Find My app but only on an iPhone or iPad linked to your iCloud account. You cannot use a Mac to remove a Find My item pairing; Apple has not explained why.
Go to the Find My app, tap the Items button, tap the AirTag, and at the bottom of the sheet with actions, tap Remove. Apple lets you know this means someone else can use it by pairing it. Apple also alerts you with shared items about others being unable to see it after removal.
If the AirTag is within Bluetooth range of the device you’re using to remove it from your Apple Account, it is automatically reset and ready to be paired with another device. Otherwise, it has to be physically reset after removal. Apple has instructions in a support document, but I found them a little difficult to follow in their formulation.
An AirTag remains connected to its paired device and unusable with another device until or unless it is removed from your Apple Account. Resetting it has no effect on pairing.
I highly recommend avoiding purchasing used AirTags or Find My items, as there’s no way for a seller to provide an assurance that the item has had its Find My Lock removed. At worst, only buy from a source that promises a full refund and free return, including shipping costs, if the item can’t be used.
I’ve sometimes found I have to restart my iPhone to re-pair an AirTag with it after removing it.
Here’s what I hope is a clearer sequence:
Reset your AirTag
- Remove the back cover: Holding the glossy white front, push down to twist the metal back panel counter-clockwise. It only needs to move a small distance before the cover pops off.
- Remove the battery: Inside, you’ll see its small coin cell battery. Remove the battery, making note of the right side up: the + sign on the battery will always face you.
- Press in a sequence: This next step may seem peculiar, because the back cover remains off. Put the battery back in place and then press down lightly. The AirTag makes a faint bleep. Repeat this four times: remove the battery so it makes no contact, put it back in, press it lightly, and wait for a sound. The fifth time you do this, the sound will be slightly different. That means the reset operation completed successfully.
- Reattach back cover: Now you can look at the cover to see the extended tabs and align those with the hole in the top. Press in and then rotate the cover clockwise against its top until it’s firmly in place.
The small size of the AirTag, its cover, and the battery within are all choking hazards for small children or pets. If you have either or have visitors with them, keep track of loose AirTags or parts.
Now you can pair with another iPhone or iPad.
Stop an AirTag transmitting
Removing an AirTag from an account stops it from relaying location data. However, if you want the device to stop sending any signal, remove the cover and the battery.
In a pinch, you can disable an AirTag’s or third-party item’s capability to transmit its signal by wrapping it in aluminum foil or putting it in a bag designed to block electromagnetic fields (a so-called Faraday cage). These items emit fairly weak Bluetooth signals, so the foil approach will, uh, foil attempts to track you if you can’t figure out how to remove the battery or you want to leave the device intact to give to law enforcement.
You can find advice all over the internet about how to disable the sound-producing part of an AirTag. I won’t link to any such advice, and I recommend you avoid it in nearly all cases. Why? Because the intent isn’t, as often stated on these webpages, how to keep an AirTag from bothering you. Rather, it’s clearly advice on producing a more effective electronic stalker. (Apple also may have made it harder to remove the sound-producing component in the 2nd-generation AirTag, but the company declines to discuss that.)
You might have a perfectly good reason to dampen the sound! But in some countries (or even certain cities, states, or regions within a country), unless an AirTag is continuously within your control, disabling the intended audio alert could run afoul of privacy and anti-stalking laws and get you into real trouble. (For when this sound occurs, see what an “AirTag Found Moving With You” alert means.)
