How to Drill a Keyring Hole in an AirTag

Written By: Kyle Smith

Comments: 11

How to Drill a Keyring Hole in an AirTag

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

30 minutes - 1 hour

Introduction

Use this guide to drill a keyring hole in your AirTag.

Attempt this procedure at your own risk. Drilling through your AirTag may damage its functionality and will negate the AirTag’s IP67 water resistance rating.

Be Careful - This is not a necessary addition, as cheap 3rd party keyrings are available on sites like Amazon. Do this at your own expense, as you may end up breaking the device and Apple will not accept this under the warranty.

Tools

Step 1

Use both of your thumbs to push down on the battery compartment door.

Die Daumen rutschen gerne ab, man denkt der Deckel klemmt. Abhilfe: z.B. Latex-Einmalhandschuhe (z.B. aus der Apotheke) anziehen, dann geht es ganz leicht, weil nichts mehr rutscht.

Nano Mymse -

Step 2

Rotate the battery compartment door counter-clockwise to unlatch it from the frame.

Step 3

Lift up the battery compartment door to remove it.

Step 4

Lift and remove the battery.
When you replace the battery, insert it such that the positive end is facing up.

Das sollte man aus der Hersteller-Anleitung auch beachten: „CR2032-Batterien mit einer Bitterstoffbeschichtung funktionieren möglicherweise nicht mit dem AirTag oder anderen batteriebetriebenen Produkten, je nach Ausrichtung der Beschichtung in Bezug auf die Batteriekontakte.“

Ob es funktioniert oder nicht, kann man so feststellen: Beim Hereindrücken der Batterie muß ein Piepston ertönen. Piepst es nicht, könnte es an der Bitterstoffbeschichtung liegen.

Und bevor man nun lange herumsucht, sei diese überaus hilfreiche Erläuterung aus der iPhone-Gemeinde wiedergegeben:

https://communities.apple.com/de/thread/... - Originalzitat:

petereu
04. Dez. 2022 18:54 als Antwort auf PreCognition
Die CR2032-Knopfzellen von Panasonic funktionieren einwandfrei :-) Soweit ich sehe, verkauft nur Duracell die CR2032 mit Bitrex-Beschichtung. Man erkennt den Unterschied an der Aufschrift baby secure pack (keine Beschichtung) gegenüber baby secure pack & battery (mit Beschichtung).

Nano Mymse -

Step 5

Do not remove the gray battery compartment. This image is for illustrative purposes only.
Inside the device, the circuit board and antenna frame have three notches for the clips and glue.
To avoid damaging the internal components, drill through the space next to a clip.
This is an image of an AirTag that has already been drilled through at the bottom location.

Step 6

Rotate the AirTag so that the CE marking is upright.
Use a marker or pen to draw a dot where you want to drill the keyring hole.
Draw the dot as close to the edge of the gray battery compartment as possible. This will allow you to reattach the battery compartment door while the keyring is attached.
The three potential drill locations are at the left (moving clockwise) end of each battery compartment clip hole.
You can locate our recommended drill location by drawing a dot at roughly seven o'clock.

Step 7

Wear eye protection while using the vise, drilling the hole, and removing sharp edges.
Keep your hands away from the device while drilling the keyring hole.

Step 8

Secure the AirTag in a vise.
Make sure the area under your marked drill location is clear to avoid hitting the vise with the drill bit.

Step 9

Use a 1/16th inch drill bit to drill a hole through the AirTag.

Step 10

Use a metal file to remove burrs and sharp edges from the keyring hole.
You can also use sandpaper or a deburring tool.
Remove any remaining plastic particles on the AirTag before installing the keyring.

Step 11

Insert your keyring through the keyring hole.
You can apply Sugru or a sealant to seal both sides of the hole.

Well it is not a bad idea what I would do is to add a smaller split ring that is about 3/8th inch in diameter. This will allow the fob to lay flat against the rest of the keys and fit more comfortably in a person’s pocket.

escueboone - 10/02/22

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order starting at step 4.

Repair didn’t go as planned? Ask our AirTag Answers community for help.

Author

Kyle Smith

Member since: 01/02/21

40669 Reputation

8 comments

ifixit has been an incredible resource for me (and the world!) since about 2006, I believe. And although, technically, me replacing a Mac’s hard drive may void my warranty, THIS particular project is just so darned unnecessary and a guarantee to void any warranty. I have two AirTags. One is in a Belkin protector, the other in a silicon fob from Amazon. I’ll continue to recommend ifixit to my audiences - but this project is just, well, weird. How about a fix for the AirTags NOT accepting a Duracell 2023 battery?

Clint Bradford -

Isn’t also just weird yet trademark Apple to not provide any accessory with the product that allows you to hold it or attach it to any keyring without a separate purchase?

Nicholas Burgio -

well, this is a cheap alternative to give apple the same money you already gave them for the tag, but i still prefer third party accesories.

Daniele Carminati -

I can’t think of any reason to do this.

No points given.

Donald Fournier -

there is no reason to drill a hole in your airtag - just buy a keyring accessory for it instead of risking breaking your airtag. I agree donald.

tayola -

Good job of showing how to be able to add a key ring. Thank you!

David Sivertsen -

Extremely detailed and helpful!

Morio -

This guide isn’t that help. You can just buy a cheap apple AirTag holder with a key ring holder instead of drilling a hole into an Apple AirTag

Benjydenjy -