I owe Apple five dollars. Well, technically thirty-five, because that’s how much the AirTag 2 cost me, and I absolutely destroyed the first one I tried to open.
If you remember the original AirTag from back in 2021, opening it was trivial. You pressed down, twisted the chrome cap, and boom—battery access. But those days are over. It is February 2026, and Apple has spent the last few years figuring out how to stop people from muting these things.
I spent yesterday evening with a heat gun, a spudger, and a significant amount of patience trying to get into the guts of the new AirTag 2. Spoiler: I failed the first time. The second time, I got in, but what I found inside makes it clear that Apple has been hard at work.
The Speaker Is No Longer Just a Speaker
On the AirTag 2, the piezoelectric element isn’t just glued to the casing; it’s integrated into the structural frame of the logic board itself. When I finally cracked the shell open (literally—I had to use a Dremel because the ultrasonic welding is aggressive), I realized there are no wires to cut.
I tried to be clever. I took a micro-drill bit to where I thought the trace might be near the edge. The moment I severed the connection, the AirTag didn’t just go silent. It died completely. It seems Apple has added a continuity check for the speaker circuit.
Specs and Real-World Range
While I had the corpse of my first victim on the desk, I put the second unit through some actual range tests. The AirTag 2, with the upgraded U2 chip, held a lock on the Precision Finding signal through three walls at roughly 65 feet. I left it in my mailbox and walked down the block—Precision Finding kicked in way earlier than I expected.
And yes, thank god, it’s still a user-replaceable CR2032. There were rumors last year they’d go rechargeable and sealed, which would have been an e-waste disaster.
The Anti-Tamper Potting
Once you get past the battery compartment, the rest of the internals are encased in a hard, black potting compound. This effectively kills the “stealth mode” market. You can’t modify what you can’t reach without destroying the board.
A Note on Sound
Since I couldn’t mute it, I measured it. The AirTag Gen 2 is consistently hitting 78-80 dB. It’s louder. Much louder. And the frequency is different—it’s more shrill, cutting through background noise better.
The Verdict
I have mixed feelings. As a hardware nerd who likes taking things apart, the AirTag 2 is a nightmare. But that’s the point, isn’t it? Apple was embarrassed by the bad press from the first generation. They didn’t just tweak the software; they re-engineered the hardware to make it physically impossible to silence the device without breaking it.
If you’re planning to buy these for your keys or your luggage, they’re a solid upgrade. But if you were hoping to mod one for “covert tracking” of your own bike (or worse), don’t bother. You’ll just end up with a pile of plastic shavings and a $35 hole in your wallet. Trust me on that one.
