How to Reset an AirTag to Pair With a New Apple ID

Apple AirTags attach to all sorts of things — your keys, purse, luggage, even your pet’s collar — but for all their versatility as tiny tracking devices, AirTags can only be associated with one Apple ID at a time. That’s fine if you’re the only one using the AirTag, and makes it difficult for someone to steal or tamper with the devices, but it means you need to remove the AirTag from your Apple account if you want to use it with a different one.

You can easily remove AirTags from your Apple ID in the Find My app, but if you unlink an AirTag while out of its Bluetooth range, you’ll also need to reset it manually before anyone else can use it. Resetting an AirTag is simple, but requires you to follow very specific instructions.

How to manually reset an AirTag

The first step is to remove the AirTag’s battery cover:

1. Press down on the metal part of the AirTag while rotating it counterclockwise. Keep turning it until the cover stops rotating, then lift off the cover.

Next, you need to remove and reinsert the battery in a specific way multiple times:

1. Take out the battery, wait a moment, then reinsert it.

2. Press down on the battery until you hear a sound.

3. After the sound plays, repeat these steps four more times (for a total of five times). Make sure you hear the sound fully play all five times.

Once you’ve played the sound five times, replace the battery cover, again making sure you follow each of the following steps:

1. Make sure the battery cover’s three tabs line up with the slots on the AirTag.
2. Press down on the cover until you hear a sound.
3. Turn the cover clockwise until it stops rotating.

Your AirTag is now reset, and you can pair it with a new Apple ID.