Regardless of whether they are first or second generation, AirTags are not designed for access to the inner workings – apart from the easy-to-change battery. However, there were many reports that search labels were often misused by being used for stalking. The loudspeaker could be easily disabled so that warning signals no longer sounded. iFixit has now taken a closer look at the AirTags 2 and, above all, examined whether there is better protection against such manipulations. This leads to a different conclusion than a recently published report. Speaker manipulation: No protection, still very simple
All you have to do is loosen three small clips and the AirTag’s main circuit board is then exposed. The loudspeaker sits directly in the middle, which, as Apple promised, is now much louder and can therefore be heard over greater distances. However, as hoped, iFixit cannot find any better protection measures. It is enough to separate two small wires – and the speaker, unlike the rest of the AirTag, no longer works. Why Apple didn’t bother to at least detect manipulation and then warn you is incomprehensible. Before and after, the search label can be easily misused. No other action against improper use has been reported so far.
New antenna design
iFixit also shows the revised antenna design in the video, which uses two new chips. The U2 chip is particularly important here as a central component to increase the chances of success when looking for an AirTag. As is well known, in order to take advantage of more precise location tracking, it must be an iPhone 15 or newer. The system requirement for this is iOS 26.2.1, i.e. the update that was released just a few days ago.
Single AirTag, 35 euros
AirTags four pack, 119 euros
AirTags four-pack, previous generation, 79 euros
