One of the surprising features of Apple’s AirTag is that it actually comes with user replaceable batteries. Given the majority of Apple’s products that have batteries that are difficult or almost impossible to replace, like we said, this was a surprising but welcome feature. However, this in turn created a problem in which some were concerned about children swallowing these batteries.However, this wasn’t a problem exclusive to the AirTag, but any device that uses CR2032 batteries that are easily accessible. To combat this, companies like Duracell coated their batteries with a bitter coating that would discourage children from putting it into their mouths, but now it seems that this could cause a problem for the AirTag.
According to a support document spotted by The Loop, it seems that Apple is warning users against using these types of batteries when they are replacing the batteries in the AirTag. According to Apple, “CR2032 batteries with bitterant coatings might not work with AirTag or other battery-powered products, depending on the alignment of the coating in relation to the battery contacts.”
We haven’t tested it for ourselves so we can’t say for sure if the use of a bitter coating could have a negative impact on the AirTag’s functionality, so we’ll have to take Apple’s word for it now.