The Find My network is one of the biggest perks of the Apple ecosystem. With it, you can track the last known location of practically all of your Apple products. You can quickly and easily see on a map where your iPhone, AirPods Pro, or Apple Watch is, often in real time, and for tracking anything else, you can set up an Apple AirTag.

But while Apple gear like a Mac or an iPad is easy to factory reset if you want to sell or recycle it, AirTags, having no buttons or touchscreen, aren’t so cut and dry. There are a couple of ways to reset an AirTag, though one is simpler than the other. Here’s how.

How to reset an AirTag using the Find My app

If you have a compatible Apple device handy and it’s signed in to the same Apple ID as the AirTag you’re looking to reset, resetting your AirTag is a simple operation.

Following these steps when the AirTag you want to reset isn’t directly accessible to your device removes the tracker from your Apple ID but does not factory reset it. If this happened to you, follow the steps in the next section to reset your AirTag.

1. Make sure the AirTag you want to reset is within Bluetooth range of your device and has a functional battery installed.
2. Open the Find My app.
3. If the app doesn’t open to it, navigate to the Items tab.
4. Select the AirTag you want to reset from the list.
5. Scroll down and tap Remove Item.

6. Tap Remove.
7. On the next screen, tap Remove again.

This process unpairs the AirTag from your Apple ID, and if the tracker is nearby and powered on, resets it to factory settings. If you removed an AirTag from your account while it wasn’t nearby or purchased a used AirTag that wasn’t properly reset by its previous owner, follow the steps below.

How to reset an AirTag not associated with your Apple ID

It’s also possible to factory reset an AirTag using only the AirTag, but it’s a longer process with more steps.

1. Open the AirTag’s battery compartment by pressing down on the stainless steel battery cover and rotating it counterclockwise.
2. Take the cover off and remove the battery.
3. Put the battery back in.
4. Press down on the battery until the AirTag makes a sound.
5. After the sound stops, repeat this process four times: remove the battery, put it back, and press down until you hear a sound.
6. The fifth sound that plays is different from the others to let you know that the AirTag is ready for pairing.
7. Replace the battery cover by lining up its tabs with the slots on the AirTag, pressing down, and rotating clockwise.

Assuming the AirTag has been removed from its previous Apple ID, it’s now ready to be set up again on a new account.

An Android perspective

While AirTags and the Find My network, in general, are big reasons for Android enthusiasts to envy the Apple ecosystem, we’re not entirely without alternatives. Check out our handy guide on how to find your lost Android phone, tablet, or Wear OS watch using Android’s Find My Device feature. If you’re still not convinced, we also have a list of things you’ll hate about switching from Android to iOS. Apple might have AirTags, but at least Android has functional notifications.