AirTags has space for drilling a key ring hole — but that’s a bad idea

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Apple AirTags technically have space for a key ring hole, but do you risk drilling it yourself?

Apple AirTag key ring hole
(Image credit: Apple)

Don’t want to buy any AirTags accessories? You could just drill a hole into your tracker and use that instead. But just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.

Teardown experts iFixit were able to drill a hole into an AirTag without hitting any important components. All it hit was plastic and glue, and the tracker still works after the fact. But, naturally, this sort of thing would ruin your warranty. 

Obviously drilling in the wrong place can cause damage, and ruin the $29 AirTag for all time. Apple would prefer you buy some sort of AirTags accessories to attach them to things, and that is the safest bet.

But if you really are absolutely 100 percent against doing that, and don’t want to use glue to stick your AirTags to stuff either, drilling is an option. iFixit even included a handy diagram of “safe zones” where you can punch a hole into the tracker and attach a chain, or key ring, or some other similar thing.

airtags drilling zones

(Image credit: iFixit)

As you can see there are some options, but there’s not a large margin for error. But assuming you have a 1/16” drill bit, and are willing to be very careful, this is actually possible. 

Just remember to take the battery out first, because the last thing you need is to make a mistake and have a small fire on your hands. Which, if anything, is another reason not to do this. Make sure to heed the words of Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park and don’t get so preoccupied in whether you can do something and forget to stop and think about whether you should.

Should Apple have included a hole or clip for key rings? Probably, and it certainly looks like there is space in the existing AirTags design to accommodate one. Not only would that have added a little more versatility to the tracker, it would also avoid the need to buy expensive accessories to go with them. 

That wouldn’t mean Apple, and other third parties, couldn’t also sell Airtags accessories. There are always people who want to personalise their gadgets, and AirTags accessories do give them that option. 

But a dedicated key clip would also give people the option to better utilize their tag without having to pay more than the $29 entry fee. Maybe we’ll see that on the AirTags 2.

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Tom Pritchard
Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.