AirTag 2 is said to be more secure than a silent tracker, but the AirTag 2 speaker can still be bypassed using simple tools. ZDNET’s teardown report states that it took about two minutes to open the tag, disable the sound, and close it again, with the tracker continuing to work afterward.
This is not a niche problem. The speaker is the loud, clear warning you want to hear when an unknown AirTag is with you. Removing the noise will make the label more difficult to detect, especially in situations where you are trying to locate it quickly.
Apple has spent years introducing anti-stalking protections. This type of quick hardware manipulation shows how easy it is for someone to bypass the most intuitive security signal.
A simple mod, same result
The same report describes how to use a single spudger to get into the AirTag 2 and then quickly silence the speaker. After reassembly the tag was still on and functioning normally, it just stopped making noise.
This combination is the problem. A tracker that continues to report location but no longer announces itself shifts the burden onto the person being tracked to notice the alerts and track them down without the aid of sound.
The security gap remains open
The report also points to a steady market for modified tracking tags, with removing or disabling speakers described as the most common change. It argues that physical changes like these can miss broader anti-stalking efforts.
None of this means that most people will encounter abuse. However, this means that an important security feature can be quickly disabled and the device can continue to do what is important to an attacker.
What to watch next
One potential counter is software. A firmware could check to see if the speaker is drawing power when an alarm goes off, then report a mismatch if the circuit is actually broken.
The fix doesn’t just have to be software either. A small physical deterrent such as epoxy could slow down rapid tampering.
For now, the practical takeaway is to pay attention to Apple’s response and future updates. The teardown is tracked over time to see if an update breaks modified tags or triggers an error. This result will say a lot about how serious Apple is about closing this gap.
