Apple AirTag: Australian retailers withdraw gadget from sale over button battery safety concerns

Some Australian retailers have withdrawn AirTags from sale due to a safety risk. This is what it means for Apple users.

Apple AirTags act like a key-finder, helping find keys and other products, but they are not being sold in all Australian electronics retailers. Picture: Supplied

It is the Apple gadget designed to find things and yet finding one in some Australian stores has become harder than expected.

The Apple AirTag, which launched in Australia on April 30, has run into controversy Down Under after some retailers flagged them as a potential safety risk due to their use of button batteries and withdrew them from sale.

But the tech giant says the devices “meet all international child safety standards, including those in Australia” and are safe.

It will now be up to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to decide, and a spokesperson confirmed the authority is “urgently engaging” with Apple to sort out the issue.

Some retailers have flagged Apple AirTags as a potential safety rise due to their button batteries. Picture: Supplied

Launched at the company’s Spring Loaded event after months of speculation, Apple AirTags are designed to help users find everyday items such as keys and bags using a low-energy Bluetooth signal.

They are shaped like an oversized button, emit a high-pitched beep when in “lost mode”, and are powered by a standard, CR2032 button battery.

But button batteries can pose a safety risk to children under age five because, if swallowed, they can become stuck in a child’s throat and cause serious burns.

The ACCC launched a button battery safety standard last year to address the risk, revealing that one child a month is seriously injured in Australia after swallowing a battery.

The new standard will be introduced over 18 months, to June 2022, and includes a secure opening mechanism, clear warnings, and child-resistant packaging.

An Apple spokesperson said the company met Australian requirements by adding a “two step push-and-turn mechanism to access the user-replaceable battery”.

“We are following the regulations closely and are working to ensure that our products will meet or exceed new standards well ahead of the timeline required,” the spokesperson said.

But some retailers are not selling the device. Officeworks was the first company to pull the devices from sale shortly after launch, as reported in Gizmodo.

Similarly, JB Hi-Fi now sells AirTag accessories but not the device itself. They are out of stock at Telstra, no longer listed at Big W, and available as a “pre-order” item at Bing Lee. Harvey Norman sells AirTags with a warning about button batteries in bold print beneath their online listing.

The ACCC spokesperson said the watchdog was “aware of reports raising concerns about the accessibility of button batteries in the Apple AirTag product” and was in talks with Apple. It’s not clear when the authority will reach a decision but the spokesperson said any company who finds its product to be unsafe would be expected to “conduct a voluntary recall or remove (it) from the market”.