Why didn’t my AirTags transfer to my new iPhone?

I have done all these things but I am getting the message that my iPhone is searching for the airbag "pull tab on airbag and bring it near this iPhone to start". These are not new airtags. I had two before attached to my iPhone 12. Upgraded yesterday to iPhone 15 pro. The Find Me has everything else listed - my phone, laptop and iMac, and fiancé's phone. But not my airbags. and it wants me to pull a tab. Any ideas on how to get these Airtags to attach? They are not listed on my old phone either. Thanks!

also, I am unable to reset the airtag or change the battery by Pressing down on the polished stainless steel battery cover of the AirTag and rotate counterclockwise until the cover stops rotating. It will not push down or rotate. The batteries were both fine less than a week ago. Any suggestions on how to address the inability to removing the battery cover?

I just got a new phone yesterday and was experiencing the same issue. I spoke with Apple support, who were able to help me resolve it. At first they asked me to reset the air tag by removing and replacing the battery 4-6 times (without replacing the cover each time) until I heard a different sound. That did not resolve the issue on its own, and I am unsure if it was necessary at all. They then asked me to reset my network settings (this did the trick). Go to Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Reset, Reset Network Settings (be careful not to hit any other option here). It then asked me for my phone passcode, and then required me to confirm that I wanted to Reset Network Settings. I was told by Support that our phone call will disconnect, and that she would call back (which she did). She also told me that I would need to re-enter my wifi password to reconnect to my home wifi. This too was accurate. After all this, my phone automatically recognized my nearby airtag and allowed me to reconnect it and custom name it. After doing so, I noticed that all 4 of my airtags were then visible on FindMy under Items, without further steps. Woohoo! If you hit a snag, search your phone for the Apple Support app and request to be called. The response time was reasonable and they were able to resolve this issue. Good luck to you.

I transferred from an old xs to a new iphone 15 and ran into all the above problems described above regarding the airtags. Thanks to someone named "Sprooose" on apple "stackexchange" website the solution was to simply do a Hard Reset to my new phone (quick vol up, then quick vol down, then hold the power button down until the apple appears), and voilà! The Airtags automatically all appeared on my new phone. There is no need to remove them from the old phone or do anything else (!)

Open the AirTag battery covering as shown below. Remove the battery and wait one second before putting it back in. Repeat until at least 6 times or a different sound than the normal one is heard. Pair with your iPhone again.

Just to be sure:

• Are you posting a solution or still need assistance with this issue?
• Are you using the same Apple ID on both of these iPhones, or a different one with the new phone?
• Did you remove these AirTags from the Find My app on your old iPhone BEFORE trying to pair them with your new phone? If you did, did you also reset them BEFORE pairing them?

If the iPhone you initially paired an AirTag with is no longer "available," you should be able to use your new iPhone with the same Apple ID to connect and manage that AirTag. That new iPhone must also be set up as a "trusted" device as part of 2FA for your Apple ID.

To double-check, that you didn't miss something, here are the steps:

1. On the new iPhone, launch the "Find My" app.
2. Tap on the "Items" tab: In the "Find My" app, select the "Items" tab at the bottom of the screen.
3. Press the "Add Item" button, and then choose "Add AirTag." Follow the on-screen instructions to pair the AirTag with your new iPhone.
4. You'll be prompted to sign in with the Apple ID associated with the AirTag. Ensure it's the same Apple ID that was used when you first set up the AirTag.
5. Follow the remaining steps to complete the setup process.

I believe resetting just the network settings resolves this.

settings>general>transfer or reset>reset>reset network settings.

I had the same issue transferring to iphone 15 and simply had to reset network connections on my new phone. After phone restarts, AirTags and other items populated in FindMy>Items.

Following arkrew480 solved my problem. Thank you for the precise and direct instructions.

My totally "bricked" iPhone 15 Pro was cracked, overheated and in the ocean during a Curacao vacation, I was able to have my iPhone replaced since the iPhone was covered with Apple Care. Everything with the exception of my AirTags was restored.

I reset the network settings as described above and all my AirTags showed up on my newly replaced iPhone.

Thank you arkew480!!!

BIGBARRYG

Just got iphone 16 pro max and tried your recommendation and it worked FLAWLESSLY. Thank You... a little scary when it asks to reset stuff (after spending time to xfer old to new) but your step by step instructions were PERFECT. thanks

I still need this issue solved, however.

• Are you using the same Apple ID on both of these iPhones, or a different one with the new phone?

-Yes, same ID

• Did you remove these AirTags from the Find My app on your old iPhone BEFORE trying to pair them with your new phone? If you did, did you also reset them BEFORE pairing them?

-No, phone was lost, cannot remove.

At this point you need to contact Apple Support directly for further assistance with your AirTag. To do so, simply select the "Support" link on the lower left-hand side of this forum's web page.

100 percent worked. I was skeptical it would be this simple but BAM, hard reset and it worked! Didn't have to touch the AirTags at all!

Did this process of removing the battery however many times from the airtag itself actually resolve the issue for anyone? I also had contacted support and they gave me the same instruction but there was no different beep and ultimately this process had nothing to do with resolving the issue of Airtags not populating when transferring to a new phone.

To the point; Reset Network Settings to Fix this problem.

I did not need to touch the AirTags (still in each car). I did the reset as outlined in BIGBARRY’s post and restarted the iPhone 16 pro max and when it rebooted I selected the “FIND MY” app and the 4 AirTags were now visible and updating.