TimeCapsule by Elevation Lab gives Apple’s AirTag a 10-year battery life

When Apple introduced the AirTag back in 2021, it changed the way we think about mobile tracking devices. Rather than using a cellular or GPS signal directly, AirTag utilizes a hybrid Bluetooth and ultra-wideband signal over a Peer-to-Peer network consisting of other Apple devices to triangulate its exact location and report it back to you. This allows AirTag to be extremely power efficient.

Operating a single CR2032 lithium 3V coin-shaped battery, you can expect to get about one year of battery life out of an Apple AirTag, but your mileage may vary. In fact, I’ve had one last as much as two years under minimal use. But is that enough time for something that you depend on to locate your critical equipment when it goes missing?

The team at Elevation Lab doesn’t think so, and that’s why they’ve invented something called the TimeCapsule to fix the problem.

Innovation begins with a tragedy

In mid-December, an Elevation Lab employee fell victim to theft and had close to $10,000 worth of camera gear stolen from their vehicle. This prompted the employee to fire up the Apple Find My app on their iPhone to try and track their AirTag. Sadly, they realized that the AirTag’s battery had died, and the last location update was more than three months before the theft. In this case, the AirTag couldn’t help police recover the gear.

While this could have been avoided by keeping on top of battery replacements, the fact remains that many people are simply too busy with life to remember to update their small CR2032 battery once every year. Many put off the low battery alerts until the very last minute, and if you’re anything like the Elevation Lab employee described above, then it’s already too late if the battery runs out when your stuff gets stolen.

Adding battery capacity to AirTag with TimeCapsule

Longer battery life could have helped considerably in the Elevation Lab employee’s unfortunate scenario above, especially with respect to what we’re about to show you. That’s why we think Elevation Lab’s new TimeCapsule will be a hit. It’s essentially an extended battery for your AirTag, permitting you to use two AA batteries to power your AirTag in a sleek and compact package.

According to Elevation Lab, two AA batteries provide you with 14 times more power capacity than the standard CR2032 coin battery that Apple’s AirTag calls for out of the box. With that in mind, you can expect close to a 10-year battery life with the TimeCapsule. Elevation Lab recommends Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries for the best results, as alkaline batteries can leak and corrode over time. You have been warned.

On the inside of the TimeCapsule, users will find a post that looks like a CR2032 coin battery, but it’s actually just the shell of a CR2032 battery with power leads built into it that receive power from the two AA batteries that you’ll install on the opposite side.

You install the AirTag into the TimeCapsule by removing the battery access door and the CR2032 coin battery from your AirTag and then snapping the other half over the faux-CR2032 coin battery inside of the TimeCapsule. After doing so, you can then install the two AA batteries, and voilà, you can now track your AirTag for far longer than ever before.

Build quality visible from afar

Elevation Lab has been making quality accessories for Apple products for several years, and TimeCapsule doesn’t depart from that long tradition.

You will notice that TimeCapsule is fitted with a bright orange gasket around the entire base, which squashes tightly against the lip of the fiber-reinforced composite lid for an air-tight seal that keeps water out. Having said that, this IP69 rated waterproof container keeps your AirTag dry even under the harshest environments. It’s more than just a battery life upgrade; it’s a weatherproofing upgrade as well.

Once sandwiched together, you use four CNC-machined screws to tighten the lid against the gasket to form the air-tight seal. You’ve likely heard about tightening the lug nuts on your car in a star-pattern, and I recommend a similar approach when screwing down these screws. Start at one corner and then move to the opposite diagonal corner, being careful not to over-tighten in the process.

At just over 4.25 inches long (a little over 11cm), and about 1.5 inch wide (a little under 4cm), this thing is ultra-compact and nearly mirrors the size of a portable NVM Express solid state drive enclosure. That said, it fits perfect in any camera gear bag, purse, luggage, toolbox, or anything else that may require tracking. The discreet black case disappears in any backpack pocket, making it harder to notice than a bright white AirTag.

Once tightened shut, the TimeCapsule has a satisfyingly solid feel in the hand. It’s not going to break under pressure from everyday use. If you run it over with a car, maybe… but who’s doing that apart from those ‘does it break’ YouTubers?

A small sacrifice

I will note that the AirTag is designed with a speaker so that you can audibly track lost items with a toggle from your Apple devices. Sealing the AirTag away inside of an air-tight case means that sound, which travels through air, can’t escape very well. That said, the speaker’s audible speaker volume as heard from outside of a sealed TimeCapsule case is diminished to approximately 2/3 of the original uncased AirTag’s speaker volume.

While this is an unfortunate sacrifice, the good news is that Bluetooth and ultra-wideband signals aren’t impeded by the composite case in the slightest, so you’ll always be able to track your belongings on a map until the batteries finally run out.

My thoughts on Elevation Lab’s TimeCapsule

The AirTag came out just over three years ago, which means that you’ve likely replaced your CR2032 battery once or twice by now. Personally, I’ve only had to do it once. But with TimeCapsule, you are getting an advertised 10-year battery life.

Imagine if you were still running your AirTag on its original batteries, even today, with still well over 60% of the battery life remaining until you needed to replace the batteries. This puts the usefulness of TimeCapsule into perspective. 12 months flies by, and even if you’re lucky enough to have a CR2032 battery that lasts longer than that like I did, it’s still too frequent of maintenance and easy to push off and forget about.

As a photographer myself, I sympathize with the Elevation Lab employee who lost their gear from theft and will be taking steps to incorporate a TimeCapsule into my own photography travel bag. I’m not too worried about not being able to hear the AirTag’s speaker since a camera bag is too large to lose between a cough cushion, but being able to see it on a map for so many years is a great peace of mind feeling.

At just $19.99 for a single pack or $29.99 for a double pack of Elevation Lab’s TimeCapsule, I think this product is a bargain and offers a lot of benefits to AirTag users.

I’ve put together a brief rundown of pros and cons to the Elevation Lab TimeCapsule below:

Pros:

• Increases AirTag battery life to around 10 years instead of 1 year
• IP69 waterproof and ready for adverse weather conditions
• Ultra-strong construction materials
• Compact enough to fit almost anywhere
• Runs on ubiquitous AA batteries
• Easy to assemble
• Extremely affordable
• Available in discounted bulks

Cons:

• Sacrifices audibility of AirTag speaker
• Batteries not included
• Cheaper alkaline batteries not recommended due to risk of leaking
• Battery isn’t rechargeable

Where to get one

If you’d like to pick up an Elevation Lab TimeCapsule for yourself, then you can head over to Amazon where you can purchase a single pack for $19.99 or a two pack for $29.99.

Alternatively, you can head over to Elevation Lab’s own website where you can purchase a single pack for $19.99, a two pack for $29.99, or a four pack for $39.99. Notably, the four pack isn’t available on Amazon and offers 50% savings to the consumer.

Currently, the TimeCapsule is on pre-order and the first batch has sold out. There is an estimated shipping date of January 25^th if you order now, so get in line to reserve yours!

Conclusion

For a product born hastily out of spite for losing property because an AirTag’s battery ran out in the time of need, we think that Elevation Lab’s TimeCapsule is an amazing upgrade for an otherwise useful Apple-branded tracking device.

We not only like the design of the TimeCapsule, but also the massive bump in battery life and waterproofing that it brings to the table. We strongly recommend jumping onboard if you’re an AirTag owner and looking for a way to upgrade it.

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