If you use Bluetooth devices like a keyboard and mouse with your Macbook, keeping an eye on their battery levels is important. And for iMac users, it’s essential. There’s nothing worse than having a dead battery when you’re in the middle of something critical on your computer.
You might be amid an online business meeting sharing a presentation, doing a job interview using an app like Skype, or trying to make a crucial deadline and have no time to spare.
So, for keeping a watch, here’s how to check your Bluetooth device battery level on Mac.
From the Bluetooth section in macOS Ventura
- Click the Apple icon () and choose System Settings.
- Click Bluetooth.
- Take the pointer over the connected Bluetooth device, and it should show the battery level.
One of the quickest and easiest ways to check battery levels for connected devices is with the Bluetooth indicator in your menu bar.
To show Bluetooth in your menu bar, follow these steps on your Mac running macOS Ventura or later:
- Click the Apple icon () > System Settings from the menu bar.
- Select Control Center.
- Choose Show in Menu Bar for Bluetooth.
Now to check those battery levels, click the Bluetooth button from the menu bar. You’ll see a list of connected devices with the battery level to the right of each one.
You can see the battery percentage in the menu bar even if your Mac is running macOS Monterey or earlier. But the steps to show the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar are different. Here’s how: Apple icon > System Preferences > Bluetooth > Show Bluetooth in menu bar.
From Control Center
With macOS Big Sur came Control Center in your menu bar. This gives you a fast and simple way to check those battery levels without taking up more space in the menu bar.
Click the Control Center button and select Bluetooth. You’ll see the same pop-up as above using the menu bar button.
This setting remains in your Control Center by default. You can’t currently remove it like you can the menu bar button. So this makes it even more convenient.
In System Preferences
If you happen to be in your Mac settings, you can see your battery levels in the System Preferences for each device. This also works for older versions of macOS:
- Click the Apple icon () > System Preferences from the menu bar.
- Select Keyboard.
- At the bottom of the window, you’ll see the Keyboard battery level.
To check your mouse, go back to the main System Preferences screen:
- Select Mouse.
- At the bottom of the window, you’ll see the Mouse battery level.
If you use another Bluetooth device, such as a Trackpad or headset, you’ll go through the same steps to open the device in System Preferences and view the battery level there.
Using Terminal
If you’re up for using Terminal, then you can easily run commands to check your Bluetooth keyboard and mouse battery levels with it too. Just use these commands:
ioreg -c AppleBluetoothHIDKeyboard |grep '"BatteryPercent" ='
ioreg -c BNBMouseDevice |grep '"BatteryPercent" ='
Checking the battery levels for your connected Bluetooth devices can save you from a last-minute catastrophe when one suddenly stops working. Before you start your presentation, share your screen, join an online meeting, or begin that chat or phone call, will you check your batteries?
Bluetooth tips for Mac: