To get the battery icon back in the menu bar of a MacBook, open System Settings, click Menu Bar, and select Battery. In macOS Sequoia or earlier, the setting is under Control Center. If the setting is on and the icon is still missing, the cause is one of four others. Here is each one.
Put the battery icon back
In macOS Tahoe or later:
- Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
- Click Menu Bar in the sidebar.
- Below Menu Bar Controls, select Battery.
In macOS Sequoia, Sonoma or Ventura:
- Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
- Click Control Center in the sidebar.
- Go to Battery and turn on Show in Menu Bar.
Put the percentage back
- Open System Settings and click Menu Bar.
- Select Battery, then click Battery Options.
- Turn on Show Percentage.
In macOS Sequoia or earlier, Show Percentage is below Battery in the Control Center settings. See how to show battery percentage on a Mac.
The causes
| What you see | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No battery icon | The Battery setting is off, or a drag removed the icon | Turn on Battery with the steps above |
| An icon with no number | Show Percentage is off | Turn on Show Percentage |
| No menu bar at all | The menu bar hides by itself, or an app is in full screen | Move the pointer to the top of the screen |
| Some icons are missing on a MacBook with a notch | Too many icons for the space | Quit apps or remove icons |
| No icon on an iMac, Mac mini or Mac Studio | A desktop Mac has no battery | Nothing to fix |
| The icon is gone after sleep or an update | A fault in the menu bar | Restart the Mac |
A drag removed the icon
You can remove an icon from the menu bar by accident. Hold the Command key and drag an icon, and it leaves the menu bar. The steps above put it back.
The menu bar hides by itself
If the whole menu bar is gone, it is set to hide.
- Open System Settings and click Menu Bar.
- Set Automatically hide and show the menu bar to Never.
In macOS Sequoia or earlier, the setting is in Control Center, at the bottom. An app in full screen can also hide the menu bar. Move the pointer to the top of the screen to show it.
The notch hides icons
A MacBook with a notch has less space in the menu bar. When the icons of your apps do not fit, macOS hides the ones nearest the notch, with no sign that it did. The battery icon is on the right and usually stays, but the icons of other apps can go.
- Quit apps that you do not use. Their icons leave the menu bar.
- Hold the Command key and drag icons that you do not need out of the menu bar.
- In macOS Tahoe, open System Settings, click Menu Bar, and turn off the apps that you do not want in the menu bar.
A desktop Mac
An iMac, a Mac mini or a Mac Studio has no battery. It has no battery icon and no Battery setting, and that is correct.
A battery icon appears on a desktop Mac while a UPS is connected by USB. See how to check a UPS battery on a Mac.
The setting is on, and the icon is still missing
- Turn the Battery setting off, then on again.
- Restart the Mac.
- Install the latest macOS update.
In macOS Tahoe and later, the battery is also in Control Center, with its percentage. Click the Control Center icon in the menu bar to see it while the icon is missing.
More than the Mac’s own battery
The battery icon of macOS shows one battery, the MacBook’s own. It has no place for your iPhone, your AirPods or your mouse.
BatteryBud is a battery monitor for Mac. You choose what its menu bar item shows: this Mac’s battery, the lowest battery of all your devices, or one device you pick. You can also pin single devices to the menu bar with their percentage. On a desktop Mac, which has no battery icon, it shows the lowest battery of your accessories.
To get a warning before a battery is low, see how to get a low battery notification at the level you want.