To check the AirPods case battery on a Mac, put at least one bud in the case, open the lid, connect the AirPods to this Mac and open System Settings, then Bluetooth. The case does not report its level on its own. It reports through the buds, so the level disappears when the lid is closed.
Check the AirPods case battery in System Settings
- Put at least one AirPod in the charging case.
- Open the lid and hold the case close to your Mac.
- Click Control Center in the menu bar.
- Click Sound, then choose your AirPods from the list. This connects them to this Mac.
- Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
- Click Bluetooth.
- Look under the name of your AirPods. You see a level for the left bud, the right bud and the case.
Where macOS shows the AirPods case battery
Every place needs the AirPods to be connected to this Mac.
| Place | What it shows | When the case appears |
|---|---|---|
| System Settings, then Bluetooth | The left bud, the right bud and the case | While a bud is in the case with the lid open, or just after you take the buds out |
| Control Center, then Bluetooth | The battery level next to the name of your AirPods | Use System Settings for the case |
| The Batteries widget | Your Mac and each connected Bluetooth device | Only while the AirPods report the case |
| The status light on the case | Green or amber, no percentage | With the AirPods out of the case, the light shows the case. With the AirPods in and the lid open, it shows the AirPods |
The status light works without a Mac. Green means fully charged. Amber means less than one full charge remains.
How to check AirPods battery on a Mac covers the other three places step by step. To keep the widget on your desktop, see how to add the battery widget on a Mac.
AirPods case battery not showing on a Mac
The case goes missing for one of these reasons.
- Both buds are out of the case. The case reports through the buds. macOS shows the case just after you take the buds out, then drops it. Put one bud back and open the lid.
- The lid is closed. AirPods shut down and charge when they are in the case with the lid closed. They report nothing until you open it.
- The AirPods are connected to your iPhone. macOS only shows devices connected to this Mac. Click Control Center, click Sound, then choose your AirPods.
- The AirPods or the case are empty. If no status light appears when you open the lid, they need a charge. Put the AirPods in the case, close the lid, and charge the case for at least 15 minutes.
- Bluetooth is off on your Mac. Open System Settings, click Bluetooth, and turn it on.
If the case level looks wrong and not missing, see why your AirPods case battery is draining.
AirPods Max and Beats
AirPods Max have no charging case. They charge through a cable in the right earphone. The Smart Case has no battery level to show. It puts AirPods Max in an ultralow power mode, and your Mac shows one level for the headphones.
Beats earbuds with a charging case report the case through the buds too. The steps are in how to check Beats battery on a Mac.
What macOS does not show
- The case with the lid closed. There is no way to ask the case for its level while the buds are shut down inside it.
- The case while your AirPods play from your iPhone. Your Mac shows nothing for AirPods connected to another device.
- The case in the menu bar. You have to open a menu, a settings pane or a widget.
- A history of the case. You cannot see when the case last charged, or how fast it drops.
Keep the AirPods case battery in the menu bar
BatteryBud is a menu bar app that shows the left bud, the right bud and the case, each on its own. You can pin your AirPods to the menu bar with their percentage.
When your AirPods are connected to this Mac, BatteryBud shows exact levels. When they are connected to something else, such as your iPhone, or sitting in their closed case, it reads the Bluetooth broadcasts they send while they are near your Mac, in use or in their closed case. Most of those carry exact levels too. When one does not, BatteryBud shows the level in 10% steps.
BatteryBud also keeps a history for each device, so the last level of the case stays on a chart after the lid closes. It can alert you when a level drops below a number you pick. It is one of the things to look for in a battery monitor for Mac.