How to check your Magic Keyboard battery

A Magic Keyboard goes about a month between charges, so it is easy to forget that it has a battery. macOS shows its level in three places. Here is each one, and how to get a warning before the keys stop.

Control Center

1. Click the Control Center icon in the menu bar.
2. Click Bluetooth.
3. Read the battery level next to your Magic Keyboard.

To make this one click, open System Settings, click Menu Bar, and select Bluetooth. In macOS Sequoia or earlier, go to Control Center and set Bluetooth to Show in Menu Bar.

System Settings

1. Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
2. Click Bluetooth.
3. Look under the name of your Magic Keyboard for its percentage.

The Batteries widget

1. Click the date and time in the menu bar to open Notification Center.
2. Click Edit Widgets at the bottom.
3. Search for Batteries and add it.

The widget shows your Mac and each connected Bluetooth accessory. See how to add a battery widget on a Mac for the devices it shows and the ones it leaves out.

Magic Keyboard battery level not showing

macOS shows the level of a Magic Keyboard that is turned on and connected to this Mac. The keyboard itself has no battery light. If the level is missing, check these in order.

1. Look in the right place. Click the Control Center icon in the menu bar, then click Bluetooth. The level is in that menu, not in the menu bar itself.
2. Turn the keyboard off and on. Slide the switch on the back edge of the keyboard until no green shows, then slide it back.
3. Check that Bluetooth is on. Open System Settings and click Bluetooth.
4. If Bluetooth does not turn on, restart your Mac and try again.
5. Pair the keyboard again. Connect it to your Mac with its cable, wait 1 minute, then disconnect the cable. This pairs it with your Mac and charges it.

If the keyboard does not stay connected, other wireless devices near it can interfere. Move them away and try again.

Magic Keyboard battery draining fast

Apple says a Magic Keyboard runs for about a month or more between charges. How long yours lasts depends on how much you type. If a charge lasts much less than a month, check these.

1. Charge it fully. Connect the cable and leave the keyboard turned on, which charges it fastest.
2. Read the level in the Bluetooth menu when you disconnect the cable.
3. Read the level again a week later. macOS keeps no history, so you have to note the numbers yourself.

The battery is built in, and you cannot replace it yourself. If a full charge lasts only a few days, contact Apple Support.

What macOS does not show

• No level in the menu bar. You have to open the Bluetooth menu to see a number.
• No choice of warning level. macOS tells you when the Magic Keyboard is low, at a level it picks.
• No history. You cannot see how long the last charge lasted.
• You can keep typing while it charges. Connect the cable and the keyboard works as a wired keyboard, so a low battery is easy to fix once you know about it.

Keep the Magic Keyboard battery in the menu bar

BatteryBud is a battery monitor for Mac. It lists your Magic Keyboard with your other devices, one click from the menu bar. You can pin the keyboard to the menu bar with its percentage.

You can set a low battery alert at the level you want, for example 20%. BatteryBud also keeps a history for the keyboard, which shows how many weeks a charge lasts.

The steps are the same for your other accessories. See how to check your Magic Mouse battery and how to check your Magic Trackpad battery.