A Mac does not show your iPhone in the Batteries widget or the Bluetooth menu, and no setting changes that. Those lists are for Bluetooth accessories of the Mac, and an iPhone is not one. Find My and Finder show a battery icon for the iPhone. Here is each place, and the fix when it shows nothing.
Where the iPhone battery shows, and where it does not
| Place on the Mac | iPhone or iPad shown | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Batteries widget | No | Nothing. No setting adds it |
| Bluetooth menu and Bluetooth settings | No | Nothing |
| Menu bar | No | Nothing |
| Find My | Yes | A battery icon, with no number |
| Finder, with a cable | Yes | A battery icon, with no number |
| iPhone Mirroring | Yes | The iPhone’s own status bar |
iPhone not in the Batteries widget
This is normal. The Batteries widget on a Mac lists the Mac and the Bluetooth accessories that are connected to it, such as AirPods and a Magic Keyboard. An iPhone or an iPad is never there.
The Batteries widget on the iPhone is different. It shows the iPhone, its Apple Watch and its AirPods. See the devices the Batteries widget shows on a Mac.
Find My shows no battery
- Open the Find My app on the Mac.
- Click Devices.
- Select the iPhone. The battery icon is under its name.
If the icon is missing, check these.
- The iPhone is offline. It is turned off, in Airplane Mode, or without a connection. Find My then shows the last place, and no battery.
- Find My is off on the iPhone. On the iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, tap Find My, and turn on Find My iPhone.
- A different Apple Account. The Mac and the iPhone must use the same account.
Finder shows no iPhone
- Connect the iPhone to the Mac with a cable.
- Unlock the iPhone. If it asks, tap Trust and enter the passcode.
- Open a Finder window and select the iPhone in the sidebar. The battery icon is next to its name.
If the iPhone is not in the sidebar:
- The sidebar setting is off. Choose Finder > Settings, click Sidebar, and select CDs, DVDs, and iOS Devices.
- The iPhone is locked. Unlock it and wait some seconds.
- The cable only charges. Use the cable that came with the iPhone, or another cable that carries data.
The exact percentage
Find My and Finder show an icon. For a number with macOS alone, open iPhone Mirroring, which shows the iPhone’s own status bar. To put the percentage in that status bar, open Settings on the iPhone, tap Battery, and turn on Battery Percentage.
The full steps are in how to check your iPhone battery from a Mac.
Show the iPhone in the menu bar and in a widget
BatteryBud is a battery monitor for Mac. It reads an iPhone or an iPad over Wi-Fi and shows the exact percentage in the menu bar and in its own desktop widgets. The setup needs a cable once.
- Connect the iPhone to your Mac with a cable, and unlock it.
- Tap Trust on the iPhone, then enter its passcode.
- In Finder, select the iPhone in the sidebar and click General.
- Turn on Show this iPhone when on Wi-Fi, then click Apply.
After that, BatteryBud keeps a history of the level, records battery health and charge cycles, and can alert you when the iPhone drops below a level you pick.
iPhone not showing in BatteryBud
- The iPhone is locked and not charging. It can drop off Wi-Fi. BatteryBud shows the last level and when it last saw the iPhone, and the level updates when the iPhone comes back.
- A different network. The iPhone and the Mac must be on the same Wi-Fi network. A guest network or a VPN can keep them apart.
- Show this iPhone when on Wi-Fi is off. Connect the cable again and check the setting in Finder.
- The iPhone no longer trusts the Mac. This happens after a reset of the iPhone’s settings. Connect the cable and tap Trust again.
An Apple Watch shows through its iPhone, so it is missing when the iPhone is. See how to check your Apple Watch battery on a Mac.