The Batteries widget on a Mac lists the Mac and the Bluetooth accessories that are connected to it. That rule explains most problems. An accessory that is off or connected to your iPhone is not listed, and an iPhone, an iPad or an Apple Watch is never listed. If the widget itself is gone or blank, the cause is a setting. Here is each case.
Find your case
| What you see | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch is missing | The widget on a Mac never lists them | No fix in macOS. See the last section |
| AirPods are missing | They are in their closed case, or connected to your iPhone | Open the lid and connect them to this Mac |
| A keyboard, mouse or trackpad is missing | It is off, or connected to another Mac | Turn it off and on near this Mac |
| A mouse or headset on a USB dongle is missing | It is not a Bluetooth device to the Mac | No fix in macOS |
| The widget is gone from the desktop | Widgets are hidden, or windows cover them | Change the setting in Desktop & Dock |
| The widget is blank | Nothing is connected, or the widget is stuck | Add the widget again, then restart |
| A level is old | The accessory has not sent a new level | Turn the accessory off and on |
A device is missing
The widget has no list of your devices. It shows what is connected at this moment.
- AirPods and Beats. They must be awake and connected to this Mac. Open the lid of the case, click the Control Center icon, click Sound, and choose them. See AirPods battery not showing on a Mac.
- Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad. They must be turned on. The switch shows green when the device is on. See Magic Keyboard or Magic Mouse battery not showing.
- Bluetooth is off. Open System Settings, click Bluetooth, and turn it on.
- iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. They are never in the widget on a Mac. See iPhone battery not showing on a Mac.
- A device on a USB receiver, or one that reports no level. See Bluetooth battery level not showing on a Mac.
The widget is gone from the desktop
- Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
- Click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar.
- Go to Widgets.
- Next to Show Widgets, select On Desktop. Select In Stage Manager too if you use Stage Manager.
If the setting is on, windows cover the widgets. Click the wallpaper to move the windows away.
If the widget was in Notification Center, click the date and time in the menu bar and scroll down.
The widget is blank or stuck
- Check that something is connected. On an iMac, a Mac mini or a Mac Studio, the widget has no Mac battery to show. With no accessory connected, it is empty.
- Remove the widget and add it again. Control-click the widget and choose Remove Widget. Then Control-click the desktop, choose Edit Widgets, search for Batteries, and add it.
- Restart the Mac.
- Install the latest macOS update.
A level is old
The widget shows the last level that the accessory sent. An accessory sends a new level when it connects. Turn it off and on, and the level in the widget changes.
Add the widget, if you have not
- Click the date and time in the menu bar to open Notification Center.
- Click Edit Widgets at the bottom.
- Search for Batteries, pick a size, and click the widget or drag it to the desktop.
The full steps, with a table of the devices the widget shows, are in how to add a battery widget on a Mac.
A widget that shows every device
Two limits of the widget have no fix in macOS. It cannot show an iPhone, an iPad or an Apple Watch, and it drops an accessory when the accessory disconnects.
BatteryBud is a battery monitor for Mac with three widgets of its own, for the desktop and Notification Center.
- Batteries shows a ring for each device.
- Battery List shows each device with its name, its level and a short status.
- Battery Chart shows the last 24 hours or the last 7 days of one device.
They show every device BatteryBud reads: your iPhone and iPad over Wi-Fi, an Apple Watch through its iPhone, AirPods that are connected to your iPhone, and devices on USB receivers.