# Check AirPods and Accessory Battery Levels on Mac

> macOS scatters accessory battery levels across the Bluetooth menu, Control Center, and a Notification Center widget. Where each one lives, and why some devices never report a level.

Published: 2026-08-13 | Updated: 2026-08-16

On an iPhone the answer is a widget away. On a Mac, checking whether your AirPods,
Magic Mouse, or Magic Keyboard is about to die means knowing where macOS decided to put
that information, and it is not where most people look first.

No Battery item in System Settings lists accessories. The levels exist, spread across the
Bluetooth menu, Control Center, and a Notification Center widget, and each of those shows
a slightly different set of devices.

**Short answer:** click the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar and hover the device, or add
the Batteries widget to Notification Center. From the command line, `pmset -g accps`
lists connected accessories that report a battery level.

## The three places macOS shows it

**Bluetooth menu.** If the Bluetooth icon is in your menu bar, click it and the connected
devices are listed with their battery percentage. If the icon is not there, turn it on in
**System Settings > Control Center > Bluetooth** and set it to show in the menu bar.

**Control Center.** Open Control Center and click Bluetooth. The same devices appear with
their levels, without needing the separate menu bar icon.

**Notification Center Batteries widget.** Click the date in the menu bar to open
Notification Center, scroll to the bottom, click Edit Widgets, and add **Batteries**. This
is the closest thing to the iPhone experience: a persistent panel showing the Mac's own
battery alongside every connected accessory.

For AirPods specifically, the levels appear while they are connected and playing to the
Mac. If they are in the case or connected to another device, the Mac has nothing to
report and they will not be listed.

## From the command line

`pmset` is the power management tool, and its accessory subcommand lists battery-reporting
devices:

```
pmset -g accps
```

On a Mac with nothing connected, the output covers just the built-in battery:

```
Now drawing from 'AC Power'
 -InternalBattery-0 (id=22282339)	79%; AC attached; not charging present: true
```

Connected accessories that report a level join that list. This is the same data the menu
surfaces, read from the same place, so it is useful mainly for scripting or for checking
several Macs at once.

To confirm what is actually connected in the first place:

```
system_profiler SPBluetoothDataType
```

That prints the controller, then a **Connected** section and a **Not Connected** section,
each device with its address, vendor, product id, firmware version, and minor type
(Headphones, Keyboard, Mouse). Battery keys appear only under connected devices, so check
there before deciding a device reports no level at all.

## Why a device shows no battery level

Not every Bluetooth accessory reports one, and none of these cases is a fault:

| Situation | What is happening |
|---|---|
| Device is paired but not connected | macOS has no live session to read a level from |
| Third-party headphones | Battery reporting over Bluetooth is optional; many brands do not implement it |
| AirPods in the case | The case relays levels to iOS; the Mac sees no connected audio device |
| Device connected to another Apple device | Only the device holding the connection can read it |
| Older or generic accessories | No battery service in their Bluetooth profile at all |

When a third-party headset never shows a level, the device is not publishing one. No app
on the Mac can invent it.

## AirPods and the case

This is the difference people notice most when moving from iPhone to Mac. On iOS, opening
the case near the phone shows all three levels: left, right, and case. On macOS you see
the earbud levels while they are connected and playing, and the case level never arrives.

To read the case level, use an iPhone or iPad on the same Apple Account. It is a platform
difference, not a setting you have missed.

## Low battery, silently

macOS warns you about its own battery and says nothing about your accessories. System
Settings has no low-accessory-battery notification to turn on, which is how a Magic Mouse
comes to die mid-sentence.

Two habits cover the gap. Charge on a schedule instead of waiting for a level, because
these accessories last long enough that the warning you are waiting for never comes. And
if you use a Magic Mouse, its charging port is on the underside, so it cannot be used
while charging: a five-minute top-up before a meeting beats a full charge started the
moment it dies.

## Where a monitor fits

[Mole](https://mole.fit/) puts connected accessory batteries in the same status view as the Mac's own
battery, CPU, memory, and thermal state, so the answer is in the menu bar rather than
three clicks into Bluetooth. It reports the levels the system publishes for connected
devices and shows nothing for accessories that do not publish one, rather than guessing a
number.

For the Mac's own battery, including cycle count and condition, see
[how to check MacBook battery health](https://mole.fit/blog/how-to-check-macbook-battery-health).

## FAQ

### Why do my AirPods not show a battery level on my Mac?

Almost always because they are not currently connected to the Mac, or they are in the
case. Play audio to the Mac and check again.

### Can I see the AirPods case battery on a Mac?

Not reliably. The case level is surfaced on iOS when you open the case near the device.
Use an iPhone or iPad on the same Apple Account.

### Does macOS warn me when an accessory battery is low?

No, macOS has no low-battery notification for accessories. A widget or a menu bar monitor
is the substitute.

### Why does my third-party mouse show no percentage?

Battery reporting is an optional part of the Bluetooth profile and many manufacturers
skip it. If the device does not publish a level, nothing on the Mac can display one.

---

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