Learn how to display the battery percentage in the macOS top menu bar and Control Center to quickly check the battery status of your Mac’s battery.
macOS displays a notification when a MacBook’s battery charge has fallen below 10%. Instead of rushing to save your documents and shut down before the battery is depleted, you could display battery percentage in the menu bar for a quick glance at the current battery charge while using other apps.
Show battery icon and percentage in MacBook menu bar
- Open System Settings on your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro.
- Select Menu Bar from the left sidebar.
- Check the box for Battery to show its icon in the top menu bar.
- Then, click the Battery Options button, enable ‘Show Percentage,’ and click Done. You can also use the ‘Show Energy Mode’ to always display a Low Power Mode option when you click the battery icon.
Show MacBook battery in Control Center
If your Mac is running macOS Tahoe 26, follow these steps to customize Control Center and add a battery control to it.
On Macs running macOS Sequoia and older, go to System Settings > Control Center, scroll down to the Other Modules section, and turn on the Show in Menu Bar and Show Percentage switches. Then, follow our steps to customize the Control Center on macOS Sequoia and older to add battery control there.
If your Mac is quite a few years old and suck with macOS Monterey or older, head over to System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar and pick Battery under Other Modules, then tick the boxes next to Show in Menu Bar and Show Percentage.
Tick the Show in Control Center option to display battery percentage there.
Are there things you’re struggling to find in macOS? Let us know by leaving a comment below. Also, read our explainer of specific Mac features and settings.
Tips for your MacBook’s battery: