How to customize the Lock Screen battery widget on iPhone in iOS 16

iOS 16 supports widgets on the Lock Screen. And the battery widget is one of the most popular ones that people add to their Lock Screen.

In this tutorial, we show you how to customize the Lock Screen batteries widget and set it to always display the battery level of the device you want – be it your iPhone or your Apple Watch, AirPods, etc.

Customize Lock Screen Batteries widget on iPhone running iOS 16

iOS 16 Lock Screen battery widget problem

By default, the batteries widget on the iOS 16 Lock Screen is its own master. If you only have an iPhone, it will always show the device battery level, and you won’t notice any difficulty.

The problem arises if you have AirPods, Apple Watch, and other Bluetooth devices connected to your iPhone. In this situation, the batteries widget will automatically decide which device’s battery to show. And you may not always find this helpful.

I have noticed that even when my AirPods are connected to my Mac, the iPhone’s Lock Screen batteries widget shows the AirPods’ battery percentage and not that of the iPhone.

Similarly, when I charge my iPhone, I want to see the iPhone battery percentage on the Lock Screen so that it’s easy to know the charge level. But to add to my irritation, the batteries widget on the Lock Screen often chooses to display the battery percentage of my Apple Watch or AirPods.

Inconsistent batteries widget on iOS 16 Lock Screen
iPhone is charging, and my AirPods are connected to Mac, but the batteries widget on iOS 16 Lock Screen chooses to show the battery percentage of AirPods and not my iPhone.

This frustration led me to explore the widgets section where I discovered an easy way to take control of the batteries widget. Now, I can decide which device’s battery percentage I want to see on the Lock Screen widget.

Set the battery widget to always show the battery of a specific device

I want the Lock Screen batteries widget to always show the battery percentage of my iPhone. You can jump straight to the steps if you’re in the same boat as me. However, if you want the widget to always show the battery level of your Apple Watch, AirPods, or any other device, make sure Bluetooth is enabled on your iPhone, and that device (Watch, AirPods, etc.) is connected to it. If it’s not connected, it won’t show up in step 6 below.

Here’s how to customize the batteries widget on the iOS 16 Lock Screen to show the battery percentage of the device you want:

1) Wake your iPhone, unlock it via Face ID or Touch ID, and press and hold on the Lock Screen.

2) Tap Customize.

Customize iPhone Lock Screen

3) If you have already added the batteries widget, tap it twice.

Tap the added batteries widget twice to customize it

If you haven’t added any widget yet, tap Add Widgets, and add the Batteries widget. Next, tap the batteries widget that appears below the clock.

Tap Add Widgets and add batteries widget to iPhone Lock Screen

5) Turn off Automatic and tap Devices.

6) Select the device you want to always see on the iOS 16 Lock Screen.

Turn off Automatic and select device that awlays appears in Lock Screen Batteries widget

7) Tap X twice, followed by Done > Set as Wallpaper Pair.

Finish customizing Lock Screen batteries widget

You have successfully customized the Lock Screen battery widget to always show the battery level of the selected device.

When that device is unavailable (like when AirPods are in the charging case or Apple Watch is turned off), the batteries widget will fade but still remain dimly visible on the Lock Screen. (image below)

Faded battery widget on iPhone Lock Screen

Add multiple battery widgets to the Lock Screen

There are two sizes of Lock Screen widgets for batteries and all other apps:

  • The smaller one almost has the size of an app icon.
  • The bigger, rectangular one has the size of two app icons or two smaller widgets.

The Lock Screen widget area is severely restricted. You can only add one row of widgets. And on this row, you can choose to have:

  • Up to four small widgets.
  • Up to two big rectangular widgets.
  • Up to one big and two small widgets.
Four, three and two widgets on iPhone Lock Screen in iOS 16

So, for example, if you choose to have the big weather widget there, you now only have the area left for two smaller or one big battery widget.

Due to this limitation, Apple set the batteries widget to automatically display the battery percentage according to what it thinks is useful. But at the same time, making the widgets non-interactable is annoying. Tapping, pressing, or swiping the batteries widget to show the battery status of other devices would have been a super handy addition in iOS 16.

Anyways, as of now, depending on your needs, you can get creative and add more than one battery widget. You can even follow the above steps and set each widget to always display the battery level of only the chosen device. This way, you can see your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods’ battery status on the Lock Screen.

Four batteries widgets on iPhone Lock Screen
Four battery widgets on the iPhone Lock Screen. Each is set to show the battery level of one selected device only.

Or, what I have done is add two battery widgets on the Lock Screen: One always shows the iPhone battery percentage, and another one is set to Automatic. Depending on what iOS thinks fit, the Automatic widget shuffles the battery level of my AirPods and Apple Watch. For me, this is a satisfactory setup. But, when Apple Watch is off and AirPods in the case, I have two battery widgets on the iPhone Lock Screen showing the iPhone battery percentage!

Always show iPhone battery on Lock Screen widget

What do you think of the batteries widget on the Lock Screen? And what are your thoughts on Lock Screen widgets in general?

Check out next: