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How to show battery percentage in macOS Big Sur on Mac

How to Show Battery Percentage in macOS Big Sur

author-Rajesh MishraRajesh Mishra -

Keeping a tab on battery percentage has become more or less a habit for me. It is a bit more helpful in showing how much juice is left in the tank and roughly how long I can remain worry-free about charging my Mac. So, as soon as I upgraded my MacBook from macOS Catalina to macOS Big Sur, I wanted to display the battery level indicator in the menu bar as it was missing from the battery icon’s contextual menu. Luckily, I soon found a slightly hidden setting underneath System Preferences to show battery percentage in macOS Big Sur.

Show/Hide Battery Percentage on macOS Big Sur

Considering how user-friendly a battery level indicator is, I guess many of you would be wondering where it has gone. And more importantly, why hasn’t Apple added it in the contextual menu of the battery icon? If you are one of them, let me show you how you can display/hide the battery percentage on your Mac running macOS 11.

Show Battery Percentage in Menu Band and Control Center

  1. Launch System Preferences on your Mac (alternately, click on the Apple menu icon at the top left corner and choose System Preferences).

Launch Settings app on Mac

2. Now, choose Dock & Menu Bar.

Dock & Menu Bar

3. Scroll down to the “Other Control Center Mod…” section and then click on Battery.

Click on Battery in the Side bar

4. Next, check the box for Show Percentage.

Show battery percentage in macOS Big Sur

That’s it! From now onwards, the battery percentage will begin to appear in the Menu bar and Control Center on your Mac.

Display battery level indicator on macOS 11

Hide Battery Percentage in Menu Bar and Control Center

If you ever want to hide the battery percentage on your Mac, all you need to do is head over to System Preferences -> Dock & Menu Bar -> “Other Control Center Mod…” section. Now, uncheck the box for Show Percentage.

Hide battery percentage in macOS Big Sur

How to Check Battery Time Remaining Estimation in macOS Big Sur

While working on your Mac, if you ever wish to find out when you need to plug your Mac to a power source, you can quickly check the battery time remaining estimation. And that too, right from the menu bar.

1. Click on the battery icon located in the menu bar.

Click on Battery Icon

2. Now, you should see the battery time remaining estimation on the contextual menu that pops out.

Check out battery estimation

Note: The contextual menu of the Battery icon will also show the app that’s consuming the significant battery on your Mac. If your computer is draining a lot of battery, take control of this app to improve battery life.

Hide/Show Battery Percentage in Menu Bar & Control Center in macOS 11

So, that’s the quick way to display the battery percentage in macOS 11. The latest iteration of macOS has seen enhancements in several departments. For instance, the Messages app has got the fun-loving Memoji and a variety of iOS-like iMessage effects. Besides, Safari’s start-up page has become more customizable for a personalized experience. By the way, which are the macOS Big Sur features that have topped your personal list? Don’t forget to share your feedback with us.

122 Comments

  1. Late to the party, and have only just updated to Big Sur, but was very perplexed at the lack of the battery percentage number. As with the multitudes, thank you so much for the clear instructions and screenshots.

    Reply

  4. Those instructions were spot on, I feel like I owe you like kudos points or something… thank you soooo much!

    Reply

  5. Thank You. I had the battery percentage enabled in Catalina, but somehow it changed after update. Now it working again.

    Reply

  6. This did not work for me. All those items were already checked but still no battery icon on the menu bar.

    Reply

  10. I read a number of posts that went through a process to set up widgets in control center and it was nauseating and not what I wanted. I searched again, and low and behold your post came up and works like a charm. Well done and thanks. Was driving me crazy not having the % displayed all the time.

    Reply

  21. Thanks sooooo much and thanks for the clear and easy to follow instructions.
    Really appreciate this.

    Reply

  23. You are amazing. I was going mad.
    On another note, do you know how I can retrieve my Soundforge? It’s gone with the update ;(

    Reply

  34. thanks it helped to fix the issue, if you noticed any other issues pleased update the fixing steps

    Reply

  38. Thank you! You’ve restored my blood pressure to normal! Now if Apple would get with the program and let us do the same on our iOS devices which have a cutout on the top of the screen and space for icons is reduced. I don’t want to “swipe down for control panel” to see this. I want it visible on home/lock screens in place of the silly battery icon. Numbers register quicker and more precisely for many of us!

    Reply

  40. Thank you. I was quite perplexed with the % being gone after upgrade. I spent too much time screwing around with the battery control panel……

    Reply

  41. Thank you so much for this! i am not able to see time left when i click on the battery icon–any suggestions?

    Reply

  47. Oh, Rajesh you’re a life-saver! It’s been driving me mad and I am lucky to find your post here! Thanks!

    Reply

  48. Thanks so much for an easily understood fix to a frustrating issue after a Big Sur download. Your instructions were readily understandable, even for a computer semi-illiterate like me!! Cheers!

    Reply

  51. Thanks, you woukd think since I already has this on before the update Apple won’t mess with it and turn mine off. :/ nope

    Reply

  56. THANK YOU! I have been an Apple user for like 20 years and this is the first time this one feature has not been easy to find. YOU ROCK!

    Reply

  58. Thank you for this. Knew it was hidden in there somewhere. Maybe in a few updates they will clone the setting and put it on the battery options pane.

    Reply

  60. Thanks! Your step-by-step instructions combined with screen captures are extremely helpful!

    Reply

  65. Thanks for this information! I was wondering where that had gone! Thanks for coming through for us!

    Reply

  66. Thank you so much for this. I’ve been looking for days for this setting. I thought it would be under Battery preferences. ? Speaking of menu bar issues, the battery time estimation has never showed up for me. Any help would be appreciated. [Big Sur 11.0.1 on MacBook Air 13″ 2017]

    Reply

  76. Thanks for this! I am too lazy to look around for where Apple decided to move things again. It’s kind of like someone rearranging your kitchen while you’re out of town then having no clue where anything is when you come back. :p

    Reply

  81. Allejula! Been winding me up since I put Big Sur on. Why will my new pages in safari not open in full screen any more though?

    Reply

  83. I was wondering if there was a way to see the battery percentage of Bluetooth devices on macOS Big Sur… Since it was a problem for a long time and I don’t use apple Bluetooth accessories, so non-Apple devices only 🙂

    Reply

  84. Thanks Rajesh!
    Really useful.

    Can’t imagine the reasoning behind the decision of the UX experts of Apple to remove it from the first-line options…

    Reply

  91. Thanks Bro! I just updated my MacBook Air 2017 A1466 10.14.6, and I just updated it today. I was searching for my battery %, but I couldn’t find it. Thanks to your help, I’ve located the battery level. Thanks A lot Bro.

    Reply

  93. Thank you. Was spending some time already looking for this then I chanced on your article. It was so easy to follow your screenshots.

    Reply

  96. The battery percentage disappears on lock screen ? Also how to remove spotlight icon from menu bar?

    Reply

  97. Is it me or the battery percentage disappears on lock screen ? Also how to remove spotlight icon from menu bar?

    Reply

  98. I cannot find the battery percentage on the lock screen, in the previous version it was displayed. Any way to turn back on?

    Reply

  106. Thanks for sharing! Lots of rambling comments from people on other sites.. then I found this site – great – you just told us exactly what to do. I’m not at all techy. This was most helpful.

    Reply

  107. Thanks for sharing! Lots of other rambling comments from people on other sites then I found this site – great – you just told us exactly what to do. I’m not at all techy. This was most helpful.

    Reply

  118. Thank you, VERY much! I was searching it in the “Systemeinstellungen” –> “Batterie”, but couldn’t find the setting there. Sorry, don’t know in English, maybe System settings –> Battery.

    Reply

  119. Thanks for sharing! I was surprised this wasn’t located in the Battery section of the Settings; Seems unintuitive as I guessed it would be located in there instead of Dock & Menu.

    Reply
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