Home > How To > How to Show Battery Percentage in macOS Big Sur

How to Show Battery Percentage in macOS Big Sur

Rajesh Mishra
comment Comments 122

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.

#Tags
#Mac#macOS#macOS 11#macOS Big Sur

Rajesh Mishra

An old school bibliophile who turned a tech nerd out of obsession. When he is not digging into hacks and tracking down stories that are breaking the internet, you may find him reciting poems.

comment Comments 122
  • greey says:

    thanks a lot, sweetie!

    Reply
  • Balazs says:

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

    Reply
  • Lynn says:

    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
  • Vic O'Callaghan says:

    Many thanks, Rajesh. You give a very clear explanation of how to fix this issue.

    Reply
  • Allu says:

    Thanks!

    Reply
  • John says:

    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
  • Brett says:

    thanks!

    Reply
  • serenie says:

    THANK YOU!!

    Reply
  • Banania says:

    Thanks a lot, very clear explanation!

    Reply
  • Tls says:

    Thank you so much!

    Reply
  • Raina says:

    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
  • Jinsheng says:

    Thank you very much! Your article is very helpful.

    Reply
  • SemperNovus says:

    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
  • Tom says:

    Thx

    Reply
  • Jill Harting says:

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

    Reply
  • Rose says:

    Apple is so dumb sometimes. Thank you for this!

    Reply
  • JenJen says:

    So helpful! Thank you so much!

    Reply
  • John says:

    Thanks. It was quite bizzare that Apple didn’t include it by default.

    Reply
  • Craig Scott says:

    Give me your PayPal or Venmo information RIGHT NOW! Thank you, Rajesh!

    Reply
  • Anthony DiCaprio says:

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

    Reply
  • Rene Flores says:

    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
  • Elizabeth Anema says:

    Thank you; very helpful!

    Reply
  • Karen Davies says:

    Thank you soooo much! I was unable to figure this out from others.

    Reply
  • Chris says:

    Thank you!

    Reply
  • Krissy says:

    Thanks so much Rajesh!!

    Reply
Leave a Reply

Why Is My MacBook Fan So Loud and How to Fix It
Why Is My MacBook Fan So Loud and How to Fix It
Author Kanika Gogia
View quick summary
Some of the most common reasons why your MacBook fan is so loud include faulty adapters, poor air circulation, running resource-intensive tasks at a stretch, and hardware damage. To fix Mac loud fan problems, you can check the vents, ensure proper air circulation, check CPU usage, update macOS, or check your charging accessories. If nothing works, you should contact Apple support.
Macbook Screen Flickering? (100% Working Fixes)
Macbook Screen Flickering? (100% Working Fixes)
Author Kanika Gogia
View quick summary
MacBook screen flickering issues may occur due to software glitches, outdated macOS, malware, or hardware problems. To fix this, restart your MacBook, check for macOS updates, run Apple diagnostics, or reinstall macOS. You can also try resetting NVRAM and SMC on Intel-based Macs. If nothing helps, you should contact Apple support.
Should You Upgrade to M3 MacBook Air or Save Those Bucks?
Should You Upgrade to M3 MacBook Air or Save Those Bucks?
Author Sagnik Das Gupta
View quick summary
The Apple MacBook Air M3 is the latest and greatest Air that the brand has to offer right now. But, is it worth the upgrade if you are on an M1 or M2 MacBook Air? Honestly, probably not, unless you need that extra extra power to do some heavy-duty editing and rendering or even gaming. If you don't require that GPU power, you can skip this one if you're on the M2. But, if you're on the M1, it still makes sense.
Hot Corners Mac: How to Set Up Corner Gestures on Your Mac
Hot Corners Mac: How to Set Up Corner Gestures on Your Mac
Author Kanika Gogia
View quick summary
Hot Corners are simple gestures that allow you to quickly trigger an action when you move the pointer to a corner. To set up Hot Corners on Mac, go to System Settings -> Desktop & Dock -> Hot Corners and set specific actions you wish to trigger on every corner of the screen. At the moment, macOS allows you to choose from 11 different options for each corner.
How to Disable Hot Corners on Mac?
How to Disable Hot Corners on Mac?
Author Kanika Gogia
View quick summary
To deactivate Hot Corners on a Mac, go to System Settings -> Desktop & Dock -> Hot Corners and choose "-" for each Hot Corners sub-menu. You can also disable Hot Corners on a Mac using Terminal. If you don't want to disable Hot Corners completely, you can assign a Modifier key to every Hot Corner action to avoid accidental triggers.
Best macOS Sonoma Widgets in 2024
Best macOS Sonoma Widgets in 2024
Author Kanika Gogia
View quick summary
You can find some useful macOS Sonoma Widgets that you can add to your Mac's desktop or the Notification Center. Some of the best first-party macOS Sonoma widgets are Weather, World Clock, and Screen Time. Other must-try Mac widgets include Todoist, Drafts, Calendar, News, World Clock, Color Widgets, and Spark Mail.
MacBook Air M3 Specs and Benchmarks: Is It a Worthy Upgrade?
MacBook Air M3 Specs and Benchmarks: Is It a Worthy Upgrade?
Author Sagnik Das Gupta
View quick summary
The MacBook Air M3 is here with us, and we ran a bunch of different benchmarks to put it to the test. After running Cinebench, Geekbench, BlackMagic Disk, and Final Cut Pro, we can come to the conclusion that it's on par with the M2 for the most part. The M1 is slightly behind in benchmarks, but doesn't perform as bad at all. In terms of performance, the M3 is barely any different from the M2. However, it is the M2 Pro that takes a bit of a leap and beats the M3 in certain aspects.
Load More