The Apple Magic Mouse is renowned for its sleek design and multi-touch surface, but because it lacks a physical battery indicator light or an easily accessible battery compartment, knowing when to charge it can be a guessing game. Running out of battery mid-task is frustrating. Fortunately, macOS provides several ways to check the exact battery percentage of your connected Magic Mouse directly from your desktop.
Method 1: Using the Bluetooth Menu (Fastest)
The quickest way to check the battery level of any connected Bluetooth accessory is through the macOS Control Centre or the dedicated Bluetooth menu bar icon.
- Ensure your Magic Mouse is turned on and connected to your Mac.
- Look at the top right corner of your screen (the menu bar).
- Click the Control Centre icon (which looks like two small toggle switches).
- In the Control Centre drop-down, click on the Bluetooth module.
- Your Magic Mouse will be listed under “Devices.” The exact battery percentage will be displayed clearly next to the device name (e.g., “Magic Mouse – 74%”).
Note: If you have the standalone Bluetooth icon pinned directly to your menu bar, you can click it instead, and the battery percentage will be displayed next to the mouse in the drop-down list.
Method 2: Using System Settings (Detailed)
If you want to view the battery level alongside your scrolling and tracking preferences, you can use the System Settings app.
- Click the Apple logo () in the top left corner of your screen.
- Select System Settings… (or System Preferences… in older macOS versions).
- Scroll down the left-hand sidebar and click on Mouse.
- At the very bottom of the Mouse settings panel, you will see a small mouse icon alongside the text Mouse Battery Level, showing the current percentage.
Understanding Magic Mouse Charging Behaviours
Apple designed macOS to proactively warn you before the battery dies completely. When your Magic Mouse drops to 10% battery life, macOS will generate a system notification in the top right corner of your screen alerting you that the battery is low. It will issue a second, more urgent warning when the battery drops below 5%.
Because the charging port (Lightning or USB-C, depending on the generation) is located on the underside of the Magic Mouse, you cannot use the device while it is charging. Therefore, it is highly recommended to monitor the battery percentage occasionally and charge the mouse overnight when it drops below 20%, ensuring you are never interrupted during the workday.