Third-party accessories like headphones, wireless earphones, and Bluetooth speakers have almost become an extension of one’s iPhone and iPad nowadays. Since these devices are powered by their own batteries, it’s useful to know how much juice is left on them. The practice allows you to avoid awkward situations, like running out of power during an ongoing video call or in the middle of a music-listening session. Thankfully, there are multiple ways to check the battery level of Bluetooth devices connected to your iPhone.
You can charge wireless earbuds by simply putting them in their carrying case, but that’s not the case with headphones, wireless speakers, and other Bluetooth devices. So it’s always advisable to check the battery level of such devices before your next Zoom meeting.
There are a couple of ways to check the battery life of the connected Bluetooth device on the iPhone. Users can glance over the Control Centre or use widgets to view the exact battery percentage.
Check Bluetooth Device Battery Level Using Control Centre
Here are the step-by-step instructions below to check the battery status of the Bluetooth device from the Control Centre.
Step 1: First, you need to make sure that the Bluetooth device is connected to the iPhone. Unlock your iPhone and swipe down from the upper right corner to open the Control Centre.
Step 2: You will see the connected device’s battery level indicator in the upper right corner. Sadly, it doesn’t showcase the battery percentage in numbers. You will have to rely on the battery icon to make an estimated guess.
Check Bluetooth Device Battery Level in Today View
If you want to see the exact battery life percentage of the connected Bluetooth device, you can add a Battery Status widget in the iOS Today Menu.
Using the Battery widget, you can check the battery level of all the devices connected to your iPhone. Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to add a battery widget to the Today View.
Step 1: Unlock your iPhone and swipe left on the Home Screen to go to the iOS Today View screen.
Step 2: Long-tap on any widget and your iPhone’s Home Screen will go into jiggle mode. Tap on the + icon in the upper left corner. It will open the widget menu with supported installed apps.
Step 3: Scroll down to the Battery option and tap on it. The system will ask you to choose from the three battery widget sizes – Small, Medium, and Large. You will be mostly fine with the medium-sized battery widget. Select Add Widget at the bottom.
You will see the connected Bluetooth device’s battery percentage on the widget with a device icon. If you go with the large Battery widget then you can see the connected Bluetooth device name as well.
Check Bluetooth Device Battery Level on iPhone Home Screen
Navigating to the Today View screen might not be the most ideal method to check your Bluetooth device’s battery percentage. You could rather add these widgets to your iPhone’s Home Screen, eliminating the extra steps. Sounds interesting? Here are the step-by-step instructions to add a Battery widget to the Home Screen.
Step 1: Go to the iOS Today View screen and long tap on the Battery widget. The system will go into jiggle mode. Simply, drag and drop the Battery widget to the Home Screen. You will see the app icons making space for the added Battery widget. You can check our article on how to add and customize widgets on your iPhone’s Home Screen.
Step 2: Users can add the Battery widget from the iPhone Home Screen as well. Long tap on any app icon and go to iOS jiggle mode. Tap on the +icon at the upper left corner, and it will open the widget menu with supported installed apps.
Step 3: Scroll down to the Battery option and tap on it. Select the widget size and add it to the Home Screen.
Now you can check the connected Bluetooth device battery level on your iPhone right from the Home Screen. Isn’t that great?
Check Bluetooth Device Battery Level on iPhone Lock Screen
There are times when you might unlock your iPhone to check the battery percentage of the connected Bluetooth device but end up doomscrolling. Happens to me several times a day. If you’re sailing in the same boat, the right solution is to use Focus Mode and add a Battery Status widget to the Lock Screen.
The Battery Status widget on the Lock Screen switches from displaying your iPhone’s battery percentage to displaying the battery percentage of the connected Bluetooth device automatically. The downside is you cannot view the battery percentage of your iPhone and the connected Bluetooth device simultaneously. However, the solution to this issue is to enable battery percentage within the status bar of your iPhone.
With all that out of the way, here are the step-by-step instructions to add a Battery widget to the Lock Screen of your iPhone.
Step 1: Long Press on your iPhone Lock Screen, or you can unlock your iPhone, swipe from the top left corner to open the Notification Center, and press and hold on the screen until the customize option pops up.
Step 2: Tap Customize and select the Lock Screen.
Step 3: Tap the + Add Widgets option below the digital clock.
Step 4: Scroll down and select the Batteries option.
Step 5: Tap or drag the rectangular widget to add to your Lock Screen. Picking the rectangular widget is important as it displays the actual battery percentage of your device.
Step 6: Once you’ve added the widget, tap X at the top right corner to close the widget selector.
Step 7: Tap Done at the top right corner.
Whenever you connect a Bluetooth device to your iPhone, the widget will display the battery percentage of the Bluetooth device automatically. So the Battery Status widget acts as a dual-purpose widget and dynamically adapts as and when required.
Know How Long Your Bluetooth Accessories Battery Will Last
So next time, before disconnecting the Bluetooth accessory from your iPhone, ensure to check its battery percentage and charge the device in a timely manner. This will ensure you don’t run out of juice in between a call or when blasting music through your Bluetooth speaker
By adding the battery status widget to your iPhone’s Home or Lock Screen, you can have a better idea of the exact charge left in the Bluetooth accessories connected to your iPhone.
