My magic trackpad doesn't show up on the battery widget - Sonoma

Question

Level 1

10 points

My magic trackpad doesn't show up on the battery widget - Sonoma

To be more specific, I have two MacBook Air machines. On one of them, I added the battery widget that comes with Sonoma, and the laptop battery, magic keyboard battery, and magic trackpad 2 battery all display levels beautifully on it. On the other machine, the laptop and keyboard are newer but the magic trackpad is older. Still, it is a bluetooth device. Any idea why on this machine the widget shows battery level for the laptop and the keyboard, but not the trackpad?

MacBook Air (M2, 2023)

Posted on Sep 30, 2023 10:06 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Surfdog2

Level 1

22 points

Oct 30, 2023 9:43 AM in response to Spideriffic

I chatted with Apple support today and they confirmed that only the rechargeable Trackpad shows up in battery widget.

Reply

Answer 2

dialabrain

Level 10

136,715 points

Oct 30, 2023 11:03 AM in response to 6x6

6x6 wrote:

You can always click on the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar to see the charge level. Not as elegant as having a widget but it gets the job done.

Actually that doesn't work with a Trackpad with batteries. If it did, it would show in the widget.

Reply

Answer 3

koivo

Level 1

5 points

Feb 8, 2024 4:47 AM in response to Spideriffic

Settings > Bluetooth > click the small (i) > click Trackpad Settings ... > click Set Up Bluetooth Trackpad ... and suddenly the percentage back in the menu bar's bluetooth flyout. Still not in the battery widget but I can live with it being back in the menu bar at least.

Reply

Answer 4

Spideriffic Author

Level 1

10 points

Sep 30, 2023 10:17 PM in response to dialabrain

True, the trackpad that does show is rechargeable. The one that doesn't takes AA batteries.

Reply

Answer 5

6x6

Level 7

20,385 points

Oct 30, 2023 9:57 AM in response to Surfdog2

You can always click on the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar to see the charge level. Not as elegant as having a widget but it gets the job done.

Reply

Answer 6

Surfdog2

Level 1

22 points

Oct 30, 2023 9:52 AM in response to dialabrain

$ 149.00 for a new one!

Reply

Answer 7

dialabrain

Level 10

136,715 points

Sep 30, 2023 10:14 PM in response to Spideriffic

If by "older" you mean it takes batteries, its firmware may just not be compatible.

Reply

Answer 8

Spideriffic Author

Level 1

10 points

Oct 30, 2023 11:34 AM in response to dialabrain

Not true. I agree with your logic, if it shows by clicking on the Bluetooth icon, why not on the widget? But that's exactly the case. I can see my trackpad battery level through the icon, but not from the widget. Doesn't make sense.

Reply

Answer 9

6x6

Level 7

20,385 points

Oct 30, 2023 11:40 AM in response to Spideriffic

Spideriffic wrote:

Not true. I agree with your logic, if it shows by clicking on the Bluetooth icon, why not on the widget? But that's exactly the case. I can see my trackpad battery level through the icon, but not from the widget. Doesn't make sense.

Thanks for confirming it’s working through the Bluetooth icon.

Reply

Answer 10

dialabrain

Level 10

136,715 points

Oct 30, 2023 9:48 AM in response to Surfdog2

As I suspected. :)

Reply

Answer 11

6x6

Level 7

20,385 points

Oct 30, 2023 11:37 AM in response to dialabrain

Does work on Magic Trackpad 1st gen on iMac 2010 High Sierra. Haven’t tried on more recent Mac / macOS combinations but it’s worth a try.

Reply

Answer 12

dialabrain

Level 10

136,715 points

Oct 30, 2023 11:38 AM in response to Spideriffic

Really? I can't. I can connect and it works but no battery level. It wouldn't make sense if it did work. There's nothing in a battery powered Trackpad to measure AA battery levels.

Reply

Answer 13

dialabrain

Level 10

136,715 points

Oct 30, 2023 12:32 PM in response to 6x6

Reply

Answer 14

dialabrain

Level 10

136,715 points

Oct 30, 2023 12:45 PM in response to 6x6

The first screen shot is from an M1 MBA. This from an iMac Pro. Both running Sonoma.

Reply

Answer 15

Spideriffic Author

Level 1

10 points

Nov 4, 2023 9:31 PM in response to dialabrain

M1, 2020, Sonoma 14.1:

Clicking the bluetooth icon, vs viewing the battery widget. Not the worst problem, but just curious. Clearly the data (battery level) of the device is available.

Reply