Follow along with this step-by-step tutorial to learn how to customize the Batteries widget on your iPhone and iPad so that it displays the charge level of a specific device, be it your iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, or something else.
The problem with the Batteries widget
You can use the Batteries widget on an iPhone and iPad’s Lock Screen, Home Screen and Today View to glance at battery levels of your devices. By default, the widget shows information for the current device, like your iPhone. But with multiple devices and Bluetooth accessories connected, the widget automatically decides which device battery to show. And you may not always find this helpful.
For example, even with my AirPods connected to my Mac, the widget still shows me the AirPods battery percentage instead of that of my iPhone. In fact, the widget often prioritizes showing the charge level of my Apple Watch or AirPods over my primary device..
This frustration led me to discover a way to control what gets displayed in the Batteries widget, and now I can set a specific device to show.
Setting the Batteries widget to show a specific device’s charge level
I prefer to always see my iPhone’s battery charge, but if you want to see the battery percentage of your Apple Watch, AirPods, or some other device, be sure Bluetooth is turned on and the device is connected to your iPhone. Otherwise, it won’t show up in step 4 below.
1) Wake your iPhone or iPad and unlock it via Face ID or Touch ID, but don’t swipe to the Home Screen. Instead, touch and hold the Lock Screen to enter editing mode and tap Customize > Lock Screen.
2) If you have already added the Batteries widget, tap it twice.
If you haven’t added widgets yet, tap Add Widgets and add the Batteries widget. Next, tap the Batteries widget that appears below the clock.
3) Turn off Automatic and tap Devices.
4) Select the device whose battery you want to see in the Batteries widget.
5) Tap X twice, followed by Done.
Now the widget will always show the current battery charge of the selected device. Should that device become temporarily unavailable (like putting AirPods in their charging case or Apple Watch being turned off), the widget may fade and remain dimly visible (image below).
Using multiple Batteries widgets
You can use the Batteries widget on the Lock Screen, Home Screen and Today View, and there are two sizes available:
- Small: Nearly the size of an app icon.
- Large: Takes up the same space as two app icons or two smaller widgets.
Unlike iPad, the widget area on the Lock Screen of your iPhone is severely restricted; you can only add one row of widgets where you can hold four small widgets, two large rectangular widgets, or one large and two small widgets.
So for example, if you put a large weather widget on the Lock Screen, you’ll only have space left for two smaller ones or a single large Batteries widget. It would have been great had Apple made the Batteries widget interactive so I could tap, press, or swipe it to cycle through all my other devices. Until then, what you can do is add multiple Batteries widgets and use the above steps to configure each to display battery charge for a different device.
I have two such widgets, one shows me my iPhone’s battery percentage and the other is set to Automatic. The ensures the Automatic widget shuffles the battery level of my AirPods and Apple Watch depending on what iOS intelligence determines is suitable.
What do you think of the built-in Batteries widget on your iPhone and iPad? And what are your thoughts on widgets in general?
Other Lock Screen tips: