How to Tell if Magic Mouse is Charging

If you have a Magic Mouse 2 you have probably noticed that it has no indicator on it to let you know that it is charging when plugged in. This can be annoying especially if you charge your mouse with a wall charger. No one wants to waste time with a bad cord or charger.

Thankfully you can plug your Magic Mouse 2 into your Mac and take a look at the mouse settings or the Bluetooth settings under your Mac’s System Settings to determine if it is charging.

My name is Eric and as a software and electrical engineer, I have decades of experience working with computers and peripheral devices such as the Magic Mouse 2. It’s important to know that your device is actually charging so you don’t waste time waiting if it is not working.

I can show you how to check if your Magic Mouse 2 is charging. Just keep reading below and I will go over a couple of ways to do this.

How to See Magic Mouse Actively Charging

The best and quickest way to determine if your Magic Mouse 2 is charging is to be able to see an icon showing that it is actively charging. The same kind of icon you might see when your iPhone, iPad, or MacBook is charging.

You will see a battery with a lightning bolt symbol in the middle of it like the one shown below.

To find this symbol and determine if your mouse is actively charging, you will need to take a look at your Mouse settings in your Mac’s System Settings. Follow the steps below to do this.

Step 1: Plug the Mouse into your Mac.

Use a Lightning to USB cable to plug your Magic Mouse 2 into your Mac. The cable is normally supplied with your mouse, but you can use any Lightning to USB cable that you have. Once plugged in the Mouse should begin charging but we will see in the next few steps.

Step 2: Open System Settings.

Click on the Apple symbol in the upper left corner of your screen and select System Settings.

Step 2: Select Mouse in System Settings.

Scroll down the System Settings window and look for Mouse in the left side pane and then click on it.

Step 3: Look for the charging symbol.

Once you are in the mouse settings, take a look at the bottom of the mouse settings screen near the left corner and you will see a battery symbol. If you see the lightning bolt going through the battery symbol, you will know that the mouse is currently charging.

Two Ways to Monitor Charging using BlueTooth Settings

Another way to monitor and check if your mouse is charging is to look at the listing of it under the Bluetooth devices. Under Bluetooth devices, you will see the mouse and the percentage that it is currently charged. 

The only drawback is it does not show the charging indicator with the lightning bolt in the battery symbol as it does in the Mouse settings. It tells you the percentage that it is charged, but it does not tell you if it is actively charging.

Even though it does not show if it is actively charging, you can take a look at the percentage of charge, wait a few minutes and then recheck it. If the percentage increases, you will know that the mouse is charging. You can use either of the two methods below to do this.

Bluetooth Icon

If you are using a wall charger to charge your mouse, there is no indicator to tell you it is charging, so you may use this method to check its progress but you may also want to use this method even when charging it on your Mac since it is a quick and easy way to check right from your desktop without the need to open your System Settings.

Just click on the Bluetooth symbol on the top near the right side of your desktop. This will quickly show all Bluetooth devices connected, including your mouse and you will see the percentage of charge it currently has.

When I let it charge for a little while and come back to this, I can now see if the percentage has increased. If it has, then I know that my Magic Mouse 2 is charging.. 

Bluetooth Settings

You can also check the battery percentage through the Bluetooth connection in your System Settings if you want to. Simply open System Settings by clicking on the Apple symbol in the upper left corner of the screen and select System Settings.

Next select Bluetooth on the pane on the left side of the System Settings window. You will then see the connected Bluetooth devices, including your mouse, and the percentage it has charged. Just like with the Bluetooth icon, you will need to let the mouse charge and check it again to see if the percentage increases.

FAQ

Below are a few questions that are frequently asked when discussing how to tell If a Magic Mouse is charging.

What if my Magic Mouse has no Lightning port to connect it to my Mac?

The Lightning port for the Magic Mouse 2 is located on the bottom side of the mouse. If your mouse has no Lightning port, then it is not a Magic Mouse 2. It is probably an original Magic Mouse that uses disposable AA batteries so it cannot be charged.

Can I monitor the charge in my original Magic Mouse?

Yes, you can monitor the charge level of your original Magic Mouse, but there will be no active charging status. The original Magic Mouse is not rechargeable like the Magic Mouse 2 so all you will be able to do is see the current battery level. You will not see it increase unless you put new batteries in it or use rechargeable AA batteries and recharge them outside the mouse first.

How long does the Magic Mouse 2 take to charge?

Depending on the charge level when you start charging the Magic Mouse 2, it can take up to two hours to fully charge it. Take a look here for more information on how long charging the Magic Mouse 2 can take.

Conclusion

The best way to tell if your Magic Mouse 2 is charging is to look at the mouse properties in your System Settings. There you can determine if the mouse is actively charging. For a quick look, you can simply view the Bluetooth device properties and see if the charge percentage is increasing.

I hope the information I have provided above can help you determine if your Magic Mouse 2 is chargings. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. I would love to hear from you!