A new GNOME Shell extension makes it easier to check Bluetooth battery status in Ubuntu 23.10.
Emphasis on easier; you can already see battery levels of connected Bluetooth devices using the Settings > Power pane, no extensions needed.
But out of sight, out of mind, eh?
Not so with the Bluetooth Battery Meter GNOME Shell extension.
Bluetooth Battery Meter
If you install this extension you’ll see icons in the top bar showing battery levels for any (compatible) connected Bluetooth devices. Beneath the icons are dots. These convey charge level. 4 dots is 100-85%, 3 dots ~75%, 2 dots ~50%, 1 dot ~26%, 1 red dot <20%, a red exclamation mark <10%.
But that’s not all.
The Bluetooth Battery Meter extension integrates with the Bluetooth menu inside the Quick Settings menu, showing a battery icon next to (compatible) connected Bluetooth devices. Want to see a battery percentage too? There’s option to show one in the extension’s preferences.
GNOME developers greatly improve the Quick Settings menu in GNOME 44 to make it faster to connect to previously-paired Bluetooth devices. But battery levels for connected devices, like mice, keyboards, headphones, game controllers, etc, are not displayed.
So if you think it’d be handy to see Bluetooth battery levels from the menu where you connect to your devices, this extension is ideal.
You can disable the indicators that appear in the panel from the extension’s preferences too:
A few things I should mention with regards to Bluetooth devices and battery levels in Ubuntu.
Firstly, not every Bluetooth device with a battery will report its battery level to host devices.
The older a device is, the less likely it will.
But if you own Bluetooth device which does report/show a battery level when paired in Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS then it should show in Linux — and if it doesn’t you may need to enable experimental features in BlueZ, the Bluetooth stack Ubuntu uses.
Secondly, as the developer of this extension notes, Bluetooth devices vary in how they report battery levels. One device may offer continuous reports (e.g, 100%, 99%, 98%, down to 0%), but another may report in less specific increments like 5, 10, or even 20 — and so on.
But if you’re looking for an easier way to check the battery level of your Bluetooth devices while using Ubuntu give this extension a try — and let me know what you think of it below!