How can I get the battery level of my Bluetooth headphone over a Windows PC?

windows-10 audio bluetooth battery headphones

100,115

Solution 1

In Windows 7, part of the Bluetooth stack was provided by 3rd party (such as Widcomm, Toshiba, etc) add-on software. Some of them did support battery level display for some type of devices (there are multiple way to report battery level). That's why some people say that it's supported by Windows, but it may not be the case for everyone.

In Windows 10, they were replaced by Microsoft's code and it doesn't (at least, as of 10.0.15063) have capability to show battery level for any type of Bluetooth device.

So, to monitor Bluetooth devices' battery level on Windows 10, you do need to install additional software. Some major Bluetooth device vendors provide companion application and it shows battery level. I saw Microsoft and Logitech do so for their keyboard/mouse products.

If your device's vendor doesn't provide such application, you may want to try "Bluetooth Battery Monitor", which is available at: https://www.bluetoothgoodies.com/

Full Disclosure: I'm the author of the program.

By the way, you mentioned about GATT battery service, but Windows (again, at least as of 10.0.15063) supports GATT access only over LE connection, and doesn't allow simultaneous LE/Classic connection either. So, you can access GATT of LE only devices (such as HID devices), but you cannot access your headphone/headsets's GATT because those devices are connected with Classic only.

10/3/2018 update:

Windows 10 update 1809 is finalized (build 17763) and I think it's a good time to clarify what it does and what it doesn't.

As far as I've tested, it supports only Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) devices that use GATT Battery Service to report battery information. If you are using Bluetooth LE mice/keyboards, those devices are probably OK. But most other devices including headphones, headsets, and Classic mice/keyboards are not supported by Windows 10 and 3rd party software is still needed.

I also tested the latest Insider preview release for the 19H1 update (build 18252), but it's the same as 1809. Following is the screenshot from 1809. All of these devices are capable of reporting battery information, but Microsoft's "Bluetooth Mobile Mouse 3600" is the only device Windows 10 can display the information.

Solution 2

If you're running Windows 10 Build 17639 or above, the battery level will be displayed natively on the Bluetooth & other devices screen in the Settings app.

At the current time, the current Windows 10 stable release is Build 17134.1 (Spring/April 2018 Update). Build 17639 is currently only available to those on the Windows Insiders programme who have opted to Skip Ahead. It would be reasonable to assume however that this would be included in the next Windows 10 feature update later in 2018 (typically 'Fall'/Autumn).

Further details are available at https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2018/04/04/announcing-windows-10-insider-preview-build-17639-for-skip-ahead/ under the heading "Bluetooth battery percentage in Settings".

Solution 3

"Apparently" Windows 7 and Windows 10 have support for checking the battery status. For checking battery status of a Bluetooth device on Windows 7, here's a tutorial from Lenovo. (https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht070699).

Also, here is an image that shows a control panel item for Windows 10 (though I am not sure of the legitimacy of it [http://imgur.com/gallery/uj2WIPM ])

I cannot find anything on Windows 8/8.1, I checked myself (that's what I have) and I can't find anywhere for battery status indicators.

There is very little on this subject, it is a strange missing feature of Windows that they will not fix. In the Windows help community, it has been asked about this and they just quickly replied basically with "It doesn't exist, fix it yourself (https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8-hardware/how-to-determine-the-battery-level-of-a-bluetooth/df8004aa-8b4f-480c-a53d-3048a0bc96be).

I couldn't find any apps/tools for this either, it's very strange. Anyway, I hope this little bit helps you, if you're on Windows 8.1 like me, you're stuck with guessing. I can't test Windows 7 or 10 because I don't have it, if someone could verify my link's tutorial that would be great. Good luck!

Maybe installing a custom Bluetooth driver/service would add support for a battery indicator, but I'm not sure.

100,115

Afzal

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

Afzal almost 2 years

I am talking about headphones that can send GATT Battery Service data over the Bluetooth connection.

I get the battery levels natively on Android and iOS devices without any additional software, as shown in the screenshot here:
- Eric over 7 years
  
  What is the make and model of the Bluetooth Headphone?
- Afzal over 7 years
  
  @Eric: It's a TaoTronics TT-BH07, but that's really irrelevant.
- Eric over 7 years
  
  Not necessarily, the Plantronics headset that I use has a utility that you can download from their website that will display that battery percentage and some other stuff.
- Afzal over 7 years
  
  @Eric: I am talking about something that is being sent out natively, and not a proprietary signal that needs OEM software.
- DevenDoes over 7 years
  
  Mine are Cowin E-7 headphones, so something not manufacturer specific is definitely preferred.
- Ravindra Bawane over 7 years
  
  Relevant question over on SE: stackoverflow.com/questions/36622325/…
- Ravindra Bawane over 7 years
  
  Reading the comments there it appear the Creators Update (to be released in April, I believe) should contain some additional GATT capability: blogs.windows.com/buildingapps/2017/01/13/…
- Afzal over 7 years
  
  @music2myear A native GATT server would be better than a 3rd party fix. That would not only help with question above, but that could bring some sort of a Continuity-like feature to Windows, which would be great with wearables. Looking forward to the update being released down the normal user's update cycle.
- JCTechie about 7 years
  
  Not really the answer, but if all you want to do is know the battery level, apparently you can check in control panel to see the battery percentage. It you want a notification/system tray icon, I don't know if its possible without 3rd party software. I think windows 10 and 7 have it, but windows 8/8.1 doesn't. Now don't quote me, I did literally five minutes of google searches. Good luck!
- Afzal about 7 years
  
  @JCTechie apparently you can check in control panel to see the battery percentage...where in the Control Panel? Link to what you found through your searches?
Afzal about 7 years

Neither of those work natively, and rely on custom drivers (with proprietary coding for battery levels, which are most likely not relying on the GATT service per se) or custom software (the second picture). I am looking for a universal solution that can read GATT code off devices regardless of what driver is being used. This is a part of the current Bluetooth stack if I am not mistaken, and should not require additional tweaking. It's definitely missing from W10 at the moment, but as @music2myear has commented, it might be deployed soon.
Bondt almost 7 years

@Afzal, did the April update do you any good? I am still unable to find something built-in.
Afzal almost 7 years

@Bondt Check the other answer below. The April update has not nothing new in this regard so far.
Afzal almost 7 years

This helps with those headphones without OEM software that can display battery info for the time being until Microsoft adds non-LE GATT access.
Bondt almost 7 years

@Azfal, I did, but had hoped you found something new on the topic. Thanks anyway!
RobIII over 6 years

Just tried (and immediately purchased) the BlueTooth Battery Monitor. Works great with my Apple Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Apple Magic Mouse (1). If it would also support Airpods I would be sooooooo happy.
KingJ about 6 years

It seems like Windows 10 will finally add native support for this, a new battery level indicator is present in build 17639 and above. The Spring 2018 Windows 10 update is build 17134.1, so expect to see this in the Fall 2018 Windows 10 update. You can get it right now however if you're on the Windows Insider programme and skip ahead. blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2018/04/04/…
TheXenocide almost 6 years

Fully updated Windows 10 still does not display my headphones. I'm 30 seconds into using this software (and am a software developer myself); so far, quite impressed. It's even reporting the battery level of both my keyboard and mouse individually which are connected through a single USB dongle (an unexpected and quite handy bonus!) I'll try this on for a couple days and make sure it doesn't crash anything, then I'll probably purchase the activation. Thanks!
Domarius almost 5 years

I think the last 3rd party software I encountered that filled in such an essential void in Windows's functionality was "Launchy", which made "type the first few letters of your program to run it" the best way to launch programs, before Windows 7 came along and made this the built in behaviour when you press Windows key and start typing. This is saying a lot. Why Windows hasn't got this covered by Windows 10 is beyond belief. This app reports everything with a battery, not just bluetooth devices.
munrobasher over 4 years

Not for all devices. See comments above. My NX-8252 headphones don't show battery level but do when connected to Android phone. First time I know the battery is getting low is because it starts beeping in my ears ;-) Just about to upgrade from 1903 to 1909 so will report back