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How to Get a Low Battery Alert on Your Mac

macOS warns you when the battery is low, but Apple's Battery settings page lists no way to change when. You can show the percentage yourself or install an app that speaks up at levels you pick.

What macOS does on its own

macOS shows its own low battery warning when your charge gets low. Apple's Battery settings page lists Low Power Mode, Optimized Battery Charging, battery longevity, hard disk sleep, and automatic graphics switching.

Apple provides no setting to change the alert level or the alert sound. Apple does not publish the exact default percentages on the pages I checked, so I will not guess them here. The system warning appears when macOS decides it is time.

Show the percentage so you can see it

1. Open System Settings.
2. Click Menu Bar in the sidebar.
3. Go to Battery, then select Battery Options.
4. Turn on Show Percentage.
5. Click the Battery status menu in your menu bar to see your current power source and which apps are using significant energy.

Turn on Low Power Mode

In Apple's words, Low Power Mode reduces energy use to increase battery life. This is available on supported Macs only.

To turn it on, open System Settings, select Battery, and find Energy Mode. Then choose Low Power Mode from the On battery or On power adapter menu.

Get an alert at the levels you choose

Third-party apps can alert you at levels you choose. If you only want a plain alert at a chosen percentage, tools like Juicy or Battery Monitor fit better than my app. Battery Beggar is built for people who want the alert to have a personality, and it reacts only at fixed intervals.

• Juicy: Available on the Mac App Store for free with a 9.99 dollars lifetime Pro upgrade, works on macOS 15 or later, and alerts at levels you set.
• Battery Monitor: Health, Info: Free on the Mac App Store, offering configurable low and full battery alerts.
• coconutBattery Plus: A one-time purchase that notifies below a set percentage or remaining time.
• iStat Menus 7: Costs 11.99 dollars, runs on macOS 14 or later, and provides rules-based battery notifications.

Set it up in Battery Beggar

1. Install Battery Beggar from the Mac App Store. It runs on macOS 13 or later.
2. Click the battery icon in the menu bar and open Settings.
3. Set delivery mode to Notifications or Notifications plus Voice, and allow notifications in System Settings if asked.
4. Pick one of the five included personality packs: Dramatic, Passive Aggressive, Stoic, Anxious, or Matter of Fact.
5. Choose a voice and click Preview Voice to hear it.
6. The app reacts when the battery crosses 50%, 25%, 15%, 10%, and 5%. If you unplug at 80%, it shows nothing until the charge drops to 50%.
7. To hide the default Apple battery icon, Apple's guide says to go to System Settings, Menu Bar, and Battery.
8. If you want a plain silent monitor, turn off Enable personality and reactions in Settings.

Questions