Battery Icon Missing on Windows 10? Restore it

Keep track of your device's battery life from your PC

by
Jody Muelaner
Jody Emlyn Muelaner
Writer
Dr. Jody Muelander is a former freelance contributor to Lifewire who's writing has appeared in peer-reviewed journals and aerospace industry reports.
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Jody Emlyn Muelaner
Updated on January 07, 2020

If you can’t see a battery icon on Windows 10's taskbar, it may be hidden or disabled. The icon should appear in Windows' system tray area, next to the time and date. If the battery icon is missing in Windows 10, try these methods to restore it.

Instructions in this article apply to Windows 10.

How to Check If the Battery Icon Is Hidden

If you can’t see a battery icon, the first thing to check is whether it is simply hidden.

  1. Select the up arrow to the left of the system tray to reveal the hidden system tray icons. If you can see the battery icon here, continue with the following steps. Otherwise, try the next method.

    Screenshot of hidden system tray icons

  2. Right-click any unused area on the taskbar to bring up the menu. Select Taskbar settings.

    Screenshot of Taskbar Settings in right-click menu

    Alternatively, select the Windows icon, then select Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.

  3. In the Taskbar settings, scroll down to the Notification area and choose Select which icons appear on the taskbar.

    Screenshot of Notification Area in Taskbar Settings

  4. Scroll down the list until you find the battery icon, which is called "Power." Select its toggle switch to set it to On.

    Screenshot of Power in Select which icons appear on the taskbar list

  5. You should now see the battery icon in the taskbar.

How to Turn on Windows 10 Battery Icon If It's Missing

If, when you select the up arrow, the battery icon isn't in the group of hidden icons, it means you'll need to enable the battery icon.

  1. Go into the Taskbar settings using one of the methods described above.

    Screenshot of Taskbar Settings in right-click menu

  2. Scroll down to the Notification area and select Turn system icons on or off.

    Screenshot showing Turn system icons on or off in Notification area of Taskbar settings

  3. Scroll down and select the Power toggle switch to turn it on.

    Screenshot of Power toggle in Turn system icons on or off

  4. The battery icon should now appear. If it doesn’t, it might now just be hidden and you'll have to use the previous method to reveal it.

In the vast majority of cases, the above steps will work. If the battery icon is still missing, check and install any available Windows updates, restart your computer, then try the above steps again.

Disable and Re-enable Battery Hardware to Reveal Battery Icon

If the above steps don’t work, you can try to disable and re-enable battery hardware in the Windows Device Manager.

Ensure you are connected to external power before you start this process.

  1. Press Windows key+X to bring up the Quick Access Menu, then select Device Manager.

  2. In the Device Manager, select the Batteries category to expand it. There should be two items:

    • Microsoft AC Adapter
    • Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery.
    Device manager showing Batteries

  3. Right-click Microsoft AC Adapter and select Disable device.

    Disable battery devices in Windows Device Manager

  4. A warning will appear asking you if you’re sure you want to disable the device. Select Yes.

    Ignore the warning and continue disabling the device

  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to disable the Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery.

  6. To re-enable the devices right-click each and select Enable device.

    Enable battery devices in Windows Device Manager

  7. Restart your computer and the battery icon should appear.

If the battery icon doesn’t appear, try the previous steps outlined above to check if the battery icon is hidden. Then, if needed, enable the battery icon.