Logitech mouse, keyboard and headset battery on Windows

How BatteryOnPC reads a Logitech device

Logitech mice, keyboards and headsets speak HID++, a protocol of their own. BatteryOnPC asks each device for its battery through its receiver (one Lightspeed or Unifying receiver can carry several devices), over Bluetooth or over the cable. It also reads the model name from the device, so your mouse appears as a G PRO X Superlight, not as a receiver.

Nothing is ever written to the device: no sensitivity, lighting or profile setting is touched. The level is simply read again at regular intervals, in the background.

How precise is the percentage?

It depends on what the device itself reports. Logitech has used several generations of battery reporting, and BatteryOnPC shows exactly what each one gives, without inventing precision:

• A real percentage: most recent devices, such as the MX Master 3S, the MX Keys or recent G mice, report their level to the percent.
• A voltage: earlier Lightspeed models (G502 Lightspeed, G703, G903, G PRO Wireless, G915…) report the voltage of their battery. BatteryOnPC converts it with the lithium-ion discharge curve used by Solaar, so the level moves in steps of about 10 %.
• A few levels: some devices only report full, good, low or critical. The icon then shows the matching step rather than a made-up percentage.
• Headsets (G733, G935, PRO X Wireless…): the level is computed from the battery voltage with the curve of the Linux driver, so it can differ by a few points from the one G HUB displays.

Older Unifying devices too

Many office mice and keyboards still in daily use, such as the M185, the M510 or the K360, are older than HID++ 2.0. BatteryOnPC also reads the battery register of these HID++ 1.0 devices, as a percentage or as a few levels depending on the model.

Headsets and the Astro A50

G headsets on their Lightspeed dongle (G733, G535, G935, PRO X Wireless, PRO X 2 Lightspeed, G522) are read like the mice. The older G930 uses an earlier protocol, also covered. The Astro A50 (Gen 5) reports its level through its base station.

Add a Logitech device

1. 1

   Connect it as usual

   Plug in its receiver or pair it over Bluetooth, and check that it works in Windows.

2. 2

   Scan for devices

   Open the BatteryOnPC window, go to the Devices tab and click Scan for devices.

3. 3

   Add it

   Click Add next to your device. It gets its own icon in the taskbar, tinted by level, with the alerts you set.