Ubuntu's Mouse Battery Management | Generated by AI
Ubuntu has several built-in features that help manage mouse power and provide low battery notifications:
Mouse Power Management in Ubuntu
Battery Monitoring:
- Ubuntu’s power management system monitors wireless mouse battery levels through Bluetooth or USB receiver connections
- The system reads battery data from the mouse’s firmware when available
- Power notifications appear in the system tray when battery drops below certain thresholds (usually around 20% and 10%)
How the Notification System Works:
- UPower daemon - Monitors power states of connected devices including wireless mice
- GNOME Power Manager - Handles the actual notifications and power settings
- Bluetooth stack - For Bluetooth mice, battery info is transmitted through standard Bluetooth protocols
- USB HID - For wireless mice with USB dongles, battery data comes through HID (Human Interface Device) reports
Power-Saving Features:
- Automatic mouse sleep mode when inactive
- Reduced polling rates during low activity
- Connection timeout settings to preserve battery
- Option to disable mouse wake-up from suspend
Checking Mouse Battery: You can check mouse battery status through:
- System Settings → Power (shows connected devices)
- Command line:
upower -i /org/freedesktop/UPower/devices/mouse_* - Top panel battery indicator (if mouse supports it)
The system works by constantly polling connected devices for their power status and using desktop notification services to alert users when intervention is needed. This helps prevent unexpected disconnections during important work.