Quickly change settings with Control Center on Mac
Control Center gives you fast access to the settings you reach for most—Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop, volume, display brightness, Focus modes, and more—all in one place, without having to open System Settings. To open Control Center, click its icon in the menu bar. A panel opens, showing all the controls at the same time. Drag a slider to adjust volume or brightness, click an icon to toggle a feature on or off, or click the arrow next to an item to reveal more detailed options.
What’s in Control Center Explore the default controls available in every Mac. | Customize Control Center Add, remove, and rearrange controls to fit the way you work. |
What’s in Control Center
By default, Control Center includes the controls you’re most likely to reach for on a regular basis.
Wi-Fi Connect to wireless networks, switch between them, and see your current connection status. | Bluetooth Turn Bluetooth on or off and see which devices are currently paired or connected. |
AirDrop Share files wirelessly with nearby iPhone, and iPad devices, and Mac computers, without any setup. | Focus Turn on Do Not Disturb or switch between Focus modes to manage how and when you’re interrupted. |
Stage Manager Toggle Stage Manager to organize open windows into a focused workspace, with other apps tucked to the side. | Screen Mirroring Mirror or extend your Mac display to an Apple TV or any AirPlay-compatible screen. |
Display Adjust screen brightness and quickly turn Night Shift or True Tone on or off. | Sound Adjust the volume and switch which speaker or device your Mac uses for audio output. |
Now Playing Control media playback from any app—pause, skip, or scrub—without switching windows. |
Customize Control Center
The defaults are a good starting point, but Control Center is designed to be tailored to the way you work. To customize Control Center, click its icon in the menu bar and choose Edit Controls at the bottom of the panel. From there, drag controls in or out, change their order, or resize certain items by Control-clicking them. You can also add controls that don’t appear by default — like Battery, Accessibility Shortcuts, or Fast User Switching—so they’re always one click away. Click Done when you’re finished.
If there’s a control you adjust all the time, you can pin it. To pin a control to the menu bar, Control-click the item and choose Add to Menu Bar. To remove a menu bar icon, hold Command and drag it off the bar.
Note: The privacy indicator dots in the menu bar are part of Control Center. Click any dot to see which app is currently using your microphone, camera, or system audio.
Want to learn more?
Notification Center Get all of your notifications from apps like Messages and Mail, in one place. | Spotlight Search for anything on your Mac with Spotlight. | Siri Ask Siri questions and take action. |
Or if you’re ready for something new, check out how you can customize your wallpaper on your desktop, to add a personal touch. Then, get familiar with Safari (the built-in browser on your Mac) by searching the web, take a screenshot using a keyboard shortcut, or download a new app to your Mac.