Apple magic mouse, piece of ****e

Placebo

Hey guys,
This is the only mouse i've seen displayed in shop shelves or the main pages on the apple website. Infact im certain this is their latest mouse ? so my educated guess was that it would be the right choice.

I just bought one and its really inaccurate and bulky and jittery. I increased the track speed but accuracy is still way off, it jitters when you try focus on a small icon [i.e closing a window] its like using a PS2 ball mouse [which has seen better days]

i installed a third party app, Mouse Zoom, but no avail. Looked a bit online but cant seem to find any answers?

How is this on the market? am i missing something?

Thanks

bohsfan

Hi OP,

I have been using the Magic Mouse for a couple of years now and have never suffered any problems. In fact, I think it's one of the best mouses on the market.

The problems you mentioned sound like they could be down to the surface you are using the mouse on. Is it shiny or reflective in any way?

I use a program called Magic Prefs which opens up a lot more functions of the mouse.

Placebo

Hey, Thanks for your response, it could well be the surface. However, i tried
-just the desk [wooden]
-magazine [glossy]
-paper
-mouse mat [i think its suede or something]

i havent use a proper mouse mat yet though, not sure if i have one.
Can you tell me what surface you use also did you change your initial delay and max speed in System preference > Universal access

DubDJ

Placebo wrote: »

Hey, Thanks for your response, it could well be the surface. However, i tried
-just the desk [wooden]
-magazine [glossy]
-paper
-mouse mat [i think its suede or something]

i havent use a proper mouse mat yet though, not sure if i have one.
Can you tell me what surface you use also did you change your initial delay and max speed in System preference > Universal access

Another idea, which sounds obvious, but a lot wouldn't consider it is the batteries. Try a new pair of batteries in it see if it makes any difference. It sounds like it could be that. Or else something interfering with the Bluetooth signal.

Placebo

just tried a different mouse mat.
The batteries are new / came with the mouse. Its showing 100% battery in mouse setting anyway.

One thing ive read is faulty or low bluetooth signals in Mac book pros, its a shame as i just purchased this mpb the other month, maybe an external bluetooth usb dongle?

anyway my main problem is the jittery and inaccuracy [i.e when you try home in/zone/pin point at anything, like a link or icon, you have to slow down to be accurate

DubDJ

Placebo wrote: »

just tried a different mouse mat.
The batteries are new / came with the mouse. Its showing 100% battery in mouse setting anyway.

One thing ive read is faulty or low bluetooth signals in Mac book pros, its a shame as i just purchased this mpb the other month, maybe an external bluetooth usb dongle?

anyway my main problem is the jittery and inaccuracy [i.e when you try home in/zone/pin point at anything, like a link or icon, you have to slow down to be accurate

Still batteries can be faulty too no harm in trying. You kinda need another computer to test it on. Then you can determine whether it's the MacBook or the mouse that's acting the maggot.

adox

Thread title is a little mis-leading if you arent even sure its the mouse thats the problem.

Placebo

Just payed over 2k for my mac book pro, then i buy this mouse for 70 euro,
to end user, the mouse is the problem and not the 2k+ notebook.

so the title is not miss leading.

DubDJ, dont think its the batteries if its indicating 100%, sadly i wont be able to test it on another computer, not sure how effective a usb dongle would be either, i dont fancy extra peripherals to get a mouse working tbh

what is their policy on returns? unfortunatley i bought it in france yesterday, whilst on holidays

Johnmb

Placebo wrote: »

Just payed over 2k for my mac book pro, then i buy this mouse for 70 euro,
to end user, the mouse is the problem and not the 2k+ notebook.

so the title is not miss leading.

DubDJ, dont think its the batteries if its indicating 100%, sadly i wont be able to test it on another computer, not sure how effective a usb dongle would be either, i dont fancy extra peripherals to get a mouse working tbh

what is their policy on returns? unfortunatley i bought it in france yesterday, whilst on holidays

Try reducing the tracking speed to see if that helps. Mine is set to just below half speed, and I've never had any problems with it.

yutta

I find that if I have my phone near the mouse, it goes haywire. Keep your mobile phone/3G dongles well away from your magic mouse!

Placebo

Thanks for the input guys, after countless hours of research, it turns out that the bluetooth on the MacBook Pros are not very efficient, apparently the metal casing is blocking the signal ?

Reports say it works fine when using an external usb bluetooth dongle.
This one is the only one that works after mac goes into sleep mode. Others require reconnection

again, if this is the case, the mouse is still a piece of ****, MacBook Pros are possibly sell more than iMacs? how was this not tested.

Johnmb

Placebo wrote: »

Thanks for the input guys, after countless hours of research, it turns out that the bluetooth on the MacBook Pros are not very efficient, apparently the metal casing is blocking the signal ?

Reports say it works fine when using an external usb bluetooth dongle.
This one is the only one that works after mac goes into sleep mode. Others require reconnection

again, if this is the case, the mouse is still a piece of ****, MacBook Pros are possibly sell more than iMacs? how was this not tested.

In fairness, I'd imagine the mouse is normally used with iMacs and Minis, most MBP users would normally use the trackpad. Try putting a bit more distance between your MBP and the mouse to allow the bluetooth signal to get a bit more spread before it gets blocked by the casing, that should allow it to find the connection with your MBP.

Sad Professor

I use a Magic Mouse with my MBP. Don't have any of the issues you describe, but I do find it takes forever to connect. I don't know if this is normal or not. Also, heavy wireless network activity interferes with it. I have to cap my download speed or else pointer movement becomes very jumpy. Changing channels on my router has lessened this somewhat but not completely.

uncle_sam_ie

My last Apple magic mouse was thrown out the window it a temper. Apple make great computers but suck at building a decent mouse. I recommend switching it for a good Logitech one instead.

Freddie59

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

My last Apple magic mouse was thrown out the window it a temper. Apple make great computers but suck at building a decent mouse. I recommend switching it for a good Logitech one instead.

I got one with an iMac last year. Works perfectly. No problems at all.

cornbb

I don't like the Magic Mouse, but for different reasons - I think it's unusable for long periods due to bad ergonomics. Mine has been relegated to being paired with a secondary machine.

I haven't had any of the problems you've described though.

after countless hours of research, it turns out that the bluetooth on the MacBook Pros are not very efficient, apparently the metal casing is blocking the signal ?

Reports say it works fine when using an external usb bluetooth dongle

That sounds extremely dubious. If there were bluetooth reception issues, the symptoms would be loss of bluetooth signal, i.e. the mouse would't work at all, let alone a jittery pointer.

Is your OS up to date?
Have you installed any other 3rd party plugins/applications/kexts that might interfere with how the mouse works?

milltown

cornbb wrote: »

I don't like the Magic Mouse, but for different reasons - I think it's unusable for long periods due to bad ergonomics. Mine has been relegated to being paired with a secondary machine.

This.

Ergonomic nightmare for my meathooks. Far too small for moving or pointing and clicking. Whoever thought it was a big enough surface for gestures was away with the fairies IMO. It's been gathering dust since I got the magic trackpad so I'm struggling to see why anyone would ignore the trackpad on an MBP to use one.

That said, if I get the chance tomorrow I'll pair it with my MBP and report my findings.

Creamy Goodness

don't like it for the simple fact you can't primary/secondary click at the same time kind of annoying for RTS games.

Colonel Panic

I tried to play Portal 2 with my Magic Mouse and gave up in despair in the latter half of the game!

Other than that, I like mine.

Placebo

cornbb wrote: »

That sounds extremely dubious. If there were bluetooth reception issues, the symptoms would be loss of bluetooth signal, i.e. the mouse would't work at all, let alone a jittery pointer.

Is your OS up to date?
Have you installed any other 3rd party plugins/applications/kexts that might interfere with how the mouse works?

well thats what the internet says, my os is up to date
i got an external usb dongle but mac doesnt seem to pick it up,

anyone have any ideas?


i used the dongle on my pc and the mouse works with it but its still as bad, less jitters but when homing in on something, say a small icon, its hard. I dont get it?

Placebo

just an update, i went to the apple store, they gave me a new mouse and told me thats how it worked [aka that im paranoid] - i also tried one of the imacs there with a magic mouse and it was jittery and weird, there is no way this can be used for design, the guy told me he slowed down the track speed a good bit to get good accuracy [he used it for design too]

i told him to compare it with the track pad accuracy and he said theyre both made for different functions, sigh

any one wanna buy a magic mouse? sealed

aN.Droid

Placebo wrote: »

just an update, i went to the apple store, they gave me a new mouse and told me thats how it worked [aka that im paranoid] - i also tried one of the imacs there with a magic mouse and it was jittery and weird, there is no way this can be used for design, the guy told me he slowed down the track speed a good bit to get good accuracy [he used it for design too]

i told him to compare it with the track pad accuracy and he said theyre both made for different functions, sigh

any one wanna buy a magic mouse? sealed

Does it say anywhere on the box that it can be used for design? If so you could argue it is not fit for purpose and that you want a refund.

Also you have 14 days to return it for a refund. check out here

Placebo

i bought it in france, but hes just after giving me a new one with a price tag at the back, maybe i can return it at a different store? my only regret is that it may work properly a bluetooth dongle ? [however i tried it on my pc with a dongle and its the same]

its sad because the gesture system on the mouse is pretty neat but to me its unusuable

bohsfan

Placebo wrote: »

just an update, i went to the apple store, they gave me a new mouse and told me thats how it worked [aka that im paranoid] - i also tried one of the imacs there with a magic mouse and it was jittery and weird, there is no way this can be used for design, the guy told me he slowed down the track speed a good bit to get good accuracy [he used it for design too]

i told him to compare it with the track pad accuracy and he said theyre both made for different functions, sigh

any one wanna buy a magic mouse? sealed

I don't know man, I use a magic mouse every day for design and have had no issues that I have never had with other mouses... Different strokes for different folks I guess

whiterebel

Never had any of those problems with mine either, I just didn't like the design, and preferred a trackball. Sounds like you got a dud.....