How long do your wireless mouse batteries last, on average? I’m finding I’m changing the batteries every month or so.
It’s on all the time. There’s no “off” button, and the battery cover is a pain to pry off and is already showing fatigue in the plastic, so opening it every night isn’t the best idea. I’m considering switching back to my wired mouse.
Mine seem to last quite a long time. Mine’s a logitech, what’s yours?
It’s a Microsoft. In the last ten months, I figure I’ve replace the batteries about six or seven times, so it’s closer to a month and a half they’re lasting.
The pointer will start to jitter and suddenly decide to be on the other side of the screen, which is a real problem when I’m trying to draw a smooth line, and a week or so after that the connection will start dropping out entirely for a couple seconds at a time. That’s when I replace the batteries.
When my batteries go the pointer just stops dead. It takes me a few seconds to realize what’s happened. (as in the past the mouse pointer stopping dead was a sure sign the computer had hung).
I have never done this myself, but you could try using NiMH rechargables (not the cheaper ni-cad). Check that your mouse will take them of course, I am not sure what the deal is with rechargables and devices not specifically designed to use them. I find that after charging they last about as long as a pair of non-rechargables (if you buy decent ones, at least 1800ma) and claim to be rechargable 1000 times.
Also, I have a friend who has a microsoft wireless mouse. He says his kills batteries fast too.
Buy a logitech mx700. It has a charging station base which you simply put on every night or few nights. I don’t own one, but it’s also supposed to be incredibly smooth and accurate whilst having 0 lag time.
If you need a keyboard too, you could consider buying the logitech MX duo. (note: not the elite duo with the older mouseman wireless dual optical)
Oddly enough while my friend says the mouse has no lagtime apparently the keyboard does. However he types like 110 wpm. I’m thinking he’s filling up the keyboards memory before it has a chance to send.
I second the MX700. You simply can’t buy a better wireless mouse.
I have a logitech for my desktop pc; I have to change its batteries every 3 - 4 months. I just purchased a micro innovations travel mouse for my new laptop. It has an on/off switch which disconnects the bateries to supposedly extend battery life. I’ve had it for about a month - no problems so far.
I use Logitech’s cordless TrackMan trackball and wireless keyboard. I have to change the trackball battery every couple of months and the keyboard battery no more than two or three times a year. I think your problem is that Mr. Bill owns a piece of the Bunny.
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. The MX700 looks like a great mouse, but I’m not sure it’d fit my needs. I switch hands often to preserve my wrists, and it doesn’t look like it’s very left-hand friendly.
My ever-lovin’ boyfriend has offered to retrofit the Microsoft mouse with an off-switch. That coupled with rechargeables ought to cut the costs and frustrations.
One quick trick to try before you change those batteries again: Give the sensor a shot with canned air (or just blow on it really hard). Many times I changed batteries when I didn’t need to, simply because there was a tiny piece of dust wedged near the eye. It doesn’t take much to throw off the sensor, causing the pointer to jump, act sluggish, etc., acting much like the batteries need changing.
I second the rechargable battery idea.
Between mice, keyboards, remotes, PDFs, cameras and CD players, I can’t imagine using non-rechargable AA batteries.
I just got the logitech wireless mouse with AA batteries, not the one with the charger. Anyone have a review of it?
My wireless mouse is great - as a paperweight.
It chewed through the batteries so bloody fast I ended up disconecting it and diggin out a seven year-old serial mouse. It works great. I can’t see the point of a wireless mouse, either. It’s not as though I sit across the room with it.
While my husband loves his MX700, it’s a big mouse. It hurts my hands (which are very small) to use it for any length of time. But then again, I’m one of those people who actually hurts her hands using ergonomic keyboards (those split ones) because the keys are too far away. Good thing I didn’t want to grow up to be either a surgeon or a pianist.
I’ve got Logitech and I change batteries about once a year.
My wireless keyboard and mouse was the best upgrade I made on my computer.
“I got a mouse that makes me wanna kill.” --Karen O 
Slightly off-topic. I currently have a Logitech dual optical mouse that I just love. Very quick and responsive. Has anyone seen or used a wireless dual optical? I miss being untethered. Battery life might be a problem with a dual optical. Anyone?
I have a wireless optical and a USB optical, both by Logitech. I only use the USB one however because it has two sensor lights on the bottom, and is far more accurate on my plain white desktop. I could get a mousepad, but I hate the feel of them.
So I have the odd situation of having a wireless keyboard and a wired mouse.
About the batteries- different battery types have slightly different voltages, so it could conceivably be bad to use the wrong type, though I doubt it. You could check real easily with a multimeter though, if they’re the same or lower than the recommended you can probably swap them out with no problem, though lower voltages might not work. ( Most consumer batteries are between 1.3-1.6 volts per cell. 9Volts are just 6 1.5 volts in series. I’ve also seen 3 volt, and 6.5 volt lithium batteries, and 9 volt single cell mercury batteries, but I worked in military avionics)
Somehow missed this, but I’d love to see the same thing. The cord on my dual optical tends to get bunched up on my crowded desk, but the increased accuracy is still worth it.