Whirlpool

Suddenly my mighty mouse (wireless) has stopped scrolling and its just three months old. It can scroll up or sideways but would not scroll downwards. Is this normal in Apple mouse ...never happened to me when I was a PC user.

is there something I need to do/check before I call Apple Support...thank god I have extended warranty.

Any suggestions?

In warranty you should be able to get a replacement (might take a few days) otherwise you can clean it easily but getting a piece of paper, turning the mouse upside down and scrolling lightly across the paper.

I had a similar problem a couple of weeks ago. I rang Apple for help, and the tech guy gave me the same advice as Crimson (except that he said to wet a cloth and then ring as dry as possible so that it was just slightly damp, and then roll the scroll ball against it) and bingo! I could scroll again in all directions.

Hey thanks guys. I did the same thing and it worked. For a sec, I was bloody pissed. Didn't expect this quality from Apple.

shaggyboy writes...

Hey thanks guys. I did the same thing and it worked. For a sec, I was bloody pissed. Didn't expect this quality from Apple.

It's a really bad design, I personally don't own any mighty mouse products for this reason.

It happens to all devices with balls in them eg the old mouse with a ball under it (in the days before laser). Personally, I think the scroll ball is great, better than standard one dimensional scroll wheel – it can't help it if we dirty it with our fingers. I saw something in Appleinsider (I think) about Apple filing a patent for a laser 'scroll ball.' It as actually not a scroll ball at all, but would achieve the same 2 dimensional scrolling as the scroll ball.

If your MM is still under warranty (less than 12 months old or within the 3 year Apple Protection Plan) then I suggest you get it replaced. the scroll ball is bound to collect gunk (body oils at least) but not having any way to clean it is a design fault and the best way to drive that point home to Apple is to keep replacing it.

then once your warranty runs out, Apple will have hopefully come up with a solution or you can just clean it as suggested above.

Yep, terribly designed mouse, quickly replaced mine with a Microsoft mouse (traitor i know)

Just roll the ball firmly on an A4 bit of paper.

I find the Windex moist cleaning cloth things work well.

Turn your mouse over and roll the ball around while applying quite a bit of pressure. I do this once a month or so and I try to ensure that my hands are always clean when mousing.

I don't think its poor design I think it's design that requires a bit of maintenance to keep it performing well. That is not unusual.

I wonder if Apple will bring out a multi-touch mouse or just a surface you use instead? Like a laptop trackpad? The nipple/ball on an apple mouse is comparable to the ball that used to be in all mice. Its time it went digital like the ball in mice did.

Edit – I just read slowdowns post above. He seems very intelligent! ;-)

derekaw writes...

Like a laptop trackpad?

CAn't see that happening for mainstream computing – think, people buy a MM with their MacBook because they prefer the Mouse. That being said, I love the Mac trackpad – who needs a mouse!

He seems very intelligent! ;-)

I think he might need to slow down and take a breath.

derekaw writes...

I wonder if Apple will bring out a multi-touch mouse or just a surface you use instead? Like a laptop trackpad?

That will be a really good option .... I am looking at buying a Viacom tablet so that I can use the pen as a mouse device. My mate has RSI in the hand and its helped him heaps ....

This happens to mine all the time just hold the mouse upside down and scroll the wheel around, it happens usually because crud lodges in there.

silly design, bring on the touch pad asap.

yeh its just dust n crud that gets stuck in there, i just cut a bit of a business card n stick it in there n scrub out the gunk/dust.. usually does the trick for another week! lol ..

adderz writes...

Just roll the ball firmly on an A4 bit of paper.

Was about to toss my mMM (munted Mighty Mouse) until I read this suggestion, and it worked. Thanks!

I am over with this so called Apple Mighty mouse. It has again stopped scolling, the second time in last 4 weeks. Tried rolling it over a piece of paper but the issue still persists. When will Apple gets its act together and do something about this.

I'll sell you mine for half price :)
I bought it, used it for 3 days and put it back in the box. Simply the worst mouse ever invented.

<rant>I don't have a problem with the scroll ball but the with the fact that the only way to use that mouse is with the tracking speed on max. I am now using my old (new) logitech mouse and tracking speed is on relatively low and it's great.</rant>

Ok I've fixed 4 different ones.

What i do is get a cloth put the cloth over my finger then push down on the ball and scroll (do this up then down), do this about 100 times or until your mouse works again.

Also I've had a mighty mouse since the first ones came out and i am just careful not to put my greasy hands on the ball until they are clean.