Curious jumpy wireless mighty mouse problem - hardware ok!

[aidlesultan]

Well I'm stumped. My wireless mighty mouse has started jumping (no not the actual mouse itself ). The cursor jumps randomly occasionally / hyperspaces or doesn't react momentarilly etc. I have tried my mouse on another Mac and it was fine - so i guess the hardware is fine.

So I got to thinking what else? Bluetooth issue? I doubt it as I have a wireless keyboard which is woring fine + I have subsequently bluetoothed a number of item from my mobile.

Any clues folks

Mac 1.83 Intel Core Duo OS X 10.4.10

 

[aidlesultan]

Sorry should have said: it's not the batteries (have even tried replacing them despite showing as ok).

Also problem is sometimes worse than others.

 

[searay345]

Hello Aidlesultan and Welcome!

Check to make sure you have the latest drivers for the mouse. Go to Software Update by clicking the Apple Logo in the upper left corner of screen and it will tell you if you need to update them.

It may be a software hiccup. I would try this first. Go to your Applications folder --> Utilities --> Disk Utility --> Under the First Aid tab, select your hard drive from the list and click Repair Permissions --> After that's done, close Disk Utility and restart your computer.

I wonder if you are having electrical interference issues. My wireless mighty mouse will act up sometimes, not always and not often either, if I am on the phone, using the microwave, or if another BT device is attached. You said you "paired" your phone with your mac? It may be your phone. It is hard to say to be honest.

Another possibility could be the type of batteries you are using. Try a different brand if you can.

Hopefully one of these solutions will fix your problem. Don't hesitate to as us for more help or if none of these work for you.

All the best

Searay

 

[aidlesultan]

Thanks Searay345, tried the disk utility suggestion. Not the phone as only got this a couple of days ago and problem been with me for more than a week. No other electrical item has entered the area making interference unlikely.

The only suggestion I haven't tried is a new brand of batteries - I'm hopeful as I noticed I have been using Morrisons own brand batteries :wink: Once I've done that I'll inform .

Cheers

 

[aidlesultan]

Tried different brands of batteries so not that. I just can't think of anything else now. Any clues anyone? Appreciate the help so far.

P.S. love the site - will be visiting regularly and helping out where I can.

Aid

 

[searay345]

Hello again, Aidlesultan

Sorry to hear that those solutions did not work for you. I have a couple more ideas, but you may have tried them already.

Is there any junk in the lens? IE hair, dust, dirt, etc? If so, clean it out and try again. I would recommend using a paper towel. You may need to wet it, but be very careful doing this.

Try turning the mouse off and the bluetooth option off in the system bar.

That's all I can think of for now. Let us know how these work.

Best of luck

Searay

 

[Kyomii]

Just wondering if you have run software update to see if the bluetooth module in your system needs updating?

On the other system you tried it on, is it using the same bluetooth version?

 

[aidlesultan]

Have tried everything everyone's suggested now. The oddest thing is that if I put the mouse on either a book or white sheet of paper it goes completely haywire and is utterly unusable yet on the desk it is just about usuable short-term which suggests it might actually be the hardware despite the title of my post. My guess is the laser has 'gone'. Perhaps when I used another computer and thought it was ok it just liked my desk surface at work and was pretty much perfect, like it seems to considerably prefer my home table to a hardback book or white piece of paper. Most odd

Perhaps time for a good but cheap bluetooth mouse - can't be shelling out Apple prices if it dies shortly after guarantee.

Thanks

Aid

 

[Kyomii]

Have you tried cleaning the surface the mouse is using with alcohol or a similar cleaner?

Sometimes, even the tiniest little bump or dust can cause a laser to go haywire.

Have you tried using a mousemat specifically for optical mice? Or, possibly a rubber mousemat that is not shiney?

Any shiny surface will cause the mouse to go haywire.

 

[aidlesultan]

Cheers Kyomii - tried all that still no joy.

 

[Egidio]

Does the problem only appear with the Might Mouse? I'd check the bluetooth settings then. Also, try to pair your Mighty Mouse again to see if that clears the problem.

 

[aidlesultan]

Cheers Egidio - have tried that - in fact tried again after your post. Have tried other people's bluetooth mice and they are fine. Also seems I was wrong about when I bought the item so should still be under warranty, so going to have to go that route I think - no doubt the process will be so difficult that it will test the patience of a saint.

 

[Bob Marsden]

I too have the mightily skittery mouse. It's intermittent - I've had periods of many days of normal use - so it's unlikely to be the driver. At first I thought it must be the cat lying on the table in front of the computer, but it wasn't. Then I found that if I typed something in a file the skittering would stop, but that didn't always work. When it became hysterically skittery, I and the mouse sat perfectly still, but its pointer bluebottled its way around the screen, activating whatever it lighted upon in the Dock and elsewhere. It's never done it when I start in the mornings. It's just been doing it, but for some reason (I haven't figured out the superstition yet) it's OK again now. I've had it on a shiny Tiger mat, but when it skitters and I change to a grey matt mat, no relief. As far as I know I haven't ever done any bluetoothing. I've tried getting my roaming handset (not a mobile) to interfere without success. I changed the batteries to rechargeable when the originals died. No difference. At the moment it's OK, but will do little twitches, "intention to skitter" movements, like swallows on telephone wires just before they migrate. I just tried the white paper trick: immediate violent skitter. Shiny Tiger (with white bits around ears, eyes, mouth) - OK; matt grey - skitter. Mysterious.

 

[guyrocks]

My wireless mouse has gone completely spastic in the last couple of days. Nothing mentioned here works -as far as fixing the problem. This my second mouse -I had them replace the first one when the scroller ball went. Now this one -only 8 months old- skitters all over the screen and is unusable now. I suspect, as someone else said, the laser is toast.
My impression is that these mice are cheap. The quality sucks. The only reason I'm going to have them replace this one is because I paid $80 for it. That is too much money for such a poor quality product. I'm going to keep forcing them to replace it until they come up with a decent product that lasts more than a single year. For this kind of money -the thing should work for 5 years.