Erratic magic mouse behavior

Will anybody ever be able to decipher what the specific causes are for the erratic behavior of Apple's Magic Mouse? Personally I think it boils down to the Bluetooth Signal itself that can cause a lot of this erratic behavior, like in sudden sluggishness of movement. I see this behavior comes and goes as if some invisible force has suddenly intervened. My best guard against erratic behavior is to have the computer as close to the mouse as possible, even a foot or two. The further out the computer gets the more erratic behavior is likely, but like I said, even then it "comes and goes." Do you think it is the Bluetooth signal itself, because sometimes when it's become erratic I move the computer around, even which way it faces in relation to the mouse and I can suddenly "lock on" and the mouse returns to normal, only to have it start acting up again in a few hours or later on in the day or week or whatever. That's why I say the signal itself is suspect because I can effect the behavior by moving the computer around. Maybe the signal is effected by other components in the room like my TV or Audio Equipment or WIFI signals or remote controls.
I love my Magic Mouse and that is why I have put up with this erratic behavior struggle I'm constantly/periodically having, but I do wish this problem could be eradicated altogether and i could just use the mouse like it was intended. Incidentally, this is a brand new mouse I'm currently using that is at issue. All my other Magic Mouse have also done this exact same behavior.

Hi, thanks for the reply. Yes I'm running Yosemite 10.10.3. I'm certain much of what you posted is definitely a likelihood for some of the issues. I have a lot of electronic equipment in this house, and yes, smart tv's connected to WIFI as well as other computers throughout the house. Apple of course does not mention any of this as possible issues as far as I know, the public, like myself, just assumes all will be wonderful. I know there are more like me out there if I'm having these consistent problems with all the Magic Mouses' I've owned. It really is attacking it from the SIGNAL side of things because I think that is the only issue that's going on. If it were addressed more, maybe even scientifically, maybe we could say, "well don't put it here, this can cause problems, and that TV, keep such and such a distance." Those are the types of guidelines that would be so helpful. But from what I'm seeing none of that is addressed at all (or for the most part). Anyway, I really want the wireless mouse world (specifically the Magic Mouse) to thrive. Every time I hook up a wired mouse I really feel the step back I'm taking and it's too painful! I've even went to the point, and I'll do it again if need be, of having my computer (Mac Mini) 2 inches from the Magic Mouse, that's when it operated at its very best. My only problem with that is it's somewhat impracticable, and I really don't think I should have to do that to have it work consistently. Anywho, my two cents worth.

Similar Messages

Quirky Magic Mouse Behavior

I'm having trouble with quirky behavior of a Magic Mouse that's being used with an Intel iMac. In the Mouse panel of System Preferences I have the "Two Finders" option of "Left/Right to Navigate" set on. When in a Finder window set to "list" view I frequently manage to scroll to the right by accident by having an extra finger on the surface of the mouse. I can live with that. But when I try to scroll back to the left, the Finder window often doesn't stop when the scroll bar reaches the left end, but instead switches to the enclosing folder. Is this "working as designed"? I don't see that behavior with my mid-2009 white MacBook, which has "Allow horizontal scrolling" set in the "Trackpad Gestures" section of the Trackpad panel of System Preferences.
Thanks for any insight into this seeming inconsistency.

Based on a comment in another thread I can now close this question, although it does require me to plead guilty to being grossly ignorant on one point. I was trying to use the surface of the Magic Mouse with two fingers in the same way I used two-finger scrolling with my white MacBook's track pad, not realizing that I should have been scrolling with the Magic Mouse with one finger.

Irratic magic mouse behavior: Left handed user

Hello,
I have a magic mouse that I use on the left-hand side of my MacBook Pro and experience irratic mouse behavior and unexpected jumpiness - i.e. while working on a PowerPoint presentation, the screen jump to a different slide even when I'm not touching the mouse. The screen often jumps on its own even if I'm not typing or using the magic mouse. I've tried several fixes, including:
Setting up my preferences to Ignore trackpad when mouse is present
Setting up my preferences to Scrolling without intertia
Tryinf a couple of apps (Mountain Tweeks and MagicPrefs)
I'm wondering if my continued issues have to do with the fact that I'm using the mouse on the same side that I plug in my computer power cord and speakers.
I've search extensively for a solution to this issue and have been unable to solve it. Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Hi shelleyfromely,
The article below may be able to help you with this issue.
Click on the link below to see more details and screenshots.
I've quoted some helpful highlights for you:
Troubleshooting wireless mouse and keyboard issues
Make sure Bluetooth is turned on
If the "Show Bluetooth status in the menu bar" option is not enabled in the Bluetooth System Preferences, the Bluetooth icon will not display in the menu bar. Enable this option in System Preferences, then check the status of the Bluetooth icon in the upper right menu bar. If the Bluetooth icon does not appear in the menu bar, restart your computer.
Slide the On/Off switch on the bottom of your mouse to turn it on. Note: If the battery compartment cover is not installed properly the On/Off switch may not function correctly or may be difficult to operate. Remove the battery compartment cover and carefully reinstall it.
When your mouse is on and paired, and the batteries are charged, the indicator light glows steadily.
Check preferences
From the Apple () menu, choose System Preferences, then choose Bluetooth from the View menu. The Bluetooth preferences pane will list the Bluetooth devices paired with the computer, the status of the devices (paired or connected), and whether Bluetooth power is on or not.
Click the gear icon and choose "Connect" to connect a device that is powered on.
Keyboard or mouse intermittently stops responding
Click the mouse
Click the mouse once to reconnect it with your Mac. It may take a moment for the mouse to respond.
Check the battery level of the mouse. Choose System Preferences from the Apple (), then choose Mousefrom the View menu. The battery level indicator is in the lower-left corner. Replace the batteries if they are low.
Check for signal interference
Wireless networks that operate on 2.4GHz may cause interference.
Move cordless phone base stations, microwave ovens, and other 2.4GHz electrical devices away from the Mac if you suspect interference.
Keep wireless devices within 10 meters (33 feet) of the Mac.
Avoid putting metal objects between the device and the Mac.
Mouse does not track as expected (jittery, jumpy, slow, fast).
The Apple Wireless Mouse can be used on most smooth surfaces, however if tracking issues occur try these options:
Choose System Preferences from the Apple () menu, then choose Mouse from the View menu. Set the Tracking slider to adjust how fast the pointer moves as you move the mouse.
Try using a different surface to see if the tracking improves.
Turn the mouse over and inspect the sensor window. Use compressed air to gently clean the sensor window if dust or debris is present.
If multiple Bluetooth wireless devices are in use nearby, try turning them off one at a time to see if the issue improves. Bandwidth intensive devices could affect tracking.
I hope this information helps ....
Have a great day!
- Judy

Erratic Magic Mouse (jumps accross screen precisely every second)

The title sums it up really. Every second (on the second) the cursor will jump very slightly on the screen. Probably only about 2 or 3 millimeters. It's annoying, but it's not a huge deal.
What IS a huge deal is when the mouse decides to jump the cursor to a random point on either of my two screens. Extremely annoying especially if the second screen isn't even turned on and it jumps over there.
What I've noticed is that it seems to do it more frequently when there is a higher load on the system. With a 'normal' workload (internet browsing, skype, listening to music etc) it will do this big jump approximately every minute. But when there is a high load, like when I'm trying to play a game it will happen every couple of seconds, rendering most games totally unplayable! (The number of times my character has ran off the edge of a cliff because of this is maddening).
Now here's the thing, I took my iMac and Magic Mouse to my local Apple Store and wouldn't you know it, nothing happened. It behaved itself perfectly. But they were very good and swapped my old Magic Mouse for a brand new one out of a retail package anyway. Happy, I bring it home and immediately it's doing it again exactly as before with the brand new mouse!
My iMac is the 2010 27" Core i5 version upgraded with 12gb of ram, in case any of that is relevant at all.

I don't believe this. I've just spotted this post by user Ratzelda. He says that it's an issue with having dual (or multiple) monitors connected but powered down. I hadn't noticed any change in the mouse's behaviour when using the second monitor, but out of curiosity I just switched it on and sure enough the mouse is behaving normally now!
That explains why the mouse didn't respond erratically when I took the iMac to the Apple Store, because I didn't take my second display with me.
It seems like this is a known issue, and yet no patch has been released by Apple to fix it? Having to continuously run both monitors when it's not needed seems very energy inefficient to me. What is Apple playing at?

Bizarre Magic Mouse behavior in Lion

This is a bit hard to explain, but it's driving me batty, so let's see if I can.
I have a 27" iMac from the previous generation, and the Magic Mouse it came with.
Sometimes when I'm scrolling through a web page in Safari, or about to select something else after I have finished with a web page, the middle column of the page (where most of the information is) is suddenly magnified to fill the entire window, and I can't get it to return to the original magnification.
It looks like it's the feature where you're supposed to be able to double-tap the mouse to zoom into a column, but when I try deliberately double tapping the mouse it selects a word. So when I want to invoke this feature, I can't, but I can invoke it completely by accident, when I almost never actually want it. Double tapping the mouse again does nothing at all.
Has anyone had a similar problem and know what makes it happen? I'm very confused about this .
Thanks!
David

I'm somewhat disappointed by this because I like the feature in principle, but when I try to use it it won't do anything. Very frustrating and strange.
Maybe I need to give the Magic Trackpad a try. It seems like Apple is really pushing stufff that only really works on trackpads nowadays, but at the time I got my iMac a bit over six months ago, the Magic Mouse gesture support seemed to work just as well. With the new gestures I think the trackpad might really be the way to go.
D

Discouraging magic mouse behavior in Windows

Hi,
I've got my 27" Mac running Windows XP Pro in Bootcamp mode. I love Mac's overall design, but I hate (HATE) wireless Magic Mouse bahavior:
1. The first and most awful thing is scrolling. It's too sensitive, it's unpredictable and works whenever I don't need it. The mouse scrolls when I nearly touch the surface with the middle finger, sometimes I have a feeling that I don't even touch the surface and it still scrolls. Sometimes I just left-click and it scrolls. In some programs it's not a problem, just a slight scroll and nothing bad really happens. But in some other scrolling doesn't let me do my work - Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Draw, Google Maps. And it happens 20+ times a day. I already teached myself to hold my hand like a Mantis, but it still happens.
Please make a driver with sinsitivity adjustments. So it would scroll only when I really need it. It would also be good to restrict scrolling area to the middle or to make two finger scroll only (like on MacBook Pro).
2. Right mouse click. In Corel Draw I frequently need to make a duplicate object by dragging an object and press right button while draggin. It's impossible with Magic mouse.
3. Sudden mouse freezes. Sometimes it looks like your mouse is dead and it takes up to 30 seconds to wake up. It's so unpleasant and feels like you have lost control over your roght hand and make you panic. Please icrease mouse sleep timer and make it more visually clear that your mouse is speeping and not paralyzed...
4. Battery life info - please redesign Bootcamp control panel to show keyboard and mouse battery levels and make some notifications about low level.
5. Please make the same driver for windows as you have for Mac. Or make it possible for 3rd party developers to make such a driver.
I love Magic Mouse (how it looks) and I don't want to replace it with some Logitec, but with 10$ Logitec I was 100% more efficient.

Not sure if this will make you feel better but I have the exact same problems on my mac. Specifically in Photoshop, Illustrator, Final Cut Pro (which really ***** cause sideways scroll scrubs video so I'm constantly jumping back and forth 30-60 seconds!), Motion and Color. It's AMAZINGLY frustrating. I literally cannot use it anymore.
I will admit though, it's the most accurate wireless mouse I have used.
Apple! Can you please create an option in the preference pane where we can disable scrolling in certain applications!! PLEASE!!! And possibly to disable sideways scrolling all together. These are great features but until they're perfected please give us an "opt out" option.

Magic Mouse erratic with BT Apple keyboard

I just bought a new 24" ACD, and a the wireless Apple keyboard (the small one). Immediately, I noticed my Magic mouse behavior erratic. It was lagging, stuttering, and all around a mess to deal with. I reset the PRAM/SMC (old standards), I deleted the mouse and keyboard, then paired them again, restarted. It seemed to work fine for a while, but then again it comes back. Could it be interference with the wireless keyboard? Besides the 24" ACD the only change was the wireless keyboard.
I'm working now, but tomorrow I may try turning off the keyboard and see if the mouse exhibits the same behavior. I don't think it could be because of the new display...
Bryan

It seems to only happen when I'm using the display as my main display (with my MBP lid closed). When I use the display to extend the desktop (while my 15" MBP is open), the mouse works fine. I've tested everything I could think of, and only can replicate the issue when my MBP is closed.
Anyone else have this problem?
Bryan

My unruly Magic Mouse tamed!

I have been searching for a cure for my erratic Magic Mouse for a couple weeks now without finding a cure. My problem started after my 2009 iMac died and I replaced it with an early 2011 MacBook Pro. This happened just after Christmas. I did not make the connection until this morning after trying several "solutions" which did not work. I actually thought my Magic Mouse was about to die.
What fixed it for me was unchecking every box under the Trackpad preferences. Viola! My Magic Mouse was the adorable Mouse it had always been with my iMac. Obviously the Trackpad preferences were interfering with the temperment of the Magic Mouse. I thought this worked, but when my Magic Mouse became unruly again I went to Trackpad Preferences and it had magically been filled with checks. Upon checking my Mouse Preferences, they too had been changed. The System seems to change them at will.
I have since moved the Trackpad to the Trash, logged out, and logged back in. My Magic Mouse is working like the well trained pet I had with my iMac and the boxes are checked like I want them.
The problem I have now is saving the "Trashed" Trackpad Preference Pane in a safe place for when I use my MacBook Pro without my Magic Mouse. Anyone have a good solution for this problem?

Good Morning,
Sorry to report that this morning my Magic Mouse was unruly again. Since I bought my MacBook Pro to replace my old iMac I am using it with an external monitor on my desk. I had placed the MacBook on the left side of my desk but my mousepad is on the right. I switched the Pro to the right side of my desk this morning and placed the Trackpad Preference Pane back in the System Library. The Magic Mouse seems to work fine now and my preferences did not change either. It might be that the difference in distance (3 feet vs. 1 foot) made the difference or shutting down and restarting the Mac cleared up something (likely, due to the changing preferences) but everything seems to be normal again.

Magic Mouse erratic tracking

Hello
When I'm working my palms get warm/sweaty, not dripping sweaty but enough to give off a tiny bit of moisture on the tracking surface (not visible or measurable). The result is that Magic Mouse gets a rather erratic tracking. Very annoying and makes the mouse totally useless. This occurs weather it's on the table or the pad.
Is it suppose to be like this? Is this normal behavior?
Appreciate feedback on this.

Hello a:
I have not had the behavior (or heard of it either) but I do admit that my palms appear dry all the time. There is no setting that I am aware of that would cause that behavior.
Barry

I have an iMac 1.83 ghz Intel Core Duo. The sound is suddenly intermittent, the magic mouse erratic. I'm running OS X 10.6.8. How do I correct this? Will Lion run on this machine?

I have an iMac 1.83 GHZ Intel Core Duo. The sound is suddenly intermittent, the magic mouse erratic. I'm running OS X 10.6.8. How do I correct this?
Will Lion run on this machine?

Unless you have an intel core 2 duo processor or greater, you can not run Lion
General requirements-Lion
Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
2GB of memory
OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
7GB of available space

My magic mouse behaves erratically with intermittent problems - slows down, right click doesn't work, disconnects for a few seconds then reconnects. Anyone suggest what I could do to fix this?

My magic mouse behaves erratically with intermittent problems - slows down, right click doesn't work, disconnects for a few seconds then reconnects. Anyone suggest what I could do to fix this?

I just figured out the print quality issue for my wife with her new iMac and new printer.
She replaced both at once and she couldn't understand why her Artisan 730 was lower quality then her Epson R280 when they had the same specs.
Turns out the newer printer had the option to connect via wifi which we used during setup.
The driver options are completely different depending on how you connect.
Once I connected via USB the correct options were available and the print quality was better.
Looking at the R2400 it dies not have wifi, but while researching the problem for my wife someone esle was having an issue updating to the latest printer driver.
If you go into the print utility from the Printer and Scanner system preference and under the general tab you should have driver 5.5.
One user had to delete the old printer driver before Software Update loaded the newer printer driver.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/15947486#15947486
On my MacBook Pro (w Snow Leopard) I always had to reconnect my wifi at home when it woke up. I upgraded my router from an old Netgear to a newer N D-Link and stopped having to do that.
I would be surprised you would have that problem with an Airport Extreme, you might check to see if there is a firmware update for it.

Magic Mouse very erratic in mapping apps

Hi all, I have found Magic Mouse to be very erratic in mapping apps and at map web sites online. I think this is an over sinsitivity of the touch area. Usually these map apps and sites let you zoom in and out with your scroll wheel. What I am finding, when I click the map to pan, the map will zoom in and out rappedly. I imagine this is because of the pressure I am using to keep it clicked in to grab the map. And that a slight change force at the finger tip makes the thing assume I am scrolling.
One thing I do with touch pads is tell them to ignore accedental commands. The Magic Mouse control pannel does not have this sensitivity ability.
Not sure if there is anything that can be done about this. I may utilize a track-ball that I have when in these apps in the future.

I discovered this.
By keeping three (3) fingers on the mouse (Magic Mouse), mapping software will ignore scrolling input.
This technique stops the erradic scrolling and zooming of the map.

Magic mouse erratic mayhem!

My magic mouse is posssesed! it seems to be playing back a sped up record of mouse moves or has a virus. I searched and tried: restart, Pram reset, remove the com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.mouse then restart. Tried a USB mouse same erratic result!. replaced batteries.
Restart with all USB unplugged and magic mouse turned off and bluetooth off, and tried the USB cord mouse. Seems to be working on USB cord mouse, retried the bluetooth magic mouse and get same erratic result, no control at all, but USB cable mouse works fine.
Cannot restore the magic mouse so I have it off and using a corded mouse.
27" iMac mid 2011 2.7ghz intelcorei5 12Gb ram.
Thank you for your help

Sounds like a problem with the Magic Mouse. You'll need to contact Apple about that. If it's within the warranty period and the mouse doesn't have any evidence of abuse, they should replace it for you.

Magic Mouse barely/erratically tracks on any surface..

erratically tracks on any mouse pad, bu tracks perfectly on a magazine or on a desktop...id say "Use it on desktop..duh" - but its scuffing the **** out of the finish on my desk so now what?
I love this thing but it refuses to work on any standard mouse pad (tried 3). Faulty sensor?

Hello s:
Actually my magic mouse works best on a mouse pad.
Try trashing a preference file (com.apple.bluetooth.plist) and restarting (probably not the problem). If that does not help, take it to an Apple store (test on their systems) or call Applecare for a replacement.
Barry

Magic Mouse erratic in Photoshop

The magic mouse is acting crazy in Photoshop. I click and once my hand is off, the picture either minimizes to a dot or maximizes to gigantic pixelated size. So, for Photoshop I use a Microsoft Mouse and I have no problems.
I can't figure out why the MM is behaving like that. I doesn't happen in any other application, but then the Microsoft Intellimouse works perfectly.
Roxy

Personally, and this is just my opinion and advice being stated here, but depending how much you use Photoshop and what you use Photoshop for, I would forget using Apple's Bluetooth wireless mice (and, perhaps, forget their wireless trackpad, although I have been told its tracking is much better than the wireless Magic Or Mighty Mouse) and stick to using a third party wired mouse or wired trackpad or even older IR remote wireless mice or trackpads as most IR wireless input devices track better and have better resolution.
I found Apple's Magic Mouse frustrating and terrible with all but more expensive higher grade batteries designed for high drain electronic devices.
And sometimes would not pair with my IMac or work erratically, too!
I return it within 14 days. I like the way it looked, but not how it worked.
I used to use IR wireless Microsoft and Logitech mice that tracked and worked real well.
I just, recently,purchase the Mac version of the Logitech Bluetooth Wireless trackpad and so far this works excellent with normal computer use, but haven't really tested using this for all my design and image editing apps, as yet.
I use a wired USB Wacom Intuous 3 drawing tablet with 3 brush pens and the high resolution mouse for all of my design apps.
Consider sticking to a wired input device or trying another third party input device.

Erratic magic mouse behavior

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for