Dana Spiegel

Q: Magic Mouse keeps disconnecting from bluetooth

My magic mouse (with all updates properly installed and with USB Overdrive properly uninstalled) has a problem connecting and disconnecting from the computer. When I use the mouse for a few minutes, it will all of a sudden be non-responsive, and within a couple of seconds the "Connection Lost" message appears on the screen. If I wait another minute, and click the mouse button a few times, the mouse will reconnect. This happens periodically as I am using the computer.

In the console logs, I get these messages:

10/31/09 6:06:20 PM kernel [0eb48f00][AppleMultitouchDevice::willTerminate] entered
10/31/09 6:06:20 PM kernel [0eb48f00][AppleMultitouchDevice::stop] entered
10/31/09 6:06:24 PM kernel [0ffa3600][BNBMouseDevice::init][30] init is complete
10/31/09 6:06:24 PM kernel [0ffa3600][BNBMouseDevice::handleStart][30] Done
10/31/09 6:06:24 PM kernel [08701100][AppleMultitouchHIDEventDriver::start] entered
10/31/09 6:06:24 PM kernel [09f11680][AppleMultitouchDevice::start] entered

The first message is when the mouse disconnects, and the rest are when it reconnects.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Unibody MacBook Pro (CTO 2.8Ghz, 4GB RAM), Mac OS X (10.6.1)

Posted on Oct 31, 2009 3:14 PM

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Q: Magic Mouse keeps disconnecting from bluetooth

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  • by Mactoyz,

    Mactoyz Mactoyz Jan 4, 2013 11:39 AM in response to Dana Spiegel
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Jan 4, 2013 11:39 AM in response to Dana Spiegel

    I fixed this problem moths ago with no reoccurrence. I trashed the Bluetooth prefs and reset the PRAM. I just don't think the battery problem is real.

  • by ScapMac,

    ScapMac ScapMac Jan 4, 2013 11:45 AM in response to WeatherForecast
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 4, 2013 11:45 AM in response to WeatherForecast

    Buy or don't buy; have you tried the "piece of paper" solution?  My Magic Mouse developed this problem about a year into its life and I tried the various suggestions, including cleaning the contacts.  What solved the problem for me (said problem has never returned) was cutting one piece of  note paper (3.5" x 1.75") and folding it to fit.  After folding, I ended up with four thicknesses of paper between the two batteries and two thicknesses of paper between the batteries and the cover. 

  • by 3xdamages,

    3xdamages 3xdamages Jan 13, 2013 10:05 AM in response to Dana Spiegel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 13, 2013 10:05 AM in response to Dana Spiegel

    Inspecting the internal contacts for the positive battery connections, I saw a lot of surface gunk.  Scraped it off with a sharp, then swabbed with simple green and isopropyl alchohol. Fingers crossed.   

  • by jonnyrapp,

    jonnyrapp jonnyrapp Jan 23, 2013 5:36 AM in response to Dana Spiegel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 23, 2013 5:36 AM in response to Dana Spiegel

    Hi, I had the same problem, I cleaned the battery area which was quite gunky, put in new batteries, each time the mouse would connect then disconnect, connect again etc.. - in the end what fixed it for me was going to Bluetooth Preferences and removing the mouse, then adding it again.

  • by mike08b,

    mike08b mike08b Jan 25, 2013 10:41 AM in response to Dana Spiegel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 25, 2013 10:41 AM in response to Dana Spiegel

    Had the same problem...ended up being the batteries.  I was using cheaper battiers.  When I felt the ends of the batteries, there was a weird texture on them.  I also noticed there was space in between the two batteries.  I put in Energizer batteries, which had no texture on the ends, and they didn't create any space in between.  I think the cheaper batteries I was using were a bit smaller and lower quality.  So maybe check the brand of batteries you are using.

  • by jack png,

    jack png jack png Jan 28, 2013 8:33 AM in response to Dana Spiegel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 28, 2013 8:33 AM in response to Dana Spiegel

    Hi All, i have just started using an apple magic mouse. It is a fantastic device to be honest. The scrolling function is the best ever, however I too experience what everyone here is talking about. One of my collegue have been using it for a much longer time and he had the same experience. What he did was, he bend the battery cover slight inwards so that the space between the battery cover and the 2 batteries are slight less.

    He suspect that the disconnection is due to this problem. I did what he mentioned and I had less disconnection but I was not satisfied.  I started reading all the forum regards to this and finally I tried something. I cut two pieces of thin cards, about 230gsm, slightly smaller then the battery cover. Place it on top of the two batteries before closing the cover. Now it is almost well fit, I mean the cover does close nicely with a click on the catch. What I am trying to do here is to ensure that there is no gap between the battery cover and the two batteries. In this way the batteries will not move and get disconnected. After 16 hours I had one disconnection. Hope this info is useful to apple and those who still hope to continue using the Magic mouse. Good luck.

  • by Paul Cordingley,

    Paul Cordingley Paul Cordingley Feb 16, 2013 7:14 PM in response to Nick Radonic
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 16, 2013 7:14 PM in response to Nick Radonic

    I can't thank you enough. It all makes sense now - we switched to a different battery brand recently(ish) and this intermittent disconnection business has been very frustrating and very difficult to eve begin trouble-shooting with all the Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and you-name-it we have in the house.

     

    Tried aluminium foil on the +ve connections, and so far it has eliminated the problem completely.

     

    This has even cured my random keyboard disconnections which happened around the same time, along with random keyboard non-functioning whilst still connected. This morning whilst doing some work I had an unusual work-flow which involved some rapid full screen-length travel of the mouse, and it was really playing up. It must have been the constant Magic Mouse/iMac handshaking causing the keyboard to temporarily lose its connection. Everything is back to working tightly and solidly now. I have put the mouse and keyboard through some severe physical stress-testing to try and "break" the connection, and I just can't now. Woohoo!

     

    I can live with this - a reliably working Bluetooth mouse and keyboard is worth some minor fiddling for a few seconds when I have to replace the batteries in the mouse.

  • by DB1@mac,

    DB1@mac DB1@mac Feb 17, 2013 8:01 AM in response to mike08b
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 17, 2013 8:01 AM in response to mike08b

    I have replied before to say removing the cover helped the mouse stay connected. This is still largely the case and it is certainly much better than before, but as others report, the dimensions of the batteries are critical, because of the poor design of the mouse battery box. Even Energiser batteries do not work for me.

     

    What I do now is trip the plastic covering from the battery end so that the complete positive end of the battery is naked metal. This small extra clearance allows the batteries to fit and make connection.

  • by Woshy,

    Woshy Woshy Mar 11, 2013 7:44 AM in response to melissamc26
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mar 11, 2013 7:44 AM in response to melissamc26

    I have started using the eveready batterires also and the problem has just started.

     

    i have found that putting paper on the upper side of the mouse in the battery compartment it has resolved the issue.  when these batteries have runout i will be using energizer again for sure.

     

    Woshy

  • by muzboz,

    muzboz muzboz Mar 14, 2013 4:26 AM in response to Dana Spiegel
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 14, 2013 4:26 AM in response to Dana Spiegel

    I was getting the disconnect problem every time I dropped the mouse down onto the table when repositioning it.

     

    Bad design.  Happens the same sometimes on my older Mighty Mouse as well as this Magic Mouse.

     

    I tried putting some padding in the battery compartment, and thought that might stop them disconnecting momentarily when "jerking" the mouse.  But it was still disconnecting regularly.

     

    I've been using Eveready Heavy Duty batteries (red ones), and so I decided to grab some rechargables, and measured them against the red Eveready battery, and noticed the rechargable ones I have were about 1 millimetre longer.  So I popped them in, and I can now drop my Magic Mouse a few times down onto the table, and no disconnect.  (I did also leave the padding in there as well (a small piece of folded nose-tissue).

     

    A world of difference.  No disconnects!

     

    Try to find batteries that are a little longer, and it's enough for the spring loaded battery mechanism to now hold tight!

     

    Rock.

     

    - Muzboz

     

    (Check out my game Rad Skater Apocalypse for iPhone). 

  • by Dylanophile,

    Dylanophile Dylanophile Mar 28, 2013 6:07 AM in response to Paul Cordingley
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 28, 2013 6:07 AM in response to Paul Cordingley

    Is it really acceptable to have to fiddle with batteries, peel plastic off, add bits of aluminium, generally shake the thing about praying it will reconnect? Your posts have been very instructive, thanks BUT....come on Apple

     

    It's a DESIGN FAULT.

     

    If it was a car they would recall and replace ...

     

    Hasn't anyone explored this yet? Has Apple commented at all...?

     

    I don't know if I can go on with this daily bout of disconnection, and  fiddling around with the cover, the batteries, and bits of tissue paper.....

  • by mpayne,

    mpayne mpayne Mar 28, 2013 7:10 AM in response to Dylanophile
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 28, 2013 7:10 AM in response to Dylanophile

    It's a fault, but the mouse is practically extinct. Some of us prefer this old mouse, so its not a big deal.

     

    Since I posted I have found that there are actually only a few brands that don't fit. Most of the cheap bootleg batteries do fit. It's a matter of finding out which don't fit and staying away from them. Cheap batteries don't last as long but when you get a 30 pack for 4 USD, it is fine for my budget.

     

    If any of you are still using tissue, just change brands and see if it sticks.

     

    As an aside I do feel horrible whenever I'm using and dispensing batteries, we need to move away from these things.

  • by WeatherForecast,

    WeatherForecast WeatherForecast Mar 28, 2013 8:28 AM in response to mpayne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 28, 2013 8:28 AM in response to mpayne

    I haven't commented in a while because I wanted to be able to talk about my experiences over a longer period of time. I have found that resetting the PRAM as is described early in this thread temporarily fixes the disconnect issue for me. When the mouse starts disconnecting at an alarming rate, this reset gives me a break for at least a month.

     

    Also, if you're concerned about throwing out dead batteries, I can attest that Energizer rechargable batteries work in mine (they are silver batteries with green labeling). As is the case with this mouse, YMMV.

  • by valfromottawa,

    valfromottawa valfromottawa Mar 28, 2013 8:47 AM in response to WeatherForecast
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Mar 28, 2013 8:47 AM in response to WeatherForecast

    I used to have a problem and tried some of the suggestions ( see earlier posts). But I now simply buy good quality batteries, and this solved the issue (Energizer or Duracell) . Almost every time I use any other, I have a problem of disconnecting. I have had the same mouse for 3 years, and have not had any other problems. I also have a track pad, with no problems. I wish people would just check if a good battery would solve this problem! 

  • by Dylanophile,

    Dylanophile Dylanophile Mar 28, 2013 10:48 AM in response to valfromottawa
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 28, 2013 10:48 AM in response to valfromottawa

    Pleased to hear you are OK

     

    I have changed batteries three times today:

     

    Duracell re-chargeable - which I peeled plastic off

    Energiser

    Duracell non-re-chargeable

     

    I've tried silver paper at both +and - ends

    I can feel them rattling away inside, the backplate is quite 'loose'

    And nothing seems to work for any length of time, and that's just today !.

     

    My mouse is less than a year old, though it was a re-furbished one...

     

    I just think it is  totally unacceptable. Will contact Apple Uk and see if they are moved.......

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