Magic Mouse Loses Connection

I also started to have this intermittent mouse connection. Changed batteries, brand of battery, etc.
I noticed that sometimes with the slightest of bangs the connectivity would go away.

After reading many postings I decided the hig-tech approach and slid a piece of paper between the batteries and the another between the batteries and the lid.
Now I can go into mouse-frenzy and no disconnects.
It's sad and unexpected from Mac.

The suggested battery "fixes" (buffing the contacts, insulating with paper, etc.) might work for some, but I think the real issue is with Bluetooth, since the Magic Trackpad also has this problem.

For me, the best solution would be a wired Magic Mouse and/or Trackpad from Apple.

The "magic" would be far more impressive if it worked reliably.

Hi Folks,

I've finally got rid of this annoying problem. The solution is simple. Click the Bluetooth icon at the menu bar and click "Open bluetooth preferences..." uncheck the "Discoverable" option. This worked to me. You don't need this function available all the time. When you need to be discoverable by another device you check this option again. .. then uncheck again.

I hope this works to you too.

My magic mouse was regularly disconnecting, and I was also experiencing erratic, non-responsive lags across the screen on a frequent basis too. My trackpad also became erratic and sluggish, seemingly at random.

I believe the problem is caused by interference from wi-fi signals. By moving my wi-fi router (in my case a Time Capsule) to the other side of my desk, away from the two bluetooth devices, all my disocnnections and erratic behaviours have stopped. Mouse and trackpad are working perfectly again. I began to suspect this was the problem becuase I was not experiencing disconnects until someone else was sharing the network (my iMac is wired to the router). As soon as the wi-fi was in use, I started geting these problems. By moving the router, they are solved.

I have the same issues with my 2004 G5 Dual 2Ghz with Internal Bluetooth card and external BT Antenna. Has anyone tried either the Bluetooth Antenna Extenders or any of the 2.4Ghz Wifi Range Boosters?

I'm curious as to whether they actually work.

Thanks! Hope an answer is found eventually.

I too had a serious case of the disconnects and it was getting worse - but I think I've fixed it.

Now this may seem rather low tech, but I started by looking at the green light when it disconnected, and it appeared to me that it was going out, and this seemed to me like a power loss type scenario.

So, I opened the battery compartment, and I happened to notice that the one battery was in a slightly different position to the other. One of the sprung negative contacts appeared to be longer than the other. However, on removing the batteries, I realised that that wasn't the case. At the positive ends, the small round battery terminals fit into two small round holes. Inside these holes are the positive contacts. However, one of them (the right one) was set much deeper into the hole than the other. Consequently, the shoulder of the right hand battery was fouling the casing before the battery had made good contact. Thinking this might be the issue, I fashioned a small piece of metal and inserted it into the right hand hole, thus providing a better contact for the battery.

I put the batteries back in, and it hasn't dropped out since.

Job done?

Take a look at yours - it might be the same problem - it might not!

Good luck.

S

I've posted previoys times on this issue.

Last "resolution" was that my local Apple Store replaced my original MM with a new one. Needless to say, same problem. I had also been running my Apple wireless trackpad, but turned it off sensing that there were too many BT devices for the processor to handle.

It COULD be that the BT antennae buit inti to the machibes may not be inan optimum position to receive a consisten signal. That partis pure conjecture onmy part.

The battery workaround of inserting a card tight enough to prees the batteries against the casing does seem to have solved the problem of the blinking green light.I get a constant "going and g;owing on the lED now.

It then occurred to me that there mightbe a problem in the optical eye, being very sensitive as it gets dragged around a dust-laden world. I now make it a practice to regularly give the opto-eye a little wioe-off using an eyeglass cleaning cloth, just to make sure any debris that might be built-up on the lens be removed.

In any event, ***, and I'll see if i maintain consistent perormance. The weakest link in the chain of any complex device is usually something stupid like this issue .. a mouse for goshsakes can reaaly ruin your day ... especially if you're editing video and need absolute line-up and repeatable rliable performance.

I had this problem a lot. What I found out is that the batteries were not extremely tight in the battery compartment and that they would wiggle around, especially when bumped or moved quickly, or even just from plain old gravity losing power and then causing brief connectivity loss.

I resolved it by folding a piece of paper a few times and putting it between the batteries and the battery door so that it couldn't move around in the compartment. Haven't had the problem again since.

I got my 27" iMac in January 2012 and after only 2 weeks, my bluetooth mouse that came with the unit lost connection and after a few seconds it would get that Connection message and as the hours and days went by, it got more frequent...

So, just from experience with Microsoft wireless mouses, I decided to change out the two AA batteries and it solved the problem...well for a few weeks anyway...then the problem started up agan...changed the batteries again and got a few more weeks of use without Connection Lost msg showing up...

Anyway, to make a long story short...I found that the batteries that I was using, "RAYOVAC Alkaline", although they were purchased in January 2012 in one of those multiple packs with like 30-40 batteries in it and are cheaper than other name brands and have a DEC 2018 expiration date on them, seem to be the problem...

I put in a set of "Homelife" el-cheapo brand sold at my local supermarket and they worked fine for the last 2 months or so...

It is not the brand of the batteries but probably the time that the batteries were on the shelf and the location where they were stored prior to purchase...like in a hot place or something...

Yeah...we have put humans on the moon and advanced so far in many, many technologies but for the most part, batteries isn't one of them...once they can tackle that problem...electric vehicles and iMac Bluetooth mouses will finally be 21st century...lol...

I've had this issue too and after reading all the BlueTooth stuff online I decided to turn off the BlueTooth function on my iPhone while at home to see if it resolved the conflict. So far so good, I have have no iMac mouse outages today.

I had a simiar issue a month or so ago with the wireless modem dropping out due to conflict with my cordless (landline) phone radio signal. That was resolved by changing the channel on the modem. Again, so far so good.

Hope this helps.

These responses ar all very interesting (especially the RF-related reports), but when my bluetooth goes south, it takes everything down: mouse, trackpad, keyboard and hangs up the printer ("printer connection lost"). This causes a lot of damaged photo paper if a print is even partially started, and if I haven't saved something, that's lost too!

So what can affect the iMac's Bluetooth function? I doubt that it is a frequency issue or it might only affect one of the three devices (do they operate on different frequencies, or just different ID codes)? Is there a known risk that interrupts the iMac's bluetooth's processing?

Personally, as I may have mentioned before, I don't have many serious connectivity issues with my trackpad or keyboard. Well, sometimes the keyboard seems to not work for a few seconds, but I don't get the "Connection Lost" sign on the computer.

My money is on this being a MMouse issue. After both the low-tech and high-tech fixes, the mouse seems to be working for longer stretches without connectivity issues, but it still goes out from time to time.

Hmm, my Bluetooth idea worked for a day and then didn't, so that must have been a coincidence. The guy at the store suggested using different batteries so I am now using Energizer AA Alkaline batteries, which he recommended (and they were on special) and again so far so good.

Yeah, same thing here...after I put in some newly purchased batteries in my iMac Bluetooth Mouse and it is good now with no disconnect issues...

Along the same lines, I also noticed that the iMac Bluetooth Keyboard, uses a lot of current on the batteries and it also has issues with batteries that may have been on the shelf longer than desireable...

I hooked up a New USB wired iMac Keyboard that I had lying around, in place of the wireless one and so I don't have anymore keyboard issues...

I am not saying that some people are not experiencing Bluetooth problems but I would check the batteries first...the iMac Bluetooth Mouse is no different from lets say a Microsoft Wireless Mouse, which also dies after a few months and needs a set of fresh batteries...

I guess the keep-alive current drain is higher than one would desire...

I didn't read this whole thread but I was suprised when I ended up stumbling across my own solution so thought I would share it:

I had the same thing happen as many people here: Magic mouse was working fine, until I changed batteries. Same thing happend with other staff in the office as they changed their batteries.

And here is what I found!!:

The new batteries we had bought where Eveready and where 1-2mm shorter than the old batteries which where Energizers. The new shorter batteries where not pushing up into the contacts at the top ➕ enough to make a good contact.

We purchased new Energizers (1-2mm longer), and all the Magic Mice started working again!!!

Note: Aldi batteries are also the correct size and work fine.

Hope it works for you!

Cheers.