Magic Mouse lag issue.. new insight

A quick update to the jumpy mouse saga:

After a year of problems with a jumpy mouse (see videos below) *I purchased a Magic Mouse to see if the Magic Mouse would solve the jumpiness issue. It did but the tracking speed was very slow. Therefore, I installed MouseZoom to increase the tracking speed. After installing MouseZoom I started noticing the jumpy mouse problems again.*

_*This finding is very interesting!*_

_*It implies that the faster the mouse movement the more likely one is to see an erratic mouse with the pointer making unrequested jumps around the screen.*_

My hypothesis is that the operating system or processor is not allocating enough resources to the mouse if the tracking speed is set to a high level.

_*The "jumpy mouse" problem seems to be far worse when the hard disk is running - either copying or downloading a large file*_. Some users are reporting that watching a high resolution flash video will also cause the mouse to skip and jump.

I have tried three routers (two linksys, one Airport Extreme, three bluetooth mice, unplugging all peripherals still the same result.

I am certain the problem is software related because the same exact mice work perfectly in Bootcamp 2.1 and Bootcamp 3.0 in Windows XP SP3.


_*Youtube now has two videos showing the problem*._ You can view the videos here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxLY3-pH-rs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBzisliiVpg


If you are suffering from similar problems may I suggest three actions:

* Use the Quicktime X screen recording function to record a video of the problem.


* Post the video to YouTube.


* Contact Apple Care and share your video problem description with them.


* Send a note referencing the video and description to www.apple.com/feedback


Category: Mac OSX Feedback
Feedback Type: Bug Report
Feedback Area: Peripheral/Device Support


I will update this video to let you know if the problem has been solved. I am hopeful that Apple will be able to find the source of the problem and solve it quickly. I really like my Mac and I can hardly wait for the problem to be resolved.

Here is hoping that 10.63 will resolve this issue once and for all!

I had this same problem and I could not work out what was going on. After reading these discussions I noted that it only occurred during wifi usage.

I had just bought a replacement TimeCapsule and that is when I first noticed the problem. The only thing that I could think I had set up differently between the old TimeCapsule and the new one was possibly the wifi Channel.

So I went into Airport Utility and changed the 5GHz Channel to the highest one I could and I have had no problems for the last 2 days. It appears that 5GHz networks and bluetooth may interfere…

Are you guys also using 5GHz networks?
Does changing the channel help?

I am not using 5ghz wireless internet. Thanks for trying - maybe this tip will help someone else?

I personally think this jumpy mouse issue is an operating system problem - at least for myself and several others. I have no problems with the exact same mouse in Bootcamp 2.1 or Bootcamp 3 running Windows XP SP3.

I would think if interference is the issue then the problem should exist in Bootcamp as well as in OSX 10.56-10.62.

I just add a USB Bluetooth adapter on my Macpro09, Magic mouse back to life, no more lagging.

I also experience brief periods of cursor lag.

My Magic Mouse is about 20cm from the bottom right of my iMac screen.

I have AirPort disabled, because I have a wired ethernet connection.

So WiFi may be one cause, but it can't be the only one.

I suspect it could be related to CPU or HD load.

I am having exactly the same problem. Additionally I am having the problem with a USB Logitech Mouse too. And its only when it is backing up to the Time Capsule. The mouse is so bad I cant use the system while it is backing up.

Switching to 5Ghz band worked for me. No more lag now.

My time capsule wireless is disabled and we are connecting through ethernet.

My 2 week old Magic Mouse just started doing this today on my aliminium unibody 2.4gHz MacBook Pro.

Was fine until this evening and what's the only thing that's changed? I just installed a La Fonera+ which creates a public Fon Spot (WiFi hotspot) which is sitting on UK/European WiFi channel 11 (b/g). Assuming it's a higher power one to create a larger signal for a public spot.

Therefore I can safely say there's some kind of interference with the La Fonera+ wifi signal and the bluetooth between the MacBook Pro & Magic Mouse. A bit sucky though as my Magic Mouse is now useless when I'm downstairs.

Hrm. Just done a little more poking around using WiFiFoFum on the iPhone. When I'm near the router downstairs I get an RSSI of -25(ish) reported and when using Vuze to stream video via WiFi to my La Fonera+ which then feeds my PS3 via ethernet I get stuttery Magic Mouse use.

When in the same place and not streaming video the Magic Mouse isn't stuttery. So it's deffo WiFi related. At the moment I've got an RSSI of -50(ish) upstairs and the magic mouse is fine. Magic Mouse is fine when streaming video via Vuze on the same methods up here.

<boggle> Any ideas?

Same problem here, but the timing of some things that happened makes me wonder if it's not caused by something else at least in my case. I bought Magic Mouse for work and brought it home. Magic Mouse works fine. But now Mighty Mouse at home is acting crazy. When I go to System Preferences>Mouse>Options, it cannot find Mighty Mouse. MIghty Mouse works, but can't seem to track. It clicks fine, but is slow on the track, and inconsistent. I've moved the tracking lever around and it doesn't matter.

I had the same problem with major interference with my magic mouse and when the time capsule would start it's cycle of backing up. Drove me crazy, however I found this really helpful link about changing your time capsule's radio frequency to 802.11n only (5ghz) which will not interfere with your bluetooth's frequency of 2.4 or in essence your Magic mouse. You can find the link here...

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/03/31/exploringtime_capsule_wifi_802_11n_and_the_5ghzband.html

This totally worked for me. I just switched my frequency to 5 ghz and i get no more lag on my magic mouse. Now for those who don't have a TC and have a regular wireless modem, so long as you have the ability to change your frequency to 5ghz there should be no problem. Some of the older modem's only have one frequency. I really hope this helps and please let me know if you have had any issues.

Newer laptops work fine too in regards to finding the frequency for wireless connectivity. Not sure with apple tv though, i'll have to try it out.

aleX

I've been having the same issue with MM lag, when using my wireless network and transferring or downloading at highspeeds. seems like the wireless is creating interference for my magic mouse.

Here's how i fixed it:

shut down the computer

hold down Shift-Control-Option, and press the power button ONCE. (don't start the computer, just quick press the power button).

let go of keypresses and start computer again.

all my lag is gone. seems to reset some kind of power management features on the computer, and strengthens the bluetooth signal.

my magic mouse now seems fairly responsive during networks transfers, or high speed downloading - whereas before it was unusable.

my computer is a Macbook Pro 2009 - 2.8Ghz, 15"

-steve

thanks a lot man 😀

it worked for me 🙂

I rewired my bluetooth and my airport per instructions here:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=9723378#post9723378

It is early but it seems to have worked very well.