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Apollo77 Author

Level 1

8 points

Bluetooth Apple Magic Mouse jumps and moves erraticlly on screen

Hello,

I am having problems with my Magic Mouse (cursor, pointer) jumping around on my screen when i attempt to use it. I checked preferences and the connection is fine. Has anyone else experienced this? And if so how do we remedy this annoying problem?

iMac 27" 3.06Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on May 30, 2010 1:04 PM

Top-ranking reply

Andreas Sch.

Level 1

4 points

Posted on May 30, 2017 11:57 PM

Had the same issue, and it turned out to be to much power drain on the USB port!

I had two external 3,5" hard drives connected to a USB hub without power supply => mouse is laggy and jumping.

Plugged them in a USB hub with external power supply => mouse moves smooth again.

Thanks for your tipp!

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101 replies

furrytoes

Level 2

235 points

Feb 19, 2011 2:04 AM in response to DJTrey

Yes it probably happens sporadically depending on the position of other cords.
Mine didn't start happening until I fiddled with the position of the 2nd monitor's DVI cable - which I recently decided to wind through the hole in the back of the iMac.
Only then did I get the mouse jittering issue - presumably because whatever is causing the problem was now close enough to cause interference.

pamparis

Level 1

19 points

Mar 9, 2011 10:32 PM in response to Apollo77

Wendine is right, at least in my case. Problem caused by rolling off edge of mouse pad. (I have to use a pad because my desk has an uneven wood surface.)
Solution: Turn mouse off, breathe, turn mouse on, use Bluetooth icon upper right of screen to reconnect mouse.

w.j.m.

Level 1

0 points

Mar 14, 2011 4:30 PM in response to furrytoes

Had the exact same jumping cursor (really not ideal when working in FCP) problem with my Magic Mouse on my 27" imac i7. Sure enough, I wrapped some foil around the mini display - DVI adaptor running behind my imac, poof! . . . problem disappeared! A total fix. Now if Mac could come up with a real fix so my workstation doesn't look like a grade seven science project I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for posting the picture furrytoes, otherwise I'd have had no idea what I was doing.

Turbomac

Level 1

10 points

Mar 26, 2011 7:19 PM in response to w.j.m.

Well this has got to be one of the strangest fixes I have seen. Got my 27" iMac 2 weeks ago and the jumping Magic Mouse cursor and the delayed Magic Trackpad has been driving me crazy. But sure enough, turned on the second monitor and everything goes away. I even tested a couple of times because I couldn't believe my eyes.

I'm using a 3rd party Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter. Is anyone seeing this with an Apple adapter or are all of these issues with 3rd party ones?

Paul195

Level 1

4 points

Apr 3, 2011 2:09 PM in response to Turbomac

I have been having this issue too. I am using the second screen for

A) Secondary display for iMac
B) Display for PC

I am currently alternating between the two functions above using the input selector button on the external display.

In my case the erratic mouse problem exists:

If the screen is off
If the screen is on input from PC

The problem disapears when I select the input from the iMac, or I disconnect the MDP adapter totally. The MDP adapter is a third party product.

A fix? Or some acknowledement of this issue would be nice...from Apple or anybody.

Paul195

Aneusomy

Level 1

5 points

Apr 3, 2011 11:05 PM in response to Paul195

Same thing here--

iMac 27" 2010 i7; erratic/jumpy Magic mouse and trackpad when the external monitor is connected (and OFF); problem resolves if external monitor disconnected from port, or turned ON.

I have two of the same MDP adapters, both Apple brand, and they both have the same problem. I will try the tin foil...

Apr 4, 2011 5:04 AM in response to Apollo77

i just tried a suggestion made in this thread which was to turn off wi-fi my mouse immediately started performing as it should.
I am fortunate I have a desktop computer next to it (which incidentally doesn't have this problem) which i could turn on internet sharing and use ethernet for my internet.
This proves that the problem is definitely an issue related to conflict between bt and wifi. APPLE YOU NEED TO FIX THE PROBLEM AND HOW TO **** DO YOU LET A BUG OCCUR WITH USING TOTALLY YOUR OWN PRODUCTS ON AN EXTREMELY BASIC FUNDAMENTAL SUCH AS MOUSE MOVEMENT. NOT GOOD ENOUGH. FIX THIS IMMEDIATELY.

Apr 6, 2011 3:49 AM in response to furrytoes

Just wanted to confirm that the foil around the second monitor's DVI cable has dramatically improved the jumping mouse problem. It has gone from about 4-5 jumps an hour to maybe a couple of times a day. I could probably improve that if I move the cables around a bit, but I can live with it now. Thanks to those who came up with the solution.

BTW, I didn't have have an DVI-MiniDVI block adapter, it was an all-in-one cable.

RotelTHX

Level 1

0 points

Apr 8, 2011 6:30 AM in response to Apollo77

The solution that worked for me (HD 5770, Mac Pro) was to connect the second monitor via an ACTIVE single link MDP to DVI adapter. Tried before with a passive one and had my mouse pointer jumping. You can get AMD certified adapters for Eyefinity ( http://support.amd.com/us/eyefinity/Pages/eyefinity-dongles.aspx) - those are all active ones. The dongles sold by Apple are passive adapters except for the really expensive dual link adapter.

Just buy a 3rd party ACTIVE adapter (e.g. the Accell B087B-006B) and everything will go back to normal.

Now my mouse is smooth again with dual display setup!

Jul 5, 2011 9:54 AM in response to Apollo77

The fix for me was to unplug all of the USB connections and magically the cursor stopped jumping around. I tried to change the batteries also but it didn't help. I also tried to restart several times but it didn't help. As soon as I unplugged the USB cords it stopped.

Dr Sin

Level 1

0 points

Jul 28, 2011 2:17 AM in response to Apollo77

My first post on support forums!

I experienced the same problem as many of you with my magic mouse behaving erratic.

After som browsing I found a tip and changed the chanel on my WiFi-router and since I haven't experienced any problems with my bluetooth magic mouse! *Knock on wood*

Hope this helps!

Sep 14, 2011 3:10 PM in response to Gemini_74

Gemini_74 wrote:

The fix for me was to unplug all of the USB connections and magically the cursor stopped jumping around. I tried to change the batteries also but it didn't help. I also tried to restart several times but it didn't help. As soon as I unplugged the USB cords it stopped.

That is strange. It works for me too!!?

Which is a problem because my keyboard is USB! 😟

Sep 27, 2011 8:47 AM in response to Apollo77

I began having this problem after turning on the bluetooth adapter under VMWare Fusion. I have reset my PRAM and the problem seems to have stopped and I am currently running another monitor using 3rd party DVI to MDP on a 15" 2.8Ghz i7 Macbook Pro.

Oct 29, 2011 5:14 AM in response to david crooke

I also turned off my wifi and the problem has completey gone. Track pad works flawlessly. I do not need the wireless as the macpro is connected to my home network, but this does seem a little lame

Nov 10, 2011 1:51 AM in response to Apollo77

I have a big jumping problem when I have WiFi (AirPort) turned on in the office, but no such problem at home.

Maybe the problem depends on the WiFi channel used? I don't know how to check the channel number in the office - MacOS doesn't seem to provide such an information in network parameters.

Bluetooth Apple Magic Mouse jumps and moves erraticlly on screen