Bluetooth mouse with ipad Air 2 - connected but no cursor visible

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Bluetooth mouse with ipad Air 2 - connected but no cursor visible

I am trying to use a bluetooth mouse with my iPad Ai 2 (which by all accounts, should be simple). I can connect the mouse to the IPad using bluetooth And the iPad recignises that the mouse is connected (it shows up in bluetooth devises and in the accessibility settings etc) however there is no cursor visible ever (and clicking the mouse etc. does nothing either)

The mouse works fine with my other devices. It is full battery and both the mouse and the iPad recognise it is connected.

I have updated the OS on my ipad (it is currently u-to-date), I have tried “forgetting” the bluetooth mouse and re-pairing, i have tried deleting all bluetooth devices and pairing just the mouse, I have tried doing both those things and then restarting the ipad before reconnecting the mouse. Nothing works.

Any advice as to how I can get the bluetooth mouse to actually function on my ipad?

iPad Air 2, iPadOS 13

Posted on May 1, 2020 9:55 PM

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Answer 1

LotusPilot

Level 10

303,818 points

May 4, 2020 4:38 AM in response to NotAnApplePerson

iPadOS now provides support for a basic Bluetooth mouse.

If your mouse is more complex (with more than the normal left/right mouse buttons and a scroll wheel), for which a device driver would normally need to be installed on the host computer, you may have difficulties. It is not possible to install device-specific drivers within iPadOS.

A second consideration is how your mouse defines its capabilities.

In brief summary, when connecting an external USB or Bluetooth device, a protocol handshake occurs between the iPad and device to identify the connected device and its supported functions. A mouse that identifies its device-type as “a mouse” will be associated with the basic mouse driver that is built-in to iPadOS. However, if the mouse identifies its device-type as a “hybrid device” (per some more advanced mouse devices), then the iPad will behave as if the mouse is a keyboard; in this situation, the mouse is not suitable for use with iPad.

iPadOS also provides full support for Apple Magic Mouse 2 and Apple Magic Trackpad 2 (noting that iPadOS does not support the much older original Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad).

I hope this clarification is helpful in explaining the likely issues.

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Answer 2

QuickPost

Level 10

103,455 points

May 2, 2020 12:49 PM in response to NotAnApplePerson

Hello,

Try resetting iPad's settings in Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings. Be certain you do not select Erase All Content and Settings as this will erase all of your information. It is a good idea to perform a backup of your iPad prior to resetting its settings.

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Answer 3

May 4, 2020 4:15 AM in response to QuickPost

Hi - I have now tried this as well, no joy. Again the mouse is recognised as a mouse (‘pointer device’) and the iPad says it is connected, the mouse indicates it is connected but nothing visible on iPad and clicking etc. does nothing. The mouse works fine on computers and laptops.

Is a bluetooth mouse compatible with an iPad Air 2? or do I have to buy an “Apple branded” mouse for it to work?

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Answer 4

May 4, 2020 4:50 AM in response to LotusPilot

As indicated previously, the ipad recognises the mouse as a mouse - if I go into the accessibility settings etc it shows the mouse as connected and provides options for customisation of left and right click etc.

The mouse itself is just a basic mouse. Left and right click, scroll bar. That's it.

I can't see any reason as to why it isn't functional on the ipad, despite the ipad recignising what it is and that it is connected.

I don't have any desire to purchase an overpriced apple branded mouse - particularly where Apple claims that an ordinary Bluetooth mouse should work with the iPad Air 2.

If anyone has any solutions, or has had the same problem, please feel free to share!

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Bluetooth mouse with ipad Air 2 - connected but no cursor visible

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