Major mouse issues in Lion

Same exact problem on a 27" iMac with MagicMouse: erratic behavior - and my computer was unusable. I realised it started when I unplugged the second monitor I was testing. I managed to fix it after plugging in the monitor again (even though its turned off). I hope there is a better way than this....

It's extremely frustrating that Apple has (apparently) chosen to do nothing to resolve erratic mouse behavior. The solution (posed by someone on this thread) of disabling the track pad does not solve the erratic speeds and swings. It makes game play almost impossible and is practically enough to drive me back to a PC. Seriously Apple, this blows.

It is disappointing that AAPL hasn't solved the problem. But there's a very easy solution, one which I've implemented. I wanted to stay wireless, so I bought the Logitech Solar Keyboard for Mac and its MX Anywhere Mouse. They work flawlessly, and I haven't had to worry about jumping cursors or stuttering cursors or anything like that.

Alternately, get a corded keyboard and mouse.

My hypothesis is that the problem is focused on Apple's Bluetooth implementation, which makes it a software, not a hardware, problem. And again, since I've bought the Logitech combo, I'm problem free.

(No, I don't work for Logitech, or have anything to do with 'em, except as a consumer of their products.)

There are absolutely too many issues being grouped into this thread! The mouse jumping with wireless almost never has anything to do with the OS or the base system.

This thread should be closed for the simple fact that no one is even talking about the same REAL issue. It's like 10 issues grouped into one big *** thread where the mouse isn't smooth.

*Yes, wireless is going to have some sporaddic mouse issues, that's to be expected, work out the kinks, that's not a Mac OS X issue. It's the receiver/wireless device you're using. Get them closer to each other, eliminate any interference that could be causing signal distortions, replace your batteries, unplug/replug your receiver from time to time (they do screw up), or even turn off and back on bluetooth support on the mac to force the device to reconnect and reestablish a new connection and freqency/band, wifi and bluetooth do share the same radio frequencies.

I'm unsubscribing from this thread *sigh*

I have the same issue. I'm using Mac Mini with a Microsoft 3000 mouse. I have two monitors.

My issue can disappear if I turn on both monitors. But if I turn on only one, the mouse is jumpy.

@ oojacoboo: I am not diagnosing the cause but I can say that I've checked the batteries, and unplugged/reinserted the wireless mouse receiver, but to no avail. I never know when the mouse is going to be jumpy. It's a sporadic thing that makes me think it's not the mouse but the machine and the other demands upon it. (if it starts out smooth and I play games, it quickly goes downhill as the pc heats up). Never had this problem or anything close to it with a PC. I've had old mice that needed to be replaced but nothing like this. Just sayin.

Simple, get a better graphics card then, you're overloading your computer with games. This is not an OS issue. And if that's the case, it's similar to the issues I mentioned before, related to hardware, however, in your case, you're obv pushing the limits. It should do the same thing with a wired mouse, btw, wireless shouldn't make a difference there.

Dude, I'm not a big time gamer. I'm simply referring to games like Zuma Blitz on Facebook. I've barely loaded anything on this machine. It's about 4 months old and I loaded it with 8 GB of RAM when I bought it. I used to score in the top 4 of my circle of friends on that game (with a 2006 PC and slightly less than half the RAM). You're really telling me I should've upgraded the graphics card on my brand new MacBook just to play Zuma Blitz on FB? If so, then this machine as built is beyond lame. Once the mouse goes wonky (and sometimes it's that way right from the start), even if I switch to Word or Excel the mouse speed can be very erratic (and the slightest movement will send the cursor flying way across the screen). So are you telling me I need a high end graphics card for Word and Excel? From where I sit, this Mac ain't all that and a bag of chips.

If word or excel causes it, then it's not your graphics card and likely goes back to a hardware issue in the mouse itself, or a transmission issue. I don't see that as a mac os x issue if you're talking about wireless. If it happens with a wired mouse as well with word or excel, then you're likely talking about a mac os x issue.

Sorry for replying directly, I can't seem to reply to the original poster any longer. Also, I'm not trying to start any sort of flame war, but it would be awesome if people were less abasive on these support forums.

I have been experiencing (nearly) the same issue that MollyfromCA has been describing, and they're documented in the first few pages of this thread. The problem is almost absolutely internal hardware in many but not all cases, and while someone coming into a thread stating that they absolutely "have this same issue" is bad, immediately classifying their problem as unrelated to because "X is unrelated" is just as bad.

What this thread -- and the vast majority of internet help threads -- is missing is factual data about the issue; we don't need people saying "these are my symptoms" because we all have them; that's why we're here today.

Please list helpful data that Apple can actually use, like:

• Make and model of your Mac (i.e. Mid 2010 iMac, 13" MacBook Pro, etc.)
• All connected hardware devices
• Mac OS X version
• Running applications

Then you can rant on about the more subjective stuff, like what you think is causing the problem, or what seems to have fixed it, or what programs you think might affect it, etc.

Unfortunately, this is an absolute case of the blind leading the blind and being short, rude, unhelpful. or otherwise disqualifying others' problems does not help anyone.

Cheers!

Just wanted to update my previous post:

it's been a while now, since I was encountering issues with my mouse.

Most likely, the latest Wacom tablet driver fixed this erratic behaviour for me, but as there is still one issue reproducible (no up / down cursor movement when in Boot Manager screen), there seems to be some incompatibility between OSX Lion's mouse drivers and the Elecom Scoop Node.

10.7.4 hasn't resolved this issue, but with ML in sight, I'll try that one before reverting to SL.

+1 and many thanks to R.Simon. Upgrading the Wacom (Intuos 3) tablet driver to the latest one seems to have solved the problem - at least for the moment.

(The problem in my case were, mouse pointer used to encounter jumps and skips, slow erratic moves like there were some kind of dust friction, after a wake either at the Macbook Pro or Wireless Magic Mouse side, or a disconnect due bluetooth range exceeded. Only a bluetooth off-and-on sequence would solve the problem, yet temporarily until the next occurrence )

O.R.

In Safari, using Magic Mouse, a left- or right- single-finger swipe causes the page to jump a bit to the left or right and then spring back. I already turned off "swipe to change pages" because it's too easy to accidentally trigger it with a tiny inadvertent swipe on the Magic Mouse - but this still leaves the unnerving jumping left and right , which serves no purpose and is really annoying.

I've tried all kinds of settings to get rid of it (including MagicPrefs) but nothing seems to work. It's specifically a problem with the combination of Magic Mouse + Safari. I don't have the same problem with Trackpad + Safari; and I don't have it with Firefox + Magic Mouse.

Any ideas?!

I just want to add, that while many posters in this long thread keep focusing on bluetooth/wireless, I have a wired mouse, and only 1 monitor and I have the crazy jumping mouse issue and I see the "illegal operation in action #3 at DIF offset 0" that has been mentioned. Still looking for a solution...

Yesterday, my Magic Mouse began moving the pointer to the side-edge and corners of the screen, whenever the mouse was picked up and put back down.

Today, I deleted the com.apple.bluetooth.plist file in my main library, and the com.apple.bluetooth.xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx.plist file in the By Host folder in my home folder library Preferences. Restart.

Then, I shut down, unplugged the AC, and held the power button for 5 seconds. Plug-in and boot-up.

Also, changed wi-fi router channel from 6 to 1.

Finally, paired the mouse.

Now, it works just as it had. No skipping, no jumping, scrolling is back too.