Dead MOUSE

Hello Celia:

I have what I think is a good solution. Energizer makes a AA/AAA battery recharger that recharges batteries in 15 minutes. If you go that route, you should buy the NiMh 2500 batteries (the longest life). I acquired all of the above on eBay for a relatively modest sum. The mouse/keyboard will only show four bars with the rechargeables as the rechargeable batteries are 1.2V (not 1.5V). They work fine, though.

You also feel 'good' as rechargeables are not dumping yet more trash into our environment!

Barry

P.S. If you continue to use non-rechargeable batteries, make sure you buy the Lithium ones.

Hello again Cella: (I spelled it correctly that time)

You are most welcome.

Barry

I bought the BT mouse on 26 Dec, 2005 as a refresh product at the Apple retail store. It came with the original Energizer Lithium e(2) batteries. I put them in and noticed the batteries were still good and I was able to use the mouse for 6 weeks.

At home, I have 4 Energizer NiMH rechargeable batteries (2500 mAh) and a regular charger (takes about 14 hrs for a full recharge) which I usually use them for my digital camera, so I put 2 fully charged batteries into the BT mouse. It only last for 2 weeks. I replaced the batteries and the mouse refused to work.

As refresh product still carried an 1-yr warranty, I brought it in to the Apple Store and let the Mac Genius to check it. He did reproduce the problem and quickly exchanged for a new BT mouse. It was 12 March, 2006.

I bought another 4 Energizer NiMH rechargeable batteries (2500 mAh) and decided to use them just for the mouse. The lifespan was about 2 weeks. I'm started to wonder is battery the weakest link here or the mouse design?

Yesterday, the batteries died off within 24 hrs.

Like Barry mentioned, alkaline is 1.5V and NiMH is 1.2V. Would it be the BT mouse doesn't like low voltage batteries?

I used to own the Logitech MX700 and I never experience any problem with NiMH-based batteries. I wish Apple designs a rechargeable docking cradle for its BT mouse.

If the problem still occurs, I may return the mouse and get a Logitech mouse.

Hello mini:

I use rechargeable NiMh batteries in both an Apple BT KB and mouse - and have for about a year - without problem. My charger, as indicated above, recharges in about 15 minutes.

Barry

Hi, miniblog, Barry, and Cella —

mini-b, the battery lives you've described are consistent with my experience. (Except for the 24-hour example, which I consider an aberration.) Two to three weeks under ~heavy use is my average.

(1) Puzzling... I've been maintaining a file I call "Bluetooth - What's with the voltage/current sensitivity?" — largely because I find some aspects of what various users report to be puzzling. For example, when a user reports radically better Bluetooth performance from changing brands of AAs (after unsuccessfully just changing to new batteries of the same brand). How fine a sensitivity to "in-place voltage" is plausible? But technical articles like "The Great Batteries Shootout" and "AA Battery Comparisons" do "give me pause" about this topic...
Fwiw, please consider these responses to a couple of your comments:
(2) An optical Bluetooth mouse's power usage.

"The lifespan was about 2 weeks. I'm started to wonder is battery the weakest link here
or the mouse design?"

A Bluetooth-enabled mouse is not really comparable in this sense to your experience with other optical mice. The Bluetooth mouse's batteries must power its LED, optics, and the Bluetooth radio transceiver — which is quite a bit different than other RF technologies. Although the Bluetooth Specifications allow (and Apple's implementation takes advantage of) a "low-power mode" when the mouse is inactive, even momentarily, it still uses power for many data transmission tasks "in the background" with your Bluetooth module.
Other optical mice and power usage. In comparison, the Logitech MX700's NIMH battery life between charges was often reported (e.g., here) to be approx. 2 to 4 days. The MX700 also utilizes RF, though not Bluetooth. I suppose that, as you noted, its cradle made this less evident.
Consider for a moment Logitech's KnowledgeBase article 786 about Alkaline vs. NiMH batteries with the MX700 and MX900:
"These mice ship with two AA nickel metal hydride (NiMH) 1700 mAh batteries. If you need to replace them, use only rechargeable NiMH batteries rated between 1500 and 2300 mAh. This also applies to the MX900.
Although you can use other batteries to power the mouse, we do not recommend it because of the following:
1. The battery status indicators may be wrong.
2. Other batteries will not last as long because this mouse uses more power than other cordless
mice.
A new set of batteries should last for about 300 to 500 charge/discharge cycles before you experience a noticeable reduction of cycle time. Battery life of cordless devices varies due to multiple factors, including hours of use, the surface on which you use it, brand, type, or age of battery. We include quality batteries with our products that typically last an average of 2-3 months in optical mice. We have also built our line of Optical mice with four modes of operation designed to extend battery life as much as possible.
You can also extend the battery life of your mouse by using it on a light colored surface such as a sheet of white paper. Darker surfaces force the LED on the underside of the device to shine brighter, which requires more battery power. Note that the light on the underside of the mouse will always be on as long as batteries are installed. This is necessary for the device to work. The only way to completely turn off the mouse is to remove the batteries."
(3) So... is this a problem?

"If the problem still occurs, I may return the mouse and get a Logitech mouse."

I'm not sure what "problem" you're referring to here. The 2-3 week battery life is expected under reasonably heavy usage. The "mouse failure" &/or chronic 24-hour battery life you've reported are not.
I'd be interested to hear your further thoughts...
Regards,
Dean
I edited this message... But probably not enough!