Why does magic mouse keep disconnecting?

Have you recently connected a USB3 drive? It has been

noted in the past that USB3 drives can interfere with Bluetooth

connections. Even if you had it connected previously and had no

issues, just moving it can cause interference issues.

I have a mid-2011 iMac. Been having the same problem with the magic mouse losing its bluetooth connection and then within a minute it reconnects. It happens many times during the day. I also have very crappy battery life with the mouse. I bought the rechargable batteries and the charger for the Magic Mouse from Apple and that's been great. I thought it would help the connection issues, but no luck.

Then I hoped that the upgrade to Mavericks would solve the problem. Again no luck. Beginning today I started using a Logitech mouse because it just got too annoying, like every 10 minutes the mouse loses bluetooth connection. I do hope someone comes up with a solution soon on this. It's really annoying.

I believe the problem is due to a mismatch between the depth of the recess that takes the positive terminal in the magic mouse and the distance that the positive terminal cap protrudes above the battery casing. If the former is greater than the latter there is no connection, and an intermittent connection when thay are about the same. I measured the total length of the battery and the length of the casing with a vernier caliper and determined from the difference that the positive cap protuded about 2.3mm. These measurements caused the problem for me. I have corrected it by cutting a length of aluminium foil about 4mm wide and folding it several times to for a small square pad of foil. I inserted one of these into each battery recess.

I don't know if there are any standardised dimensions for batteries so I don't know whether to blame Apple or the battery manufacurer.

Ascendi (newbie)

Hi,

Putting a piece of aluminume foil in the negative part of the battery solved my problem. That approved what "Ascendi" actually dicovered.

Omar

This solved my problem. Thanks. Pamela

Whoa! I don't have a magic mouse (thank god) but this sounds rather strange that Apple would manufacture such a product. I wonder what is next? Maybe the wi-fi connection will drop if a blue-eyed person will be too close to the mac...?

I thank you for your help, Ascendi, but I have no idea what you're saying. I'm guessing I stand alone, because others do understand. What I got from it was that the batteries don't fit snuggly, and to shove aluminum foil... somewhere. I'm don't have a PhD in battery terminal dimensions and their terminonolgy. But I do appreciate that you helped.

David / Flashkube2... EXACTLY! After years and years with my wonderful white Magic Mouse, just today the exact same thing started happening, only I was losing connection every 20 seconds. Half the time, I'd get it back. I feared it was a Bluetooth error, or a hacker was "stealing my juice" So I got online here, read this stuff, wiggled my batteries around (for years and years, I've only used Duracel), and for the last 10 minutes, I have kept connection with Mr. Mouse and Mr. Mac. Keep your fingers crossed!

So if this problem arises again, I just stuff aluminum foil in there? (I'll be a wee bit neater than "stuff"). Speak "positive terminal" and "negative terminal" and "top of the batteries" to me, because "depth of the recess" and "vernier caliper" are Chinese to me. Does "battery recess" mean how the two batteries sit in its casing?

Maybe I just didn't have enough coffee this morning. I'm not ususally shtooo-pid. (don't go there!)

I am jumping back in on this discussion to throw in my 2 cents on this battery issue. Because my batteries were draining so quickly on my Magic Mouse I bought the rechargeable battery from Apple. If you don't know what I'm talking about check it out at the store. It works really well for keeping the battery charged up. Unfortunately, even with this rechargeable battery, specifically made for this device, I am still getting "connection lost" every 20 minutes, if not more often.

Since the terminals on the rechargeable battery are different from regular batteries, I was not successful with the aluminum foil method. It's really frustrating since, aside from the battery issue, I really like the Magic Mouse. I hope Apple comes out with a new mouse that addresses this problem.

Thanks Ascendi, the aluminium trick seems to be working for me!

I have had the same problem quite often, ever since I changed flat batteries.

The positve end of the battery is the small lump on the end, this lump is shorter on some brands (it dosn't stick out quite as far from the battery body) and the problem may be that as the mouse has a plastic locating section where the lump fits into it may not reach the metal terminal bit. It may cause loss of connection.

I think Ascendi is correct, back to my other batteries and they work fine, guess I'll be fussy about which brands I get.

Cheerio.

Lithium batteries, which are smaller than Alkaline, give me the most disconnects, so I've gone back to using the Alkaline type. I also have a small strip of paper in the bottom of each battery compartment and a slightly larger one on top of the batteries. The three pieces of paper and switch to alkaline has helped a lot. I still get some disconnects, but not nearly as many as before. My disconnects are usually the result of lifting my mouse up and replacing it in a slightly different location. I'm am not banging the mouse down in the new location, just gently lifting and putting it down. I've had this problem since the magic mouse first came out in 2005. It has happened with every magic mouse and I've had plenty of them. I like the functionality of the mouse and the way it fits in my hand, which is why I continue to use it. What has bothered me most about the disconnects was not understanding why they keep happening. I'm no longer frustrated by them because I now know the cause and have a pretty good fix.

Hello Everyone

just for your help and how to solve your mouse problem!

the best way is to buy Energizer AA batter which is longer than other batteries. the disconnection of your mouse is because of shortage of your battery. i had same problem since i am using this cheap energizer battery i didn't see any disconnection. because it is longer than other batteries which can fit tide in my mouse. try it and will deserve it.

Sh jamil

TRY THIS FIRST: Eveready Lithium AA batteries.

I suffered for months with my Apple Mouse disconnecting every 10 mins or so. Extremely frustrating. I tried everything mentioned in the forums (resets, alfoil, bits of paper to hold the batteries down, different batteries [incl. Eveready], etc).

Finally, I bought the best batteries I could: Eveready Lithium AA. I have had NO disconnects in about 5 days! Hallelujah!

Maybe the Bluetooth needs a really strong charge to stay connected.