Bluetooth Mighty Mouse battery consumption

Question

Level 3

636 points

Bluetooth Mighty Mouse battery consumption

I have a Bluetooth Mighty Mouse and have had it for 3 months (Christmas present). Last week, I noticed one bar had disappeared in the mouse battery life window in System Prefs - "wow" I thought "only lost 20% charge in just under 3 months".

However, yesterday, I got a "Low Battery" warning and noticed that only two bars were remaining. A couple of hours later I got a "Critical battery level" warning and only one bar remaining.

I don't use my mouse all that much - probably at most 6 hours per day (in short-ish intervals, turning it off in between) and I can't remember accidentally leaving it on. I'm using it with the two original AA batteries it shipped with.

Is this normal battery consumption? I find it strange that from "Low battery" to "critical battery" would be a couple of hours and that it would suddenly lose almost 50% of its charge in a week.

Do these mice eat AA batteries? Is it a good idea to get some rechargeables to use instead?

Cheers for the help

15" G4 PowerBook, 1.5GHz, Mac OS X (10.4.9), 1GB RAM

Posted on Mar 27, 2007 6:02 AM

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Answer 1

Mar 27, 2007 6:18 AM in response to thomasp

Hello thomasp:

In answer to your question, the battery life of a wireless mouse is mostly dependent on usage. When not in use, the wireless devices go to a very low power mode. IMHO, it is a waste of time to turn mice/KBs off. I would postulate that your experience is about normal.

I use rechargeable batteries (2500 mAh) in all my wireless devices. They do not last quite as long as the Lithium batteries - they have a lower voltage. However, I use an Energizer recharger that recharges batteries in 15 minutes - very little waiting time. In addition to being less expensive in the long run, rechargeable batteries are environmentally friendly! I bought a bunch of them on eBay. By the by, the rechargeables lose some charge every day - even if they are not in use.

Barry

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Answer 2

thomasp Author

Level 3

636 points

Mar 27, 2007 7:08 AM in response to Barry Hemphill

Thanks for the reply - I'll have a look at some rechargeable batteries.

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Answer 3

thomasp Author

Level 3

636 points

Mar 29, 2007 6:41 AM in response to Barry Hemphill

Another question:

Is it OK to use 2200 mAh batteries, or is it better to go for the highest Amp-hour as possible?

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Answer 4

Mar 29, 2007 9:13 AM in response to thomasp

Hi thomas:

I would go with the highest - I think that is 2500 mAh. I bought a bunch new on eBay - pretty good price. I use them in everything battery powered, including the mouse and KB.

Barry

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Answer 5

variozin

Level 1

8 points

Mar 29, 2007 5:49 PM in response to thomasp

I turned off my macbook, then I slide the switch on the wireless mighty mouse to close position, thinking that it is supposed to be done to save the battery.

Next time I turned on the macbook, then turned on the mouse.But it didnt work. I went to the bluetooth prefrences
and searched the mouse again. Then after it worked.

Since then I didnt turn off my mouse.

Q. Is it wise to keep the mouse in ON position even if its not in use and the computer with which it is linked is OFF?
If so, then wont it drain the batteries?

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Answer 6

Mar 30, 2007 3:59 AM in response to variozin

Hello var:

As a future suggestion, post your question as a new thread - you will get wider readership. By "piggybacking" on another question, you reduce the number of people who will see your question and also add confusion to the topic.

In my opinion, turning wireless mice/keyboards off is not at all necessary. The devices go into a very low power mode after a brief period of non-use.

Incidentally, if you have trouble with a mouse pairing, clicking it several times will usually "wake" it up.

Barry

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