Apple, Do Something About Mighty Mouse!

Disconnect the mouse & use some 91% Isopropyl alcohol on a lint free cloth. Turn the mouse over & rub the scroll ball while pressing down. Roll the scroll ball in all directions for about a minute or more. You could also get a can of compressed air & push down on the scroll ball & shoot a few short blasts into the opening around the scroll ball. These both have worked for me. I have never taken apart the mouse. Works every time. Hope this helps.

Personally, I wouldn�t touch the MightyMouse with a fork. In fact i am still using an antique long-discontinued Kensington 'ThinkingMouse.' Although it has four symmetrical buttons, there is no scroll wheel - the most likely reason it is no longer made. To me, however, it is the best time saver since learning how to type.

I was devastated when I realized that there would be no USB Laser ThinkingMouse coming from Kensington (or anyone else for that matter) but I think that now would be a good time for Apple or someone to bring out a replacement for this mouse of beloved memory WITH NO MOVING PARTS.

We've all seen what Apple can do with multi-touch trackpads and iPhone screens - why can't that be done with a mouse?

Imagine the top surface of the mouse divided into 2 or 4 or 6 or 9 areas - whatever - the way that the screen of an iPhone is divided. All the surface could be easily programable to suit the use of the user. You could have 4 clicks, or 6 or 8 plus vertical and horizontal scrolls. Everything adjustable for righties or lefties, and each click programable for any application (just like the Kensington 'MouseWorks' Preference Pane I use now.)

The whole mouse could be sealed, and the wireless version could come with a recharger cradle. If the wireless version had the same sort of accelerometers included in the iPhone you wouldn�t even need a mousing surface - and it would make a great remote control.

Good idea
I Know the Forth Inc people once designed a mutliprocessor computer chip to fit into a mouse ( in the mid 90's ) It was destined to be the entire computer for Internet TV, whilst relying on set-top box tchnology to house the hard drive
Shows that ( and the post above ) there's lots of scope for ideas to come forward, even with mice

I have 2 Mighty Mice (1 wireless) whose track balls have completely stopped working. I've attempted to clean them using Apple' s method without success.

If any techie knows of a cleaning method short of disassembling, please post it.

I've had my Mighty Mouse for a year now, and the only maintenance I've had to do is hold it upside down and spin the ball from time to time. Seems to do the trick for me, and I use the trackball all the time.

Doesn't it work to lay a somewhat thick and damp towel on a flat surface and then, turn the Mighty Mouse upside down and rub it over the towel?

The most difficult part about cleaning mouse I reckon will be those ribbon cable connectors. They are so flimsy.

They use just the faintest amount of solder when they manufacture the ribbon cable that the slightest stress on them breaks the ribbon cable wiring joint with its own connector, so it will no longer work even if you manage to get it back into the socket the right way round.

I ruined a perfectly good iPod because of this when I replaced its battery. The dial of the front iPod stopped working (not straight after replacing the battery mind you, but after a few hours) and when I re-opened the iPod to investigate the problem the ribbon cable just fell away leaving the end connector still in the socket on the circuit board.

Thats why they have a quick release tab on them, should be one of the first things you do when troubleshooting this mouse. I've never had the problem you've described in anything, ever. Take a look at the screenshots, he's removed them easily.

I have had two mighty mouse since they ca,e out and used to go through all the methods described above. Then a friend told me to simply wipe the ball vigorously with one of those "microfiber" cloths. It worked like a charm and it is all I have ever done since. It has never failed to work.

Hope you get the same results.

i believe i can understand about the susceptibility of the Mighty Mouse's ball to clog, but the thing i can't agree with is that the mouse is a good one from a design standpoint.

I'm one of the apparently small percentage of left-handed who use a mouse left-handed. I ended up with tendonitis from using a mouse with a right-handed slant. Since then, my hands ache whenever i use peripherals with poor ergonomic design and the two groups of products quickest to aggravate the tedonitis are Apple mice and Apple keyboards.

In college, when classes had me most active on computers, i could usually use my own mouse and keyboard (both by Microsoft) for about an hour before needing a break, but the Mighty Mouse and Apple keyboards in the classrooms and labs took less than five minutes to force me to need a break.

thanks joe, your rubbing alcohol(Isopropyl) and dryer sheet(lint free cloth) worked for me. It was easy and takes easy to find materials, and my hand is now clean too.

Your welcome. The nicrofiber trick someone mentioned works well also.

I have hundreds of designers I support and I've never had to take apart the mouse. Disconnect the mouse, then press the ball down firmly and vigorously move the ball in all directions. It may take a few times to scrape off the dirt, dust and oil from your skin. You can also use the mircofiber cloth and the can of air if needed.
A good practice is to clean the exterior of the mouse and your keyboard with a damp cotton cloth occasionally. You'll be a healthier person and your IT people will appreciate not having to handle that gross keyboard and mouse. ;-)

I use a strip of low tack masking tape to clean it.

Hold the tape down sticky side up on your desk, flip the mouse over and run the ball over the tape whilst applying light pressure. Kinda works like those sticky roller clothes brush things.

Even just doing this on your desk surface can help a bit, seems to remove the grease buildup.

"Apple's Mighty Mouse is probably the best mouse ever made."

You are kidding right? I know shiny white plastic excites some people these days but come on, the best mouse ever made? I really dont think so.

Are you kidding me?
Your being sarcastic right?
The Mighty Mouse is the worst mouse ever created by mankind,
it takes up to 2 months to get properly used to, and even then, hooking up any other mouse to your mac will feel like heaven,
you need 3rd party tools to even make it bareable,
on a 24"system with an extra 24"screen like mine, it can take up to 5-8 strokes to get from one corner of my desktop to the other!
The right button click has way too many problems and your not even able to press both left and right mousebutton at the same time,
the weight is terrible and way too light (even the wireless one) and it's hard to use on a suface that isn't perfectly smooth.

Apple Mighty Mouse is the worst mouse ever.

I was advised to unplug the mouse, turn it upside down and rub the ball around on a sheet of clean paper for about a minute.

For now, that seems to have fixed the problem.

Have you ever heard of keyboard & mouse section of system preferences Enkera?

I absolutely love the horizontal scrolling provided, it works well with the Mac UI.

I picked up a cheap Logitech 4-button mouse w/ a normal scroll wheel (Logitech Click!, which as far as I can tell is discontinued) at a garage sale, and it's the best mouse I can find that wouldn't be upward of 50 dollars on the normal market.
The current mouse selection at electronics stores is pathetic.

By the way, it's crevices not crevasses. A crevasse wouldn't fit in a Mighty Mouse, but a Mighty Mouse would certainly fit in a crevasse.

The Mighty Mouse is absolute rubbish. Easily the WORST mouse on the market, and I'm including all those real Gak-tek pieces of rubbish that come with super cheap PCs.

And, by the way, I'm an Apple Fanboy. My previous machine was a PowerMac G4 that lasted 6 years. I currently use an iMac, and it's great (except for the screen's viewing angles, but I can live with that).

... but the Mighty Mouse is rubbish and should be discontinued. It simply doesn't work. The scroll ball always gums up... this isn't a 5% problem... it's a 99.5% problem.

Simple procedure and worked just fine...dedicate 30 mins and some patience and your mouse will be just like new...

My mouse ball was not scrolling up or down at all. I read somewhere to turn it upside down on a piece of thick paper and roll it really hard for a minute in all directions. A lot of gunk and dust came out as a trail on teh page, and now it works perfectly!

Just made the fix on my 2nd mouse in 2.5 years. And now that I've seen the insides, and broke several little pieces on my way towards making the mouse work again - all I can say is this is a horrible design. Unless you want to sell them on average of once a year... Just make them last past the 1-year warranty, or make the return so difficult no one will bother.

This worked perfectly.

Had to finness the outer ring a bit, as not to damage the main body.
Used an old wooden clothes peg for the job.

Used a screw driver for eye glasses to get the ball mechanism off.

Washed the little bits with alcohol and, well, I'm scrolling like new.

Used very thin strips of two sided tape to get the outer ring back in place.

Thanks a lot !

Yours was the only site I found that showed a way to do it.
All the others I found seemed, shrug their shoulders and say WELL I don't know.