Mac OS X Doesn’t Warn Magic Mouse Batteries Are Running Low

Although early reports indicated that Apple’s Magic Mouse had some battery drainage issues, time has revealed that these were just isolated cases, mostly due to the dozens of battery models available out there, as well as different usage habits.

Softpedia has previously reported that, despite being a masterpiece of engineering overall, Magic Mouse exposes a possibly flawed power management system implemented by Apple in Mac OS X. To our knowledge, Apple hasn’t investigated the matter which, admittedly, isn’t a burning topic of discussion on the web. Still, we may have found yet another ramification of this potentially screwed up battery life reporting system.

Since Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, Apple uses the Aqua interface to notify users of of changing system behavior. So, for instance, when a wireless Apple mouse is running low on power, Mac OS X pops up a notification comprised of a rudimentary representation of the owner’s mouse, and the message “low battery” (screenshot above). The same applies for both the old Mighty Mouse, and the new Magic Mouse.

However, since using a Magic Mouse with my 21.5” iMac (Core 2 Duo 3.06 GHz), not once has Mac OS X displayed the low battery sign before the mouse suddenly died. This isn’t likely to be a widespread issue since, again, the topic is seldom even opened for discussions on forums around the web (including Apple’s). It may actually be something typical to this very iMac. While using the device with my older, 20-inch iMac, these issues were not present. Yet there are many who report fast battery drainage and may also be experiencing this issue, but forget to mention it as a particular aspect of their overall experience.

Moreover, I’m at my second Magic Mouse on the respective iMac. Both have exhibited the exact same behavior in five months of usage. That’s not all - none of the brand new / fully recharged batteries I’ve inserted for replacement have been identified as 0 full.

Are you having a similar experience?

Does anyone else believe Mac OS X may be having trouble reporting the actual battery life status of Magic Mice (or other wireless accessories for that matter)?