the mini Blog

What causes the Scroll Ball to fail is dust, lint, and other detritus that ends up inside the mouse and blocks the optical reader. Many of you will remember mice past where you had to open the retaining ring around the mouse ball and clean the gunk off the rollers to bring a flaky mouse back to like-new operation. Unfortunately, the Mighty Mouse cannot be opened without causing severe damage. There are numerous suggestions on the Web that tell how you might fix a clogged Scroll Ball including one technique that suggests using a damp cloth. Call me crazy, but I would rather not introduce water into my mouse, so we need to find a better way to dislodge that obstruction. The most reliable fix that I have found is this:

1. Unplug your Mighty Mouse from its USB port.
2. Place the bottom of the mouse in the palm of your right hand, hold firmly and turn it upside down so that the top of the mouse is facing down.
3. With the index finger of your left hand, press firmly the Scroll Ball and while keeping the ball firmly depressed, roll it towards the back of the mouse.
4. Repeat step 3 at least six times to clear the obstruction.
5. Plug your mouse in–you should be back in business. If not, repeat this procedure.

I sadly had some problems with my mighty mouse, where it wouldn’t scroll down, only up (weird, eh?) I had tried this and sometimes it would resolve the problem, other times not. I got so fed up with it that I took the mouse to the Apple Store and sat down with a Mac Genius. I explained my problem and they replaced the mouse, for free! I know have a new (probably refurbished) Mighty Mouse that works perfectly

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