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Wireless mice are functional, can be taken anywhere and they don’t need annoying and long wires, but sometimes they don’t function properly; so, it is good to know how to resync a wireless mouse.
Check at the Bluetooth menu on the computer, look for the devices, and check if the name is in the list. If it doesn’t, reset the mouse or press the connection button that some of them have; then, look again for the name in the computer, select it, and press in the connect option.
When a wireless mouse doesn’t respond, is not sync or is malfunctioning, it could be even for the simplest reason. Don’t panic and check here what to do when a wireless mouse is not responding, and how to sync it again.
Table of Contents
Why Is My Wireless Mouse Not Connecting?
A wireless mouse uses radiofrequency –such a Bluetooth–, or infrared waves instead of wires being connected to the computer. These mice need batteries to function, and some rechargeables use a base station to charge the mouse.
To work properly, a wireless mouse uses a transmitter that is placed inside the mouse to send information to a receiver. The receiver recognizes the information, which comes encoded from the mouse, and then is decoded by the software and it is reflected in the computer.
The movements and actions are the encoded information that the mouse sends to the software in the computer. Sometimes, the receiver is not part of the computer, thus, it needs to be added or plugged into the computer, so the wireless mouse can work properly.
Once the receiver recognizes the information, the drivers are in charge of analyzing and encode this data. Then, when the information is encoded, the driver tells the operating systems how to represent on the screen the actions that the mouse is doing. All this happens in fractions of a second. When a user acquires a wireless mouse, this must come with software that allows the mouse to connect with the computer.
The wireless mouse has to be paired with the receiver to send the information precisely. Both components, the transmitter, and the receiver work at the same frequency using the same code. Since there are different brands on the market, not all the wireless mice are paired to the computer in this way; some of them are paired automatically, but sometimes, the user has to pair the mouse to the computer. Thus, the drivers are not the same for all the operating systems nor manufacturers.
In Bluetooth mice, the transmitter sends the encoded information to the receiver using electromagnetic signals. A wireless Bluetooth mouse uses a spread-spectrum frequency hopping to avoid the interference of other devices. Bluetooth and some Wi-Fi devices operate in the 2.4 GHz range, so this spread-spectrum frequency hopping technique avoids the malfunction of the mouse caused by interference.
Bluetooth may be a type of radiofrequency, but not all the wireless mice that use radiofrequency operate at the same range. The typical radio frequency wireless mouse is slower than a Bluetooth mouse since they operate in the 27 MHz range. Also, they may have many interferences, and they just have around 2 meters of distance connectivity.
Whether a user uses a typical RF or Bluetooth mouse, the transmitter sends the information encrypted, and it can only be decoded by the receiver. This offers security to the users, and it makes the mice work better since they reduce the interference of other devices.
If the mouse is not connecting properly, it may malfunction any of the components. It may be an interference, any physical damage in any of the components, the mouse is not properly paired, the drivers may not be working, the power switch is turned off, and even the simplest situation: the mouse has a low battery. These are just some of the reasons why wireless is not connected to the computer.
Why Has My Mouse Stopped Working?
A wireless mouse is made of different components, and to work properly all these components have to be in optimal conditions. It is not only about the physical components, but the software. If any of these components is not functioning, the mouse will malfunction, or it will stop working.
A wireless mouse is made similar –but not the same– as a traditional wired mouse. The main difference between these two types of mice is their connection to the computer and the way they send the information. A wired mouse sends the information in a constant stream without any pause, the information travels through the wire directly to the computer, and there is analyzed and encoded by the drivers; this starts to send information as soon as it is connected to the computer.
Adversely, a wireless mouse sends the information through radio frequencies at different ranges, the information is encrypted and it needs a transmitter and receiver instead of a wire; however, the information is still being encoded by the drivers at the computer.
Whenever one of these components stops working, the mouse will stop as well. So, here is all the components of a wireless and what is their function:
Transmitter
As it was said before, a wireless mouse uses a transmitter and a receiver instead of a wire. The transmitter is the one who sends the encoded information to the receiver. This is integrated inside of the mouse in the shape of a chip. Every action performed by the mouse is going to be sent by the transmitter in a series of codes via electromagnetic signals to the receiver.
The transmitter uses different techniques to avoid interferences, one of these is the frequency-hopping spread-spectrum. The Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) is when the device changes the carrier frequency to other frequencies in a spectral band, thus, it is said the signal hops.
Receiver
The receiver is a mini device that is plugged into the computer. The receiver detects the radio signals sent by the transmitter. The radio frequencies operate in a 27 MHz range or a 2.4 GHz range (for the Bluetooth device). As soon as the encrypted information is received, it is analyzed by the drivers in the computers.
Drivers
The drivers are used by the computer to tell the internal or external devices how to work. In this case, the drivers analyzed and decrypt the information recognized by the receiver. The drivers are software, and they can be seen as communicators, transmitting all the mouse action to the computer, and representing them on the screen. All this happens in less than a second, every time the user moves the mouse, this action is going to be seen on the screen instantly.
Buttons
The buttons are behind the famous “click” sound. When a user wants to select something on the screen it presses –or clicks– the left or right button.
In the mouse, there are two basic buttons, the traditional right, and left buttons; however, there are some mice that have another extra button that performs other actions, like volume functions, a play button, and so on. This depends on the manufacturer.
Optical Sensor / Laser
Optical mice and laser mice work in the same way. These are the motion sensors of the mouse, whenever the user moves in a specific direction, this is going to be shown on the screen.
Both types of motion sensors use intense light and its reflection to detect mouse movements. Some mice, the older ones, have a trackball instead of an optical sensor or a laser; most of them are discontinued since the optical mice take their places in the market.
How Do You Reset Your Wireless Mouse?
Before taking an extreme decision such as buying a new mouse, talking to the technician, or opening it and checking by myself; the first thing to do is to reset the mouse.
When a mouse stops working or malfunctions it can be for a variety of reasons, since an interference in the signals, the receiver was not plugged correctly, an out-of-date driver, to something more several as damage in one of the components.
Before trying to reset a mouse, I always check if the receiver is plugged properly into the computer; a few times in the past, I almost panicked and tried everything before I noticed that the receiver wasn’t plugged correctly. Sometimes, it is not always about something related to the mouse, it can be an issue in the software, hardware, or operating system of the computer!
Even, it could be the simplest thing that is not working. If the receiver is plugged in correctly, proceed to check the batteries. Another common thing that people don’t notice is the fact that the mouse can have a lower battery, so remove the cover, change the batteries and try again. If the mouse has a station, put them on for the time needed and try to connect it to the computer.
As it is known, there are many different brands of mice, and models as well; however, there are some standard steps to follow if I want to try resetting a mouse. First of all, turn off the mouse, then, hold it down and press right and left bottoms at the same time for over 5 seconds; if the led flashes, it means that the mouse reset effectively.
If this doesn’t work, don’t panic! As said before, there are many different models of a mouse, then, it is not necessary to work in all of them.
If the reset advice above did not work, it is not time to worry yet! There are some well-known mouse models in the market. Here is how to reset some of them:
How to reset a Logitech wireless mouse?
Logitech is a manufacturer of computer external devices. They are one of the biggest manufacturers of computer peripherals and they have been in the market since the very beginning, so they have stepped at the front, and present to the public innovating wireless mice.
However, even when Logitech is one of the biggest and best, their devices can present any kind of malfunction; so, resetting a Logitech is not that hard, most of the Logitech mice have a reset button, press it for over 3 seconds, and check if it is working again.
If it doesn’t have a reset button try turning it off for a few seconds, disconnecting and plugging the receiver while it is turned off, and then turning it on again.
How to reset an Apple wireless mouse?
Apple is one of the biggest, largest and oldest technology companies in the world. Also, Apple is well-known for the exclusivity of their devices; in fact, Apple only can be matched with Apple. So, any time that a new technology appears, Apple takes the lead and presents to their consumers innovative devices.
To reset the Apple Magic Mouse, the first thing to do is turn the mouse off, wait five seconds, and then, turn it on again.
If the last doesn’t work, unpair the mouse by clicking the X beside its name on the Bluetooth menu, and then pair the mouse; also, at the same menu, click on Turn Bluetooth Off/On, and then reconnect the mouse. Sometimes, Wi-Fi interferes with the Bluetooth devices, so connecting the mouse before turning on the Wi-Fi may help.
How to reset a Microsoft wireless mouse?
Resetting a Microsoft wireless mouse is not that hard to do. First of all, check if the batteries are charged or if they need to be changed.
If the batteries are good, look for the reset button that commonly places beside the battery slot, then press it for 3 to 5 seconds. If the mouse is reset, the receiver should be reset too; so, just as with the mouse, press the reset button for over 5 seconds, and then try to connect everything again.
How to reset an HP wireless mouse?
They offer a variety of wireless mice, however, most of them can be reset in the same way. It is a little bit more extended than resetting other wireless mice, but it is truly effective if there is any interference or some similar issue.
Initially, let’s look for the connect button, and press it for 10 seconds; then, let’s unplug the receiver and wait another 10 seconds, and place it again in the USB slot. Finally, the connect button has to be pressed again, and that’s it!
How Do I Resync My Wireless Mouse?
Sometimes, when the wireless mouse is reset, it may present some synchronization issues. Also, these synchronization issues can have any other reason behind the typical signal interferences. Before trying to resync the mouse, make sure that the latter has batteries, check if the receiver is properly plugged, and observe if the mouse is connected to the right computer and not the other one.
The first thing to do is reset the mouse and the receiver, also, another thing to check, if the Channel button at the back of the mouse, some of them, such as the Logitech wireless mice, have a Channel button nearby the reset or on/off button. The channel button is used to select the Bluetooth channel where the mouse is going to connect, this has to be in the same channel as the receiver.
If the solutions above don’t work, the mouse can be connected and resync to the computer manually; this is a standard to pair and sync any wireless mouse to the computer:
Thus, to sync any wireless mouse, first check if the driver is on-date and the mouse charges. Then, on the computer, check which Bluetooth devices are connected. If the name of the mouse appears, it is another issue but not connectivity. But then, if the mouse name isn’t anywhere, proceed to pair it with the computer.
In macOS, click on the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar, and go to Bluetooth Preferences, and the names of the devices connected via Bluetooth appear on the screen. Now, press the connect button in the mouse for a few seconds, and the mouse name should appear on the screen; so, click on it, and select the connect option. The mouse should be sync to the computer now.
When using a Windows OS, connecting Bluetooth devices is completely different. First, open the Start Menu, click on Settings, and open the Devices menu. Once there, click on Add Bluetooth or another device, but before, press on the connect button placed in the mouse; then, going back to the computer, press on the option named before, and a list of the available devices will appear; click on the name of the mouse and select connect.
Now, the mouse will sync and pair to the computer.
How Do I Fix an Unresponsive Wireless Mouse?
A mouse is one of the main components in the computer, while some commands can be done with the keyboard, it is unavoidable to need the mouse at some point.
When a mouse is malfunctioning or is being unresponsive, there can be many reasons behind it, since an interference to several damages in one of the components. Thus, there are a few things that non-experts users can do to fix some issues whenever the mouse is malfunctioning or being unresponsive.
Check the batteries
Before going to more complex things, let’s start by checking the batteries. Most of the wireless mice use batteries, and the ones that don’t, have a charge station. Then, the mouse may not respond because it needs a battery change! Check that first before trying something else.
Plug the receiver properly
Something the receiver is plugged wrongly; then, unplug it, wait for 5 seconds, and then plug it once again. This is a common mistake! Sometimes, when someone is in a hurry, they need to do things faster, but forget to do it correctly. Take time to connect, pair, and start-up everything in the right way; then, start working as fast as you can.
Check Bluetooth Connection
Again, a common mistake! Sometimes everything is connected and paired but the Bluetooth connection is turned off. Also, some mice have a channel button, this is used to connect the mouse to the receiver in a specific channel, in this case, check if the mouse and receiver are paired and synced.
Update the drivers
The drivers are the software in the computer that makes everything run accurately; they encode and analyze the information that is reflected in the screen as an action. When a driver is out of date, the mouse may not respond. Keep it up whenever an actualization is launched.
Check if the mouse is connected
Some mice can work from long distances, if in a house many devices use wireless mice, the mouse your using can be paired to another computer! So, go to the Bluetooth menu in the computer and check if the name of the mouse is there, then check if beside it says connected; if it doesn’t, pair the mouse manually to the correct computer.
Look for damages
If the mouse remains unresponsive, look if it has any external damages, and if the user knows how to open the mouse, it can look for any internal damages in the mouse and receiver. Also, check if the computer has any hardware or software damage, sometimes it is not the mouse!
Conclusion
Wireless mice are functional and easy to use, however, they may malfunction sometimes. There’s nothing to worry about, most of the issues can be solved by ourselves!