Wireless mouse stays permenantly on

italiastar

My son has just bought a wireless optical mouse and keyboard - there does not appear to be a way of switching the mouse off, so the light stays on all the time and it eats batteries - 2 aaa's every 2 days so far - is this normal for wireless mice?

redrose_3

italiastar wrote:

My son has just bought a wireless optical mouse and keyboard - there does not appear to be a way of switching the mouse off, so the light stays on all the time and it eats batteries - 2 aaa's every 2 days so far - is this normal for wireless mice?

I am not sure I have a Logitech cordless Trackman (trackball) and the batteries last at least 4 - 5 months.

What make and model of Keyboard/Mouse is it?

Tony.

italiastar

Thank you for the reply - you've confirmed my thoughts - it's a "PC Line" from PC world - I thinks it's probably their own brand.

Russ66

Do you mean the red light under the mouse? (Optical Mouse)

If so then no it should not stay on and is probably faulty or may have a sticky button etc.

Take it back to the store.

Jakejakejake

Mine stays on for a bit, then switches off if its not in use. I used to have a mouse that does what your son's did, but i got fed up with it and had an accident with it!!

Jake

Avoriaz

I have a Microsoft wireless optical mouse that also has no off switch. It irritates the hell out of me. The Microsoft blurb says it has very low power consumption and detects when it is not in use and switches to very low standby power. I still find it eats batteries so I now remove the battery when I am not using it. I have removed the battery cover and stored it away to make it easier to remove and replace the battery.

I don’t understand why Microsoft can’t just put a simple switch on it instead of trying to be clever.:rolleyes:

iwanttosave_2

I go through 2 AAA batteries a day, my mouse is pants.

That said, mine does switch itself off, after a few mins of not being used the light dims, and then a few mins later goes off completly.

italiastar

Thank you to everyone who replied - looks like brand or price paid makes little diffrence - I personally don't see the need for a wireless mouse / keyboard, but if he wants to stick with it, I'll look a Logitech - I wonder why it's battery life differs so greatly from the others - it must switch itself off when not in use.

Alfie_E

italiastar wrote:

…there does not appear to be a way of switching the mouse off, so the light stays on all the time and it eats batteries…

They can’t switch themselves off. If they did, they wouldn’t be able to see when they need to switch themselves back on. Although, a good mouse will switch to a very low power mode, after a period of inactivity. As well as the LED, the mouse also needs power for the wireless part. Data is sent constantly while the mouse is in motion, whereas a keyboard need only send each key press.

You can perfectly well use rechargeable batteries in the wireless mouse. The only other alternative is a mouse that has a lithium ion (Li-ion) battery in it, like a modern mobile phone. They come with a recharging cradle, where you put the mouse when it’s not in use. However, these are expensive. The only slight problem with rechargeable AA and AAA batteries is that, when not in use, they lose their charge over a period of weeks or months. But, if you’re going to be swapping them around every few days, that’s not a problem.

Avoriaz

Alfie_E wrote:

They can’t switch themselves off. If they did, they wouldn’t be able to see when they need to switch themselves back on. ...

I understand that but I still don’t see why they don’t have a simple on and off button or switch. That would only add pennies to the cost and save money on batteries.

Or alternatively they should switch themselves off after 5 or 10 minutes of inactivity and then switch back on again once a key is pressed.

heatherw_01

Mine stays on all the time (logitech)

The red light dims, but it cannot be turned off. I contacted logitech about this and they said it is normal.

I now use recharagble batteries as it eats them.