Apple Mouse

[Mr. Rumples]

My apple mouse (for a Mac mini) is in pretty rough shape. I've cleaned it several times, but its time for a new one. (The current one is several years old.) Since all I do is surf the internet and do some emails (no graphics &c., no photos) are the inexpensive $10 +/- good enough? I don't want wireless.

[oldcomputerguy]

I'll confess up front that I know next to nothing about what mouse hardware is required for a Mac (I'm a Linux user). That being said, I have on my primary machine a Logitech M100 mouse that cost me roughly $10 at the local Office Depot, and from a usability standpoint I find it very comfortable and usable. It's hardwired with a USB connector.

[Mr. Rumples]

That is kind of what I am looking at. I figure I can just return it if it doesn't work. From surfing the internet, it sort of seems they are all interchangeable for my purposes.

[Cheez-It Guy]

Any USB mouse should work. It certainly doesn't have to be Apple-branded. I use a Logitech because I wanted two real buttons.

[Johndoefire65]

Logitech M510 is pretty good. $28 at amazon. For $10. Sometimes you get what you pay for, sometimes it's good enough too.

[Lastrun]

I have all macs, two are minis. I just use any wireless keyboard/mouse set up that says it is mac compatible. Right now the one I have is from iclever and it works great. I have one at a remote worksite and it has worked for years (2016), first on a Dell and on a mac mini. The old one uses AA batteries, and the new one charges. Just pop the little USB doohickey in a USB port and your off. Battery time is years, not months.

[rkhusky]

I prefer wired mice with clickable buttons of the $10-$20 variety.

[obgraham]

Recent convert to Macs here.
I have a big box of mice (meese?) from my Windows days. They all work with the Macs, both the wired and the wireless types.Use whatever you have that you like.
That said, I do like the Apple Magic Mouse.

[mike@jb]

I am using an Satech wireless mouse with my M1 MacBook, and it works great.

[HopHead]

I am using a Logitech optical mouse (wired) with my 2022 iMac and it works just fine. My Bluetooth apple mouse stopped working despite charging, which is fine because I really didn't like it anyways.

[Bogle7]

Buy a new Apple mouse.

[Eagle33]

Buy a new Apple mouse.

Apple now only sells wireless mice. OP wants a mouse with a wired USB tail.

[nisiprius]

My experience is that any USB mouse will work, including any old ones that friends may have in a desk drawer that they don't want or things you find at a lawn sale or the cheapest off-brand mouse you find at Staples, etc.

Nowadays, anything that isn't optical (anything with a mouseball) is not worth the aggravation.

However, it may take a little tweaking of the parameters in the control panel to get the acceleration, etc. to be comfortable. Left- and right- buttons and the scroll wheel should work, any other functions may be iffy.

I am in fact quite happy with the new-ish (rechargeable) Magic Mouse, but I admit that I have an external USB hub and I keep an old Logitech plugged in... and tucked behind the screen... so that when the Magic Mouse runs out of charge I can keep on work while it charges. And my experience is that the USB link between the Magic Mouse and my Mac is very reliable, no nonsense about getting it paired and keeping it paired.

And my personal experience is that unlike some manufacturers, Apple-branded accessories are "nice," well-designed, and do work "well" with Apple computers, so I'm willing to pay the exorbitant price. For example, the Apple mouse is very thin and shallow and does not force my hand into as elevated a position as "normal" nice, which I think helps avoid wrist problems.

[Harry Livermore]

Despite having a wireless Apple mouse and full-size keyboard (for the family iMac) and a wireless large trackpad and Bluetooth keyboard (for my laptop when docked at home on my desk) I keep a small stash of USB Apple mice and keyboards. Why? Sometimes the iMac, upon startup, will announce "no Bluetooth keyboard or mouse has been found" I simply dig out the "old" stuff and proceed, rather than curse Tim Cook (although that's fun too)
Bluetooth is the greatest tech swindle ever foisted upon the public. I try not to rely on it for much of anything...
Cheers

[Youngblood]

Very happy with my Magic Mouse too. I don't mind paying extra for what I believe are well designed and superior products IMHO.

[nisiprius]

...Bluetooth is the greatest tech swindle ever foisted upon the public. I try not to rely on it for much of anything...

I agree.

USB is amazingly good. The biggest problems are that 1) sometimes a computer system remembers something it shouldn't, and you need to move the plug to a different USB port to force it to re-think; 2) although it is supposed to communicate power needs, in real life USB systems are poor at handling cases where too much power is being drawn; they can act flaky instead of giving a clear error message. Really, though, USB is closer to plug-and-play than any other interface I've ever used, and is the only thing I've ever used that is really (mostly) hot-pluggable.

Bluetooth truly sucks. It's total misery. The worst are tiny gadgets like fitness bands--and wireless mice!--that use some weird different variety of Bluetooth. In general, if the device doesn't have a screen and user interface, it's magic and voodoo getting it paired. And they don't stay paired when they should. They stay paired just long enough for you to misplace the instruction sheet telling you to hold volume + and volume - at the same time while pressing and holding the power button for five seconds until the slow flashing changes to rapid flashing. My car audio system accept Bluetooth connections and when I get in the car I never know whether it will say "connected as a player" or "connected as a phone" or "connected as both," and when it is not connected it is a total crapshoot whether I should try to initiate pairing from the phone or the car. And this is when both systems have touchscreens and I can see the car's bluetooth from the phone and see the phone's bluetooth from the car.

[Harry Livermore]

...Bluetooth is the greatest tech swindle ever foisted upon the public. I try not to rely on it for much of anything...

I agree.

USB is amazingly good. The biggest problems are that 1) sometimes a computer system remembers something it shouldn't, and you need to move the plug to a different USB port to force it to re-think; 2) although it is supposed to communicate power needs, in real life USB systems are poor at handling cases where too much power is being drawn; they can act flaky instead of giving a clear error message. Really, though, USB is closer to plug-and-play than any other interface I've ever used, and is the only thing I've ever used that is really (mostly) hot-pluggable.

Bluetooth truly sucks. It's total misery. The worst are tiny gadgets like fitness bands--and wireless mice!--that use some weird different variety of Bluetooth. In general, if the device doesn't have a screen and user interface, it's magic and voodoo getting it paired. And they don't stay paired when they should. They stay paired just long enough for you to misplace the instruction sheet telling you to hold volume + and volume - at the same time while pressing and holding the power button for five seconds until the slow flashing changes to rapid flashing. My car audio system accept Bluetooth connections and when I get in the car I never know whether it will say "connected as a player" or "connected as a phone" or "connected as both," and when it is not connected it is a total crapshoot whether I should try to initiate pairing from the phone or the car. And this is when both systems have touchscreens and I can see the car's bluetooth from the phone and see the phone's bluetooth from the car.

I wish this forum simply had a "like" button, because I would have "liked" your post.
I will say I have been astonished at how reliably my iPhone pairs with my Honda Pilot. There. I've jinxed it.
Cheers

[GmanJeff]

My Apple mouse recently died and I replaced it with a $6 wired mouse from amazon. It works fine.

[hoofaman]

I've always used mechanical keyboards with windows keys and logitech mx wheel mice on my macs, never felt like the Apple mice and keyboards were adequate personally

[Mr. Rumples]

Thank y'all. My apple mouse finally died, multiple cleanings of debris - mostly cat hair - were enough. Bought a Logitech power plus 525 on sale at OfficeDepot for $15, works very well. Ended up going wireless, again back to the cat, one less wire to catch her attention as she watches the screen when I surf and type.