How do you prolong the life of a computer wired mouse?

Question

My problem is this:

Often after i use my wired mouse for a few months, it "breaks".

I think i'm not taking care of properly; but i don't know how to.

When it "breaks", the cursor no longer responds to the external mouse unless the wire is bent at an angle. As it is an optical mouse, i see it blinking for a few times then the computer goes "USB Device Not Recognized", etc.

Why does the mouse "break" and how/why does it happen?
If so, how do I properly take care of the mouse to prolong its lifespan.

Thank you very much.

P.S. i use a laptop so i prefer working with an external mouse as they are easier to use than the touchpad mouse. Furthermore, i find wireless mice difficult to use as they are 2 pieces (USB thingy + Mouse) and the constant changing of a battery (when the mouse runs out of battery while playing a game, your game goes chaotic)

Answer 1

I don't mean this in a mean way, but I honestly have never in my life heard of anyone with this problem. I mean wired mouses are pretty much the rats of the computer world, and by that I mean they can usually survive a nuclear disaster when nothing else does. My only explanation is that you are either buying incredibly cheap mice, or there is something in the way you are handling it that is causing this, because wired mice just do not break this easily.

As for how do you properly take care of it, if it is optical there is no cleaning involved, so I would say short of "don't throw it across the room" there is not much maintenence involved. If you are carrying it around in your laptop bag, try giving it its own compartment so it doesn't get banged into anything. Other than that, try buying a better brand, Microsoft or Logitech are good.

Answer 2

You state this as if you keep buying the same mouse and it keeps breaking. What mouse are you buying (brand/model). I have a hard time believing you are buying $100 mice to have them fail after a few months each time. If you're buying $10 mice I would say the problem is that you're buying junk.

If you have to bend the wire at an angle it sounds like you are exposing the wire to excessive strain. Either the strain reliefs on your mouse cables could be poorly designed or you could be pulling on the cable when there is a high tension on it (other cables wrapped around it, cat hanging off of it, etc).

You stated that you are using the mouse with a laptop. You may be damaging it while you are storing/transporting it. How are you winding up the cable for storage? If you are wrapping it tightly or putting sharp bends in it, that may be causing it to fail. Higher quality mice will likely have higher quality cables that can endure more in this case as well.

Similarly, if you are jamming the mouse into a pouch along with several other cables, laying the laptop case on its side such that the mouse has the weight of an entire laptop pressing down on it or such, that doesn't sound like a good way to care for it either.

Have you considered a wireless Bluetooth mouse that uses a small usb receiver (no cable attached, similar to a memory stick)? You still need to deal with batteries but if you buy a package of rechargeables it isn't too much to swap them out in a charger every month or two. I'd keep an extra set charged with the laptop and always have a set in the battery charger as well.

Answer 3

i personally have never broke a mouse
only thing i can tell you is make sure to run mouse on a pad, and you can clean the inside of mouse if it begins to act up, on the under side there is a ring that un twist and use canned air to blow out dust and lint, take ball out and wipe off and put back together.
try to keep wire from being pinched any where so that doesn't break inside.
and just for FYI any item that is USB what ever slot it is first installed on, keep it on the slot, as they can be Territorial and tend not to like to be move to another slot, and will act up

as for wireless, a good set with good battery should only need to be replaced 1-2 times per yr and as long as the eye for the wireless is kept 2-3 ft in plain site of mouse or keyboard they work fine, if they loose signal, turn over and use reset button. also there usually is a notice that pops up as battery starts to get low, i usually change then.

Answer 4

I rather have a under pressure out gaming mouse. in case you want severe decision in a mouse and precision then a on the spot mouse purely won't decrease it. i don't even observe the twine. It would not get interior the way in any admire.