Fix a Mac Mighty Mouse That Doesn't Scroll Properly
Apple Mouse is a great accessory for any Mac, but sometimes it will refuse to scroll up or down. This could be caused by dirt or dust lodged in the scrolling mechanism in the mouse. Try these steps out to fix the issue.
Steps
Using a Rubbing and Rolling Technique
- Unplug your mouse from your computer.
- Turn the mouse over so it's upside down.
- Rub the scrolling ball repeatedly for a minute or so in every direction with a dry, clean piece of linen. If ball still isn't rolling properly, repeat with a lightly moistened cloth to remove any dirt. This works better if you use alcohol (eg. methylated spirits). You can also choose to put the mouse upside-down on a piece of paper and just rolling the ball over the paper.
- Try the same thing with rubbing it on your cotton shirt, pants, or jeans.
- Plug your mouse back in to see the problem's been fixed. If not, try repeating these steps a few times.
Using Air
- Use a can of air (like the ones made for cleaning a keyboard).
- While depressing the ball to make an opening around the ball, blow the air into the mouse.
Tips
- Make sure to roll the mouse in all directions, so as to enable the dirt trapped in the sides to be loosened.
- It may help to push down the ball and use the end of a paper clip to scrape around the inside of the hole. You only need to push it in about 1 mm or {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}.
- Sometimes the mouse just has no battery life in it.
