How to crack open an Apple Mighty Mouse and clean the trackball

Tue, Jul 14, 2009

News

Apple’s Mighty Mouse works great most of the time, but there are times when the trackball simply stops working.  Sometimes you can scroll up but not down, down but not up,  and sometimes, you can’t even scroll at all.

There are a number of ways to fix this, but not all of them work swimmingly.  For instance, you can try rubbing the trackball with a q-tip or paper towel soaked in rubbing alcohol, or you can try inserting the corner of a piece of paper into the space between the trackball and the rest of the device.  From our experience, both of the above solutions work, but only temporarily.

That being the case, sometimes you need to get your hands dirty and actually open up your mouse and clean the trackball manually to get rid of any dirt and dust particles that might have taken up residence there.  The following video explains how to do just that.  Lastly, and in typical Apple fashion, opening up the mouse requires some effort, so proceed with caution and at your own risk!


Watch How to clean an Apple Mighty Mouse – Take-apart guide in Technology

Related: Does Apple’s Mighty Mouse suck?

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11 Comments For This Post

  1. Joe D Says:

    A better solution and one that always has worked for me is to insert the tip of a compressed air canister into the trackball. Works every time.

  2. F.M. Says:

    Fantastic instructions, exactly what I needed after viewing other videos that skipped a bunch of steps. Really clear, thanks for taking the time.

  3. kurye Says:

    thank you for information

  4. joker dağıtım Says:

    emege saygi tesekkürler

  5. Reg Says:

    Thank you Sir, you just saved me buying a new mouse.

  6. Evan Vulich Says:

    Hi;

    Great demonstration on cleaning these lousy mice. Mine was doing the SAME THING after only 5 months of use. I found that taking the mouse apart was way too daunting.

    I simply grabbed one of my wife’s (an RN) alcohol wipes that she brings home from the hospital and wiped over the ball several times being careful not to drip any inside.

    The mouse works flawlessly now without taking it apart. I’ll bet you’ll have the same results as I did.

  7. Will Rhea Says:

    I finally resorted to following the video here because NO AMOUNT OF cleaning talked about with wipes, Q-Tips, etc…, did much of anything. Once I got the mouse apart, it was so dirty that I’m surprised it functioned at all, the scroll wheel that is.

    Now it works great. The problem is that my oval ring cracked badly, but with a very light touch of Elmers glue, all is good and I should be able to take it apart again if need be. But I am going to buy the Magic Mouse with no moving parts. The mighty mouse is great, but Apple should’ve come up with a better way to clean it for dirty environments.

    Thanks for the video. It saved me a great many headaches!

  8. Laura Says:

    just spit in it

  9. Wil M Says:

    Works brilliantly! The cleaning can only go so far.
    When i finally decided to rip it apart the wheels were so gummed up it was scary! works like new again now! Yay! I hate this mouse! Grrr

  10. Graham Says:

    Brilliant video, everything as described. My mouse works perfectly now, thank you.

  11. Bart Says:

    I’ve opened my Mighty Mouse and cleaned it thoroughly after it having problems almost daily.

    Just a tip for others who will attempt the procedure. If you have difficulty getting the first grey ring off of the bottom, try to get an X-acto blade between the ring and the mouse. Did wonders for me, especially for the bottom half of the ring, which seems to hold more tight than the top.

    Watch out for your hands.

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