Do I need specific rechargeable batteries for the Magic Mouse?

January 27, 2011 3:28 PM

Do I need a specific kind of rechargeable batteries for Apple's Magic Mouse?

I have Apple's Magic Mouse as well as some Energizer Rechargeable nickel-metal hydride 2500mAh batteries. I have the batteries fully charged yet they never register with the mouse. I have other electronic equipment that they don't seem to work in either. I've tried numerous batteries so I know they're fine. Do I need to get a specific kind of rechargeable battery for the Magic Mouse?

posted by Joseppi to computers & internet (12 answers total)

On most rechargeable AA batteries, the positive terminal is pretty short. Due to the Magic Mouse's design, the positive terminals may not actually be reaching the contacts. Who knows, maybe it's designed that way so they can sell more official Apple AA rechargeable batteries...
posted by zsazsa at 3:38 PM on January 27, 2011

If these two batteries do not work in other devices, perhaps the batteries themselves do not work. Have you tried two other known-working rechargeables of the same type?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:48 PM on January 27, 2011

Some websites identified the Apple branded batteries to be rebranded Sanyo Eneloops.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 3:51 PM on January 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

I use a variety of rechargeable AA batteries with my Magic Mouse, including Energizers. I've noticed that some of them work better than others. It seems that some batteries either do not have enough sustained juice once they fall below 50% charge. Old ones, especially, fail early.

I think the issues is that the cheaper, lower-quaity batteries do not properly sustain a high enough output to run the mouse which makes me think the mouse's power consumption is right at the top of what AA batteries can give. Personally, it makes me wish it just came with proprietary battery and a damn recharging station like other high end wireless mice. Probably end up lighter that way, too.
posted by thebestsophist at 3:51 PM on January 27, 2011

Most rechargeables, including NiMH, are 1.2V while the typical alkaline are 1.5V or so. Some equipment just isn't happy with the lower voltage (I have a handheld GPS that works but never shows the batteries as fully charged). If they are charged and truly fit the holder, this could be the issue.
posted by tommasz at 3:53 PM on January 27, 2011

I used eneloops in my Magic Mouse, before I gave it up for the Magic Trackpad.
posted by spasm at 3:54 PM on January 27, 2011

I'm not clear on one thing: has this Magic Mouse worked with any batteries? Is it possible that the mouse is defective?

For what it's worth, I use both these Duracells and Sanyo's Eneloop batteries with my Magic Mouse. I have a bunch of these batteries and I haven't had a problem yet.
posted by ddbeck at 3:59 PM on January 27, 2011

In my experience, the Magic Mouse seems to dislike old NiMH batteries that don't hold their charge very well anymore. I have seen the same behavior in various cordless bluetooth mice.

Get a nice fancy charger or perhaps a good but not so fancy charger and do a conditioning on the batteries. This has revived many a "bad" NiMH for me.

P.S. Don't buy fast chargers (as in under an hour). Fast charging wears out the batteries faster. Also, don't buy the Apple batteries and charger. The charger is annoying slow (as in 5-6 hours) and overpriced. The best buy in general seems to be the Eneloop batteries and charger combos regularly sold at CostCo and Sam's Club.
posted by fief at 3:59 PM on January 27, 2011

I have successfully used Energizer NiMH regargables in mine, but older ones that don't hold as much of a charge any more don't work at all in my Magic Mouse.
posted by usonian at 4:01 PM on January 27, 2011

Thanks for the replies.

Regular non-rechargeable batteries work perfectly fine in the mouse. I just hate throwing them out when they're done so I wanted to go with the rechargeable ones. I have the 15-minute charger which I see might be a problem. My camera flash doesn't like them either so it's frustrating when I have 9 or 10 of these batteries are they're more or less useless at this point. I'll have to test them to see which ones hold any sort of charge.
posted by Joseppi at 4:07 PM on January 27, 2011

I have a Magic Mouse. It has worked well with all sorts of different rechargeable batteries.
posted by fifilaru at 6:09 PM on January 27, 2011

I haven't had any problems with Energizer Ni-MH batteries in my magic mouse, I use a standard charger which is indeed annoyingly slow.
posted by nanojath at 8:21 PM on January 27, 2011