Apple Mighty Mouse Click Scroll Wheel Wont Scroll by matt on July 26, 2006
Q: I just got an Apple Mighty Mouse and all of a sudden I cannot scroll pages down but I can scroll up and to the side with my Apple Mighty Mouse. I cannot find a way to easily take it apart and since it is only a week old it does not make sense that it is broken. Could I need to clean it and if so how would I go about cleaning the clickable scroll wheel?
A: It is actually pretty common that the clickable scroll wheel on the Apple Mighty Mouse stops working like that because people use the mouse for hours and hours a day and their fingers have oils and dirt on them and it gets into the clickable scroll wheel. Remember when you used to have a mouse that had a wheel on the bottom, most people have lasers these days but some people still have the wheel, and you had to take the bottom off and clean all the rollers inside the mouse to make the mouse track correctly?
Well it is the same idea behind the clickable scroll wheel except, like you said, it does not seem like it is easy to take the mouse apart and even if it were easy I would not suggest it.
The first step to getting the clickable scroll wheel clean is to get a dry hand towel and use it to roll the clickable scroll wheel all different directions. This will get the dirt and oil off the ball and off the sensors that it touches. The good news is that in most cases this alone will resolve your issue. If you find this does not resolve your issue then you will want to take a damp cloth and do the same thing.
Now people, damp does not mean running it under the sink then walking to your desk and dripping all over the place as you go. Damp means a few drops of water on the cloth then ring it out and make sure there are no drips. You will want to rub the clickable scroll wheel a few times and then dry it off with a dry part of the hand cloth. We can do this because we did not get the whole hand cloth wet right 
Good luck and enjoy your Apple Mighty Mouse because I know I do. For those of you that do not know what an Apple Mighty Mouse is visit the website here at Apple Mighty Mouse.
Comments
Maude
Posted on August 20th, 2007
Just tried this and it worked like a charm!
Marcus Armstrong
Posted on October 2nd, 2007
I just used the canned co2 sitting next to me. Point the straw really close to the scroll ball, pull trigger, regain down scrolling that was previously lost.
matt
Posted on October 2nd, 2007
Marcus
Thank you for the tip, I will certainly keep it in mind. How long does the fix last, on average, for you?
I notice I have to clean the mighty mouse ball daily if not twice a day using the water and cloth.
Thanks
Matt
Amy
Posted on November 7th, 2007
Wow did that work - I am so happy it was that easy! Thanks!!
Rob
Posted on November 21st, 2007
Wow, that actually worked. I didn’t think that it would.
Tate
Posted on December 16th, 2007
Matt, why don’t you try using methylated spirits instead of water. You may find it more effective at removing grease.
matt
Posted on December 16th, 2007
That is a good idea I will give it a shot
Thank
Arvid
Posted on December 30th, 2007
this really works well,
ty,
though I still wiss apple’d made the weel a little bigger so these kind of issues would be easier to resolve
Arvid
Posted on December 30th, 2007
this really works well,
ty,
though I still wiss apple’d made the weel a little bigger so these kind of issues would be easier to resolve
nicholas
Posted on December 30th, 2007
i heard of this happening, and it never happened to me until i at potato chips while browsing. i found canned co2 fixes it best.
NKW-)
Posted on January 11th, 2008
Unbelievable! Thank you for sharing that bit of advice! It really works. Interestingly, I was about to have Apple replace it for me when I decided to do a little search… Thank you for being a generous netizen and sharing your experience.
Nate
Posted on February 12th, 2008
Using some sort of alcohol works better and dries faster, etc. I use rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol 91%) the kind of stuff you use to clean wounds and a cotton ball. However, after doing this the last time (I’ve done it 5 times or so) my middle click doesn’t work anymore… idk what the problem is… maybe I moved a piece of dirt into the middle click sensor or something…
Tate
Posted on February 12th, 2008
How much rubbing alcohol are you applying to the mouse wheel? I’d imagine using excessive amounts at any one time may result in problems.
You only need to apply a *little* bit to a chux or tissue and wipe gently. I’ve found this works great for me.
Cynthia
Posted on February 22nd, 2008
This worked! Great tip. I tried the compressed air trick which had worked in the past, but not this time. Your towel trick took care of the problem. Many thanks, you are kind and gracious to share this solution with us.
constantine1
Posted on March 8th, 2008
I couldnt scroll up but i could scroll down. HA! I just used a paper towel with nail polish remover as the cleaning agent. It did the job right!!! Now my mighty mouse works again.
Dan
Posted on March 26th, 2008
If this dons’t work for you guys, another tip is to cut off about 3 - 3 cm’s of scotch tape, then vertically down the tape cut off a narrow section, say 2mm wide.
now put the start of the tape (sticky side on to the wheel) on the top of the ball and carefully start to roll the ball. The idea is to get the end of the tape to come out of the of the mouse on the other side of the ball, then you can grab the tape, one hand on each end and slowly rotate the tape around 360 degrees while moving each end of the tape up and down, this will clean the bits you cant get to, like the sensors, do this a few times and ‘presto’ a new mouse!!
hope this helps
Sunny
Posted on April 3rd, 2008
Thanks. this works for me too. thanks to google also as I just typed “apple mouse down scroll” and boom, it brings me to this page with this excellent review and 10 seconds later, the problem is solved. I lvoe technology
Denis
Posted on April 17th, 2008
Thanks for the tip. I could scroll up but not down. Now it works.
tim
Posted on April 29th, 2008
great tip, used a lysol wipe and it works like new
chris
Posted on April 30th, 2008
didn’t work at first, but a little blow into the hole around the edge of the scroll ball did the trick. Thanks!
constance
Posted on May 14th, 2008
Thank YOU!! The alcohol finally did the trick!! I’m SO happy!
Leave your comment