Personal Computers

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.


Related Answers:

23 Responses to “Apple Mighty Mouse Click Scroll Wheel Wont Scroll”
  1.  

    Just tried this and it worked like a charm!

     

    Maude says: on August 20, 2007 at 10:48 pm

  2.  

    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.

     

    Marcus Armstrong says: on October 2, 2007 at 3:57 am

  3.  

    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

     

    matt says: on October 2, 2007 at 7:16 am

  4.  

    Wow did that work – I am so happy it was that easy! Thanks!!

     

    Amy says: on November 7, 2007 at 5:35 pm

  5.  

    Wow, that actually worked. I didn’t think that it would.

     

    Rob says: on November 21, 2007 at 8:37 pm

  6.  

    Matt, why don’t you try using methylated spirits instead of water. You may find it more effective at removing grease.

     

    Tate says: on December 16, 2007 at 8:36 am

  7.  

    That is a good idea I will give it a shot :)

    Thank

     

    matt says: on December 16, 2007 at 9:10 am

  8.  

    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 says: on December 30, 2007 at 10:14 am

  9.  

    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 says: on December 30, 2007 at 10:14 am

  10.  

    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.

     

    nicholas says: on December 30, 2007 at 2:34 pm

  11.  

    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.

     

    NKW-) says: on January 11, 2008 at 2:25 am

  12.  

    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…

     

    Nate says: on February 12, 2008 at 4:35 pm

  13.  

    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.

     

    Tate says: on February 12, 2008 at 6:07 pm

  14.  

    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.

     

    Cynthia says: on February 22, 2008 at 9:02 pm

  15.  

    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.

     

    constantine1 says: on March 8, 2008 at 9:34 pm

  16.  

    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

     

    Dan says: on March 26, 2008 at 3:23 am

  17.  

    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 :-)

     

    Sunny says: on April 3, 2008 at 6:47 pm

  18.  

    Thanks for the tip. I could scroll up but not down. Now it works.

     

    Denis says: on April 17, 2008 at 12:46 am

  19.  

    great tip, used a lysol wipe and it works like new

     

    tim says: on April 29, 2008 at 11:09 pm

  20.  

    didn’t work at first, but a little blow into the hole around the edge of the scroll ball did the trick. Thanks!

     

    chris says: on April 30, 2008 at 10:05 pm

  21.  

    Thank YOU!! The alcohol finally did the trick!! I’m SO happy!

     

    constance says: on May 14, 2008 at 4:50 pm

  22.  

    Matt,

    Thanks for posting this solution — it immediately solved my mouse scroll wheel issue. Note: I recommend using iKlear solution (sold at Apple stores): spray a little bit on to a clean towel, then gently clean the track wheel, rolling it in all directions. After about 30 seconds of cleaning, my mouse track wheel worked like new again.

    – Jeff

     

    motoguy41 says: on July 20, 2008 at 6:13 pm

  23.  

    I am very glad it helped you out! Thanks for the heads up on the iKlear solution as well!

     

    matt says: on July 21, 2008 at 8:20 am