Ran into a situation with a Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 that also seems to plague the Wireless Laser Mouse 8000. When placing the Laser Mouse on its charging cradle, the LED on the top of the mouse slowly flashes green for a few seconds, as if it was successfully charging the NiMH battery inside, but then switches to rapidly flashing the LED red.
Taking the rechargeable battery out also results in the flashing red LED. So, the battery is clearly not being recharged. This is further corroborated by the short battery life.
I saw online that some people have found some sort of button underneath the battery and that it’s not being depressed. However, the mouse I was having problems with did not have such a button. There is a small hole under the battery, but no switch or button in the hole.
Upon further investigation, I noticed that the positive metal plate in the battery compartment of the mouse has two plastic rails holding it in place.
When putting the battery inside, the rails tend to press back against the top of the battery such that the battery’s tip doesn’t make good contact with the metal. Since the metal plate is tapered inward, it only makes reliable contact with the battery when the battery is pushed all the way down into the compartment.
As a result of this plastic getting in the way and preventing the battery from making contact with the positive conducting plate, of course it can’t recharge. It also explains why it only charges for a few seconds–just until the battery slips out of position and loses contact. However, the fix for this recharging problem is rather simple.
- Cut a small piece of paper a little shorter than the length of the battery and about twice as wide
- Fold the paper in half to achieve a thickness of two sheets of paper
- Place the battery into the battery compartment
- Put the paper on top of the battery
- Close the battery cover
The cover should go on snugly so that it firmly presses the battery into the compartment. That will enable the positive tip of the Laser Mouse’s battery to stay in contact with the positive conductor plate. If it doesn’t press firmly enough, add one more sheet that’s half the width of the first one (for a thickness of three sheets).
After applying this little fix, the problem mouse’s LED properly throbs green and charges up completely.
(Update: Added photos)
thx for this tip. It´s works phantastic and solves my problems with rechargeable the battery from the mouse. Shame on Microsoft for this error.
Thank you very much. The fix worked perfectly.
Seriously, I love you! ALmsot got so freustrated with my mouse that I bought a new one, but this help saved me! You’re a hero!
GUARANTEED PERMANENT REPAIR—red blinking light
i am an electronic engineer with many years experience. i opened up a microsoft laser wireless mouse 7000, and diagnosed this problem (actually there are 4 distinct problems all going on at once). #1)where the positive battery contact is connected to the circuit board, they forgot to solder the connection!!! #2)where the negative battery contact is connected to the circuit board, they forgot to solder the connection!!! #3)the long silver piece of metal that hangs out across the battery, should be soldered (at 2 places) where it attaches to the circuit board (very important, since this is the main culprit). #4)where the positive terminal of the battery touches the positive contact of the mouse, there are 2 small pieces of black plastic (one on each side of the positive battery contact in the mouse), break them both out, and throw them away (they are too thick, and prevent the positive terminal of the battery from making good contact) (these are in the battery compartment, don’t confuse these with the 2 pieces of black plastic on the battery cover).
NOTES: A)to open the case, remove the 4 feet (pads), then remove the 3 screws underneath the feet, and pry the base from the mouse with a knife or screwdriver.
B)because you removed the 2 black pieces of plastic, use care when closing the battery cover
if you apply this repair, you’ll never have the problem again—–if you use the “paper fix” the problem will show up again at some point in the future.
if you need help, or details on how or why these repairs work, feel free to contact me at rojackson@prodigy.net
Thank you so much for this fix. Worked perfectly!
Thanks very much for this information.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas.
This seems to work for my 7000 model mouse.
Thank you very much.
Happy new year from the Netherlands.
P2
Worked perfectly. fixed my 700 series mouse. Mine was a combination of original battery being too law and improper contact. I inserted paper and was still getting flashing red. changed to a different rechargable battery that was a bit more charged and BAM. Charger is working now.
Worked for me with extending the spring additionally to the piece of paper
@Jonathan: If your battery discharged too far and won’t charge back up in the mouse, try partially charging the battery with one of the inexpensive battery chargers. Then, put it back into the mouse. When a battery is too low, the battery sensor thinks there’s no battery installed and won’t try to charge it.
I’ve been struggling with this for about 6 months now trying to figure it out. Your solution worked perfect. Thanks!
Just bought the Laser Mouse 8000. Your solution worked perfectly. Thanks a lot!
I’ve tried the paper, I’ve tried the using aluminum foil. The mouse is turned off. All I get is a blinking red light never a green one. At least will someone tell me what the red flashing light means? Is it charging, or is it a “Danger, danger, Will Robinson”?
@Joe: Flashing red means that it is not charging. The most common causes (and solutions) are that the battery is not detected (solutions: add paper to battery, add foil to or bend metal contacts, trim plastic on positive contact), it’s been overly discharged (solution: partially charge with a regular AAA charger) or it’s dead (solution: replace with a new NiMH AAA battery).
Try charging your battery in a regular NiMH AAA charger. If it charges up fine, then the battery is good and you can try it in the mouse again. If a regular charger doesn’t work, then get a new battery.
Edit: Missed an A. It should be AAA, not AA. Fixed.
@ Peter: Thank you for your help. Done the paper thing, and the foil thing, doesnt’t work. The new NiMH AAA works fine but still won’t charge, just blinks. So as I replace my battery each time I will continue to curse Mircosoft for yet another defective product and curse myself being gullible for buying.
I had to add more paper than just two folded – about 5 layers then it worked. Such a simple remedy! Thanks so much for posting this! 🙂
I have been fooling around with this new mouse that I got all morning. I was about to stuff it back in the box and take it back until I came across this little miracle post! Thanks for being smarter that the folks at Microsoft who design these things!
@Donna: Wow, that’s quite a bit of paper. Thanks for the feedback.
@Jeremey: Glad it helped. Waiting in the return line is no fun.
Just bought this mouse. I had the same problem it not charging. The paper worked great! Thanks very much! You saved me $30 🙂
One question, how often should i turn off the mouse? Every night after computer use, when I shut down my computer?
@Andrew: If it’s just overnight or over the weekend, I would just leave it on. It should be fine. If you’re not going to use it for many days, then shut it off and unplug the charger.
I should not turn it off on the switch on the bottom every night? Isn’t the laser still on if it’s still on?
How do you know if the mouse is charging? I bought a new duracell rechargeable and now it flashes green (3 flashes. Pause. 3 Flashes. Pause) but then it flashes red.
@Andrew: Wireless mice will switch to a low-power state after a period of inactivity. Of course, it’ll still consume a little power, but not as much as when it’s completely awake. For maximum battery conservation, of course, you can just turn it off.
@Kevin: A throbbing green light means it’s charging. If it flashes red, it’s not charging and will require one of the many fixes listed here.
Awesome solution! I was skeptic, but desparate. It worked like a charm. Thanks Peter!