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)
@Peter: bending the contactd didn’t work out either… 🙁
When I connect the keyboard to the device it turns green twice and then a flickering red light appears.
Anyone els had/has this similar problem?
Good spot!! I never thought of that. I fixed it by putting a think piece of plastic behind the contact to move it closer to the battery
Thanks again
Actually how do you know the battery recharging is working? I put in a new rechargeable battery, did the paper trick, always rest the mouse on recharge when not in use, but there is no blinking light to confirm that the recharging is indeed working. Do I have to wait till the mouse blinks red then I know the recharging is not working at all?
For the keyboard, I don’t know. Haven’t tried one. For the mouse, the LED slowly transitions from off to green while it’s charging.
Slowly transitions?…. – within a few minutes after the mouse is placed on the cradle? Even for a brand new battery which should have been fully charged? I always feel that I won’t know if charging is doing until the battery is low on power which might be 2 weeks after use then I will know if the charger is good or bad.
Correct. For the 7000 mouse, as soon as I place it on the cradle, the LED transitions OFF->Green->OFF->Green… as if it was a breathing indicator. “It’s alive!” 🙂
Thanks so much, what a pain!
Hey Peter – it transitions to Green even while the power switch at the bottom is turned off? Even if a brand new battery is used?
The switch on the bottom doesn’t prevent re-charging the batteries. Yes, the LED will still throb green with the switch turned off and then go solid green when charging is complete. As for new batteries, it depends if they’re pre-charged and how long they’ve been sitting in a store/warehouse. Rechargeable NiMH batteries still self-discharge over time.
Thanks Peter. My last-ditch attempt is to buy a new pack of NiMH battery and see if recharging works. Current battery is never used off a pack which I bought 1 year ago. I did the paper trick, stretched the connectors in the battery compartment, and sanded the 2 pins which sit on the cradle but still no signs of a recharge. If still it doesn’t work have to throw this 7000 mouse in the garbage bin. Without recharging normally a battery dies within 2 weeks.
Thanks for the tip…I have this problem on both of my Microsoft Wireless 8000 keyboards and mouses…after applying “fix”…things seem to be working and the flashing red light problem appears resolved…beautiful!!!!!
I just bought this a few days ago and the charging issue had been bugging the crap outta me. The fix worked instantly, and the green light has been throbbing for the past hour now, charging the mouse the entire time. Thanks a bunch!
Hey folks…Rxp1970 and phantazn …
could you share what your FIX is to get the charging work…
I just wanna make sure I miss nothing out.
I am amazed that this seems to have worked! Thanks!
the fact is that you dont have to need to do this :S you expect Microsoft to get it right, the metal pin is too short, the plastic rails in front of the connector :S mite as well just build a mouse for them 😛
I just had to comment to say that you are awesome for sharing this! I have been so frustrated with my mouse! I was about to go try to buy a new battery, but you saved me some time and money! Thanks again!
Thanks – needed a thin(ish) bit of card wrapped around the battery and now it is charging happily.
Thank you so much for writing this simple yet fantastic fix. I’ve been struggling with this for almost a year now, and I’m glad it finally charges.
Microsoft really ought to hire you! This was driving me absolutely nuts! Thanks for your attention to detail!
I tried this method after having the same red light problems with my mouse. It worked at first but then I found that after a few days, it would go back to being problematic. So I tried rolling a piece of paper around the battery like someone else suggested and it worked…for awhile..and then it went back to being unchargeable. So I got fed up, took out the piece of paper and just let the battery in there un”modified”. And for some reason, now its charging fine without the pieces of paper…but god knows how long it will charge before it gives me more problems..Microsoft did a horrible job on this mouse. Considering taking it back for a refund
Wow it worked like a charm. I think it’s really dumb, not your fix, but the fact I have to do that in order to have a functional mouse. Thanks!
I saw the two plastic “guides” on either side of the positive terminal sticking out, and they looked like they were preventing the (short) positive tip of the supplied battery from reaching the terminal. I just took a utility knife and cut off the two plastic guides on either side of the positive terminal. The spring on the negative side now pushes the positive tip tight against the terminal. It’s charging great now.
A big thanks for your help here. For me the paper with tin foil didn’t work, but the idea of a solder ball did. It’s charging beautifully right now and the battery is nice and snug! Thanks again!!! (My wife was going to kill me for buying a defective $70 mouse. Thank god I fixed it before she found out!)
Wow. I have had the 7000 series setup for about a year now and finally decided to see if there was a fix for this.
I tried the paper trick on top of the battery, and that did not work. But I saw you mentioned a “button” underneath the batery that some people have reported. In your first picture that metal band in the center of the pbattery compartment, it is only attached on one side (the “hidden” side) It should fall into a recessed notch when the battery is inserted. However at the opposite end of it, I noticed it does not line up with the “notch” underneath it, so it is not being fully depressed and probably triggering a button underneath. Putting the piece of paper on that, allowed the battery to depress it completely and now my mouse is charging up 🙂 15 minutes now and no red flashing light.
Thanks!
thank you thank you thank you, i have returned my mouse twice a still had the charging issue, your solution worked like a charm i used a piece of cigarette package for a snug fit.