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)
I just p/up the key/mice and feel like i’m going to bust if this battery doen’t charge. Its been in the cradle for 3 hours and still does’nt show green. have i been set up? can I use a regular battery? Holla bac!
@Mike: If they’re new, let them charge up overnight before you panic.
Thank you all. It took 6 thicknesses of my yellow legal pad but it is charging fine.
I did let it charge overnight and it did not charge. I tried the folded sheet wrap, but will double tonight…think it will help?
It Charged; but only lasted for a minute! (I Can’t WiIN!). I went on E-Bay and purchased some duracell pre-charged rechageable batteries and I hope tat will solve my problem. I believe my Rechrg Bat that came with the product may be to old to get back in shape so in the future I will probable not purchase a MS Key and Mouse. I want to thank all for the supoer great advice and education! Thanks again!
4give my gramatical errors!
Corrected: It Charged; but only lasted for a minute! (I Can’t Win!). I went on E-Bay and purchased some Duracell pre-charged rechargeable batteries and I hope that will solve my problem. I believe my Rechargeable Bat that came with the product may be too old to get back in shape so in the future I will probably not purchase a MS Key and Mouse. I want to thank all for the super great advice and education! Thanks again!
@Mike: A new battery was just what I was going to suggest. Hope that takes care of it for you!
A great guide, but it did not do the trick for me and my wireless 8000 mouse.
I did as Bob Lib suggest, and pinched the the bend piece of metal together, with a pair of scissors (you gotta make use of what you can find in your office ;o) and it did the trick for me.
Peter Ridge: Could this perhaps be added to your fix?
Wow, Thank you. This worked. My mouse actually charged over night and it worked without saying low battery after 5mins of usage.
I have a MS Laser Mouse 7000.
@Jakob: Glad Bob’s fix worked for you. The list of solutions continues to grow. I may need to summarize them either as an update to this post or in a new one.
Thanks so much this worked perfectly!! Great pics & description.
I’d like to clear a few things up and summarize some details…
1) The mouse (and keyboard) are not made by Microsoft. They buy it from a third party.
2) The battery installed in the mouse IS NOT a standard-sized AAA battery. It is ever so slightly smaller in diameter which I believe is the majority of the problem. And as many have noticed, the positive tip IS shorter. I am inclined to say that the mouse was built around a normal AAA battery and someone – either the OEM manufacture or whomever packages the mice – decided to use a cheap battery which doesn’t measure-up to the AAA standard (in size).
3) If you decide to replace the battery, do not just buy a “rechargeable” battery as you might get a NiCad battery. As others have said, get a NiMH battery.
4) There is not really such a thing as a “pre-charged” battery. When batteries are manufactured, they are made up of chemicals which naturally create the voltage and current that a battery provides. From that point, they can be discharged, changing the states of the chemical. When recharged, the chemicals return to the state (composition) that they were in when manufactured. All rechargeable batteries are produced “fully charged” but the charge begins to “decay” (lose charge without a load) as soon as they are assembled. Some batteries, like NiCad’s, are worse than others. NiMH, which are better than NiCad, still lose their charge and will probably be dead when you get them. Li-ion (Lithium-ion) batteries keep the charge the best.
5) I have disassembled the 7000 mouse and the band under the battery is not a switch. I believe it is a spring designed to hold the battery tightly in place, against the cover, and also cause it to pop up when the cover is removed – to make it easy to get out. Since there are problems with the battery being properly seated deep enough in the compartment, this spring – along with the smaller-than-normal battery – make the problem worse. If you use one of the methods to push the battery down, farther into the compartment, you might want to push the band down gently to bend it. If it rests below the lip of the slot then it won’t interfere. I don’t suggest you do this unless you use something to push the battery down (paper, etc.)
6) Be aware that in normal operation, the battery is held in a position (upside-down) that just lends itself to not being deep enough in the compartment. This is exacerbated if you lift the mouse up and tap it down – or if you get pissed enough to give it a good rap on the mouse pad. Note, this may also FIX the problem, temporarily, because the loose battery will bounce and probably make better contact – for a while.
7) You might want to consider a more permanent (and possibly less destructive) solution to the problem if your problem is a “connection” one. I have taken a piece of the stuff you put on the bottoms of items you set on fine furniture to prevent scratches. It is made of felt and has double-faced tape on one side. They also come in pre-cut “dots” that are perfect. Put some on the inside of the cover, at the end that goes over the positive end of the battery. Also, if you have the means, one of the best solutions is applying a small amount of solder to the positive tip. This is really the fix that overcomes the real problem of the battery not being the proper size/dimension.
Now, something I’ve always wondered… As strange as it sounds, shouldn’t the plural of mouse, when it is a computer device, be mouses?
@Steve: Thanks for the additional info and your findings after taking apart the mouse.
I got a even easier fix to this. grab a knife or a flat screwdriver and stretch out the spring on the negative side so there can be more pressure against the positive side when the battery is inserted. mouse should be charging fine after that
I can’t believe the MS 7000 mouse is still sold when it is clear this is an ongoing design fault. I have spent the last day so frustrated that this brand new mouse wouldn’t charge despite 3 changes of rechargeable battery. I was about to give up and use standard alkaline batteries when I found this solution. I too, was so surprised when it worked. Thank you.
Hi All. tried all of the above but they did not work. But what did work for me was to clean the battery terminals and the mouse contact points with a alcohol based cleaner. I then used the tip of a sharp knife to clean (scuff – for want of a better word) all 4 contact points again. What i did notice is the negative terminal (bottom) on the battery became very bright.
This has done the trick. As i have discharged the battery 4 times this week and it has charged each time.
My reasoning is. The battery may have built up a “film” on the terminal, either as it was made or as it has sat in the box waiting for me to buy it.
wow dude thx to you i am not going to break the damn mouse down (:
Thx for spending time and solving hundreds problem (:
Thanks a lot! Worked perfectly for me, too.
Peter, thank you so much for posting this and getting all the miffed MS mousers to pipe up. I own two of these 7000’s and only one of them has given me the red light headaches. I was ready to try and replace what I thought was a ‘dud’ battery, however upon trying the ‘paper trick’ have been rewarded with the pleasant green glow instead of the angry red one.
I don’t usually post to forums but since I found it so helpful I figured it was time to break my silence and chime in.
Good on ya mate!
@Tika: Thanks for leaving a comment. Glad it did the trick for your ‘dud’ mouse. 🙂
Thanks for the step by step!I’ve had this problem for a year! I used to just think it was luck that would charge it.
Cheers
The metal band underneath the battery is not a switch at all, it’s a heat sensor which allows the charging mechanism inside the battery to turn off so it doesn’t overcharge. With quick chargers when the battery is fully charged its temperature increases. I believe that during normal charge it constantly regulates the temperature by turning on and off the charging mechanism. The problem I’m having with my 8000 mouse is that no matter what kind of battery I put in (fully charged or fully drained) I get the flashing red problem. It happens before the battery even gets hot enough to activate the sensor. I have cleaned all the contacts on the mouse and charger, and the battery has good connection inside the compartment. I believe that most of the problems that people are having are caused by the heat sensor attached to the metal band being defective.
I ******* l0v3 you man your fix was ******* awesome. you're the best.
Thanks for the tip. This has bugged me for ages, just added the paper and it works fine now! cheers.