Magic Mouse and MBP 16" M3 Pro 2023

[gui0312]

Does anyone use this combination? I had a Magic Mouse in a box from my daughters iMac we got a bit a go (she uses the trackpad option) and I thought to use with my new MBP for one that it might offer better tracking/clicking etc since I rarely used a laptop before and two, to limit the natural oils getting on the trackpad all the time.

However, I find the Magic Mouse simply unusable, its tracking is pretty bad, I've tried playing with the settings (increasing the tracking speed because it's ridiculously slow on default) and such but, it's just not great. Wonder if I am doing something wrong or mouse may have an issue?

 

[bradman83]

Does anyone use this combination? I had a Magic Mouse in a box from my daughters iMac we got a bit a go (she uses the trackpad option) and I thought to use with my new MBP for one that it might offer better tracking/clicking etc since I rarely used a laptop before and two, to limit the natural oils getting on the trackpad all the time.

However, I find the Magic Mouse simply unusable, its tracking is pretty bad, I've tried playing with the settings (increasing the tracking speed because it's ridiculously slow on default) and such but, it's just not great. Wonder if I am doing something wrong or mouse may have an issue?

I strongly dislike Apple's mice for that reason. The tracking always seems slower than other brands (or more particularly the acceleration), and they're not particularly ergonomic. I use a Logitech mouse and tracks perfectly when my MBP is docked to a monitor.

Random question - do you have Pointer Acceleration enabled? If it's disabled that will make any mouse feel like it tracks slowly.

 

[VineRider]

Try this in terminal to speed up the tracking. I agree the fastest setting in the GUI is too slow.

Open a Terminal Window

Enter the following command to see what your current setting is:
defaults read -g com.apple.mouse.scaling

This will return a numeric value. To speed up (or slow down) your mouse tracking, you can simply change this number accordingly by typing the following command below, replacing the “XX” with a new number

defaults write -g com.apple.mouse.scaling XX

You will need to restart your mac to see the changes take effect.


I use this setting:
defaults write -g com.apple.mouse.scaling 11

 

[gui0312]

I strongly dislike Apple's mice for that reason. The tracking always seems slower than other brands (or more particularly the acceleration), and they're not particularly ergonomic. I use a Logitech mouse and tracks perfectly when my MBP is docked to a monitor.

Random question - do you have Pointer Acceleration enabled? If it's disabled that will make any mouse feel like it tracks slowly.

I actually turned off the acceleration on the tip from another user, however, I don't think that helped any with the tracking. It did speed up the pointer a lot but was and is largely inaccurate. I think a different mouse is in order... I like the aesthetic of the Magic Mouse but it's pretty bad and yes you are correct the ergonomics of it aren't great either. Which Logitech are you using? I had some gaming mice a while back that I remember were very good.

 

[bradman83]

I actually turned off the acceleration on the tip from another user, however, I don't think that helped any with the tracking. It did speed up the pointer a lot but was and is largely inaccurate. I think a different mouse is in order... I like the aesthetic of the Magic Mouse but it's pretty bad and yes you are correct the ergonomics of it aren't great either. Which Logitech are you using? I had some gaming mice a while back that I remember were very good.

I use the M720 Triathlon (alongside the MX Keys keyboard) because it can pair and switch between three devices, so I can easily switch the two between my work Windows laptop, my MBP, and a PC desktop.

It won't win any beauty contest awards next to Apple's hardware (though the MX Keys comes in a version to match Apple hardware), but they're both highly functional.

 

[Imac Sam]

I have found Magic Mouse to always be too sensitive on the top, when my hand approaches it or such like. What I use with all of my Macs including my M1-Imac at work is the old Mighty Mouse. Whether it be in wired or wireless form. They can still be found on Ebay or sometimes Amazon.

Attached are two pics for visual to keep everyone from getting confused. But the ability to have the tiny trackball atop the mouse makes scrolling in all directions easy for me, as it was hard to find an aftermarket mouse that did such. Plus of course the Mighty Mouse still has that classy apple accessory look to it.

 

[gui0312]

I have found Magic Mouse to always be too sensitive on the top, when my hand approaches it or such like. What I use with all of my Macs including my M1-Imac at work is the old Mighty Mouse. Whether it be in wired or wireless form. They can still be found on Ebay or sometimes Amazon.

Attached are two pics for visual to keep everyone from getting confused. But the ability to have the tiny trackball atop the mouse makes scrolling in all directions easy for me, as it was hard to find an aftermarket mouse that did such. Plus of course the Mighty Mouse still has that classy apple accessory look to it.

View attachment 2334945 View attachment 2334944

Omg yeah I remember the Mighty Mouse!

 

[Burnincoco]

Get a Logitech MX 3S, it's the best mouse I have ever used. Pairs perfectly with M2 MBP, never disconnects or skips. It has horizontal scrolling that you can program to zoom or anything. The thumb buttons are also excellent on this thing and the scroll wheel can ratchet or zip depending on application, you have to try it

 

[gui0312]

Get a Logitech MX 3S, it's the best mouse I have ever used. Pairs perfectly with M2 MBP, never disconnects or skips. It has horizontal scrolling that you can program to zoom or anything. The thumb buttons are also excellent on this thing and the scroll wheel can ratchet or zip depending on application, you have to try it

I ended up getting it. Tracking has been excellent however, I notice with the middle scroll wheel the scrolling is much more "jerky" than with the trackpad on the MBP. I've downloaded the Logi+ software and adjusted the settings and such but it does not get better. It almost feels as if when I scroll through webpages, trades, and or emails, it seems to not have that "promotion" 120hz refresh rate, whereas when I do it with the trackpad its very smooth. Any ideas? or just a limitation?

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

I ended up getting it. Tracking has been excellent however, I notice with the middle scroll wheel the scrolling is much more "jerky" than with the trackpad on the MBP. I've downloaded the Logi+ software and adjusted the settings and such but it does not get better. It almost feels as if when I scroll through webpages, trades, and or emails, it seems to not have that "promotion" 120hz refresh rate, whereas when I do it with the trackpad its very smooth. Any ideas? or just a limitation?

MacOS doesn't have smooth scrolling or scroll acceleration for 3rd party mice, so you need to add it by installing a little app called Mos. Free.

 

[gui0312]

Wow! Thank you, just installed it. Works really well so far, had to adjust the settings a bit cause it was lightning fast although very smooth.

 

[Burnincoco]

MacOS doesn't have smooth scrolling or scroll acceleration for 3rd party mice, so you need to add it by installing a little app called Mos. Free.

Thanks! this is great. I mostly use my MBP with an external 60hz monitor and thought it was just that it didn't have 120hz that made it look like that. This is app is a gem. Makes my mouse go to 11 and 110%

 

[Burnincoco]

I ended up getting it. Tracking has been excellent however, I notice with the middle scroll wheel the scrolling is much more "jerky" than with the trackpad on the MBP. I've downloaded the Logi+ software and adjusted the settings and such but it does not get better. It almost feels as if when I scroll through webpages, trades, and or emails, it seems to not have that "promotion" 120hz refresh rate, whereas when I do it with the trackpad its very smooth. Any ideas? or just a limitation?

Seems like we got our answer I didn't know I had. Good times!

 

[gui0312]

MacOS doesn't have smooth scrolling or scroll acceleration for 3rd party mice, so you need to add it by installing a little app called Mos. Free.

Seems like we got our answer I didn't know I had. Good times!

What are you guys using as far as the settings go in MOS, within the "advanced" section?

 

[Burnincoco]

What are you guys using as far as the settings go in MOS, within the "advanced" section?

this

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

Wow! Thank you, just installed it. Works really well so far, had to adjust the settings a bit cause it was lightning fast although very smooth.

Glad it worked! It's a great little app, but I wish i didn't need yet ANOTHER app... I have already like 400 apps for simple stuff that macOS lacks by default😭

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

Thanks! this is great. I mostly use my MBP with an external 60hz monitor and thought it was just that it didn't have 120hz that made it look like that. This is app is a gem. Makes my mouse go to 11 and 110%

Fr, so nice. I just don't get why so many simple but essential things like good window management/mouse controls aren't availble in macOS by default...like why...I recently tried windows 10 and thought it was so nice I didn't need to install 10 little utilities to get nice basic functions....if anything I had to remove more than I had to install..

 

[Burnincoco]

What are you guys using as far as the settings go in MOS, within the "advanced" section?

I found out that if you increase the Step just a little bit, you get rid of a little bounce that sometimes happens while scrolling Safari etc.