How to Clean Your Apple Mighty Mouse

Intro: How to Clean Your Apple Mighty Mouse

The Mighty Mouse is a great product, but never a perfect one. After a while using it, the scroll ball can gather enough dust to make it completely disfunctional. I've seen a few descriptions on how to clean the scroll ball with a cloth and some cleaning products, and a few descriptions on how to open the mouse, but still I decided to make a detailed instructable on it.

STEP 1: What You'll Need

- An Apple Mighty Mouse =D
- An Olfa cutter (or any craft knife you're used to)
- Super glue
- A precision philips screwdriver

STEP 2: Remove the Outer Ring

This is optional. I've seen some people opening the mouse without removing this outer ring, but then the cord will prevent you from separating the two halves and it will be a bit hard to work. So I prefer taking more time on this to make the process easier later.

- With the craft knife, start to unglue the ring from the side buttons. It's glued to the body at different points, so every once in a while you'll hear a snap of the glue coming loose.
- Carefully work your way around the base until the whole thing is free. It will seem very hard around the bottom part especially, but eventually it will come loose.

Be extra careful and take your time. The ring is fragile and flexible, so try not to bend it while doing this, or you'll end up with something like this.

STEP 3: Crack It Open

- Use the precision screwdriver or the knife to snap loose the base from the body. A little leverage with the tool should do the trick.

This is where that retaining ring would be holding the cord to the body, but as we've already removed it, the parts are independent, except for the inner cables.

- Carefully unplug the two inner cables by pushing out the black jumper that holds them in.

STEP 4: Release the Ball

This is where things start to get really fiddly, so be sure to do it on a straight surface to prevent any pieces from rolling off.

- Unscrew the black cover that holds the scroll ball.
- Unsnap the inner piece from the black cover, by pushing in the locks on the side.
- Take out the center piece from the metal case and unsnap it apart.

STEP 5: Clean =D

- Carefully clean out each of the four rollers and place them back, so you don't lose the orientation.
- Clean the ball if you need to and place it back.
- Now just put everything back together until you're left with the mouse and that unglued retaining ring.

STEP 6: Glue Back the Ring

This is also optional. If you want to keep the ring off, to ease the next cleanup, it'll work fine. However the cord is held in place by the ring, so without it the cord will sometimes get in the way of your mouse.

So what you need is only a couple of drops of super glue to keep the ring fixed. One on each diagonal edge of the base.

A few moments to dry and your Mighty Mouse is mighty again!

Comments

[bcamarena]

Good instructions but, before you resort to taking it apart, try applying a little isopropyl alcohol with a cotton swab and then roll the ball around. This worked on mine. Alcohol wipes may also work.

[thestevequilala]

Worked perfectly. Thanks! Little more detail at step 3 would help. I got the ring off easily, but it took me a minute to figure out how to pry apart the top clips and rocker pins to separate the two halves. I used a plastic spudger to gently unclip the top shell off

[subscribethem]

Thanks! I fixed my Might Mouse and I'm returning the Magic Trackpad tomorrow :) Save a lot of money that way

[Lam0beaner]

Oh, and thanks for the tape suggestion. It works like a charm and will definitely make future cleanings easier.

[Lam0beaner]

thank you! Thank You! THANK YOU! I did exactly as you instructed and now have my mouse back.. I really missed the function of squeezing the sides. I was monitoring replacement prices on ebay, and still may end up bidding on one just to have an extra, but all that you said and showed was enough. The tiny rollers appeared to be magnetized (or was it my screw driver) that proved to try the patience needed to get through this.. Anyway, thanks for your time and effort in showing the rest of us! You are appreciated by me!

[bigme]

Thank You! I now have my up scroll back. That was quite tricky, after a sneeze I lost one of my rollers which sent me on a ground level search, lucky I vacked the floor yesterday. Found my part, cleaned, reassembled the mouse and all is well. TY

[eitreimfam]

Great instructable. If a wire ribbon comes out of its connector, don't despair. It is still possible to reinsert it. As you reassemble your mouse, carefully squeeze each ribbon just above the bare end, then gently press it back into its connector as deeply as you can. Chances are good that it will work.

[=SMART=]

Thanks Dude, this was awesome ! i was soo pissed when i couldnt scroll down! lol 5 *

[grifterus]

If you want to avoid the Super Glue part, just use scotch tape. A couple of thin ribbons parallel to the ring (I used four, for the four "corners") will hold it up as well as the glue. And you'll be able to open it again without having to crack it open. You will also avoid stains, and the fumes are not good for your circuits.

[grifterus]

If you want to avoid superglue (fumes are not good for your circuit, and if you are not careful, you end up staining your mouse), reseal it with a couple of thin ribbons of Scotch Tape, parallel to the ring. That works well, it won't stain the mouse or damage any circuitry and you won't need to crack it open again for future cleaning

[Fierce137]

Great tutorial! Only problem is, I didn't make it all the way through--I hit a terminal error on step 4. Be EXTREMELY careful when you're popping the black casing out from around the white portion that holds the four pegs and trackball. When I popped it loose, the pegs went flying! Since they're all like, less than half a centimeter long, I highly recommend doing that step, if not this whole process, in a shoebox or something.

[ItsTheHobbs]

I'm banging my head on on my table, because I did exactly what you said, my mouse is broken and I'm in trouble.

[jpfaraco]

Well I did mention that you need to be extra careful for this, and to take your time... If you've broken the ring, try glueing it back together with some drops of superglue.

[ItsTheHobbs]

uummmmmm..... you know the tiny wires that are are all bound together flat in plastic? how hard is it to super glue those? I found another mouse I can use instead.

[jpfaraco]

I see .. I thought you had broken it around the ring or somewhere easier to glue back together. Never thought it could be the wires.. In that case, I hope your new mouse is less bound to get dirty around the trackball, and simpler to clean than the not-so-mighty mouse !

[ItsTheHobbs]

Well, its a regular scroller now.

[howtovdos]

YouTube has a video on how to clean Mighty mouse. Worth having a look. How To Clean Apple Mighty Mouse

[camp6ell]

thank you - i've already returned two mice under warranty because of this problem, and now the third has stopped down scrolling. any particular cleaner you recommend/don't recommend?

[camp6ell]

alright, so before i took apart my mouse, i decided to try a non-destructive method, now that i understand the workings of the mouse, thanks to you taking it apart. so, i poked around in the nest of the mouse ball for 10 minutes with a toothpick/floss-stick thingy and dug out the lint. and now it's working fine again. i fully expect it to get blocked up again sooner than it would had i taken it apart, but this fix is easier.

[LasVegas]

At first I wondered, "Why in heck would one need to clean a Mighty Mouse!?!?" Of course; The ball! I haven't run into this problem yet, but I'm sure to in the future. Thanks for the heads up! Good job on the Instructable! :)