Logitech Performance Mouse MX Wired Mod

In this instructable, I'll show you how I modded a Logitech Performance Mouse MX into a wired mouse, eliminating the annoying battery and charging with the rigid cable.

I got rid of the battery compartment and the USB connector, cut an USB extension cord I had lying around to connect both the unifying receiver inside the mouse and power for the mouse itself, added a voltage regulator for clean 1.5V for the battery connection and stuffed it all back in.

Step 1: Disassembly

First of all, remove the gliders on the bottom, the screws are hidden under them. Take care to tear off all of the glider because they tend to rip apart into the gliding part and the sticky part, rendering them useless.

Then, open the case and take care not to pull too hard on the cable connecting the upper shell with the board. Unplug the upper shell and put it aside, we don't mod anything there. Unscrew the battery compartment and remove it from the board. Unplug the sensor board (the flex cable). To do so, pull the dark lid up to unlock and the flex cable goes out without any force.

Pull out the small plastic bolt holding the mouse wheel down (it's near the button locking the endles scrolling function) and remove the wheel. Then, unscrew all screws and lift the main board up. Finally, unscrew the USB port board and remove it, too.

Unsolder the USB connector board, no need for that anymore. In the pictures, I unsoldered the thermal sensor of the battery compartment, too. Not a good idea as the mouse logic relies on this sensor giving valid data, so don't unsolder it, just take it off the battery compartment. I re-soldered it later once I noticed the error.

Step 2: Wiring

Now cut the USB extension cord just like in the photo and re-solder it. Doesn't sound very smart but we need access to the power wires (red and black) for the mouse. The female USB connector is for the unifying receiver and must stay intact. Solder a red and a black wire to the USB red and black wires and insulate all wires against each other (wrap electrical tape around each individual solder joint and finally around everything). I also soldered the shielding together to make sure everything was connected as before I cut the cable.

I first tried directly sourcing 5V to the board where the USB connector used to do that but ignored the small SMD parts on the USB connector board. Seems like they do have a purpose, the mouse blinked red and refused to work. In the next step, we'll connect a voltage regulator to get clean 1.5V battery voltage for the battery connector. That works much better.

Step 3: Voltage Regulation

To get 1.5V battery voltage from a 4.5 to 5.0V supply (i.e. the USB port), I used the good old LM317 linear voltage regulator. It is not super-efficient but it does its job. And it needs virtually no external parts being soldered to it (except from two resistors to adjust voltage).

Each LM317 has three pins: Adjust, In, Out. I added one 200 Ohm resistor from Adjust to Ground (the black wire of the USB cable) and one 1 kOhm resistor from Adjust to Out. This sets the output voltage to 1.5V with an input voltage of everything above about 3V. Then, I soldered the battery connector (cut off from the battery compartment) with the black wire directly to Ground (the black wire of the USB cable) and with the red wire directly to the LM317's Out pin. And I connected the USB cable's red wire directly to the LM317's In pin. A quick check with the multimeter verified clean 1.5V coming out of the battery connector.

Add a little electrical tape again and we can begin with the stuffing.

Step 4: Assembly & Result

Put all pieces back in places in reverse order and screw them tight. The unifying receiver and the USB connector it's plugged into nicely fit where the battery compartment used to be. As the battery compartment now is missing, the three screws that held it and also held the board are now obsolete. But the remaining screws hold the board good enough.

For the cable, I led it under the board on the right-hand side of the mouse (in the pictures: on the bottom). Near the front, there are a few plastic poles I could use to clamp the cable in between before leading it out through the hole where the USB connector used to be. So there is no tension on the cable on the inside if someone pulls on it outside the mouse.

To connect the upper shell, you pull the USB connector with the unifying receiver down through the battery replacement door at the bottom. Then you can easily put the shell back on and screw it closed. Finally, tilt and push the USB connector back in. It's tight but it does fit. At least in my case it did fit.

Voila, now you have a wired Performance Mouse MX with no need to recharge a battery ever again! And it's a little lighter, too.

Comments

[AnwarB5]

Really you don't need to do this, just plug a charge only cable (I prefer those with magnetic header) then place any battery even a dead one and it will work without problem...

[markusbart]

And that, unfortunately, is where you are wrong. My company had a strict "no wireless devices allowed" policy. This mod (with EMI shielding spray on the inside of the mouse) was the only way to get permission to use this mouse at the office. So I really did need to do this. Or use another mouse. Without the awesome sensor and endless scrolling wheel combination that Logitech only sold in wireless mice at the time.

[gsm012]

I realize this is quite old, but you guys know that the rechargable battery in this mouse is just a high capacity AA right...?

[markusbart]

Of course it is. And swapping a battery is done in like half a minute. But if your office has a strict "no wireless mice, they affect our wifi" rule, you're out of luck. This instructable, some EMI protection spray on the inside and you're good. And there actually are people who hate swapping batteries and prefer a wire. The mouse also gets lighter without the battery. ;)

[PointyOintment]

I've never heard of such a rule for that reason. Sounds silly. Is it something you've actually experienced? (Intelligence agencies probably avoid wireless mice because they want to avoid any possible leak of data, but they ban personal equipment in general for that reason. Also, wired mice are cheaper, and they need a lot of them.)

[markusbart]

My company now does not have this rule anymore but they did have it a few years back because they use the 2.4GHz band that is also used by Wifi and Bluetooth. In an office environment, this can be a lot of devices using the same frequencies and they can cause problems with some channels of Wifi. One mouse isn't a problem, but 1000 mice in one building can be. With the switch to 5.8GHz Wifi, this problem is not a problem anymore.

[realMZQIIIPlasmaGod]

Hi! does this work only for the Logitech mx performance mouse or does it work for any other wireless mouse such as the logitech compact mx and/or the logitech m185?

[markusbart]

This mod is very generic. If the USB receiver fits somewhere into the mouse and the voltage used by the mouse is below 3.5V (because of the approx. 1,5V voltage drop of the LM317 relative to the USB voltage), then yes, it will work. The Performance Mouse MX uses a single 1.5V battery, a mouse using two of them would be at 3V and still possible with this mod (but with different resistors connected to the LM317, google "LM317 calculator").

[PointyOintment]

A lot of mice that use two 1.5 V batteries actually put them in parallel, so as to still work with only one battery inserted, and therefore run on 1.5 V. But you'll have to check if your mouse is one of these.

[ChrisI35]

Hi friend, I know this is an old post however if your still around maybe you can help me... my mouse has suddenly stopped working yesterday, I tried to repair it but it isn't being detected... I guess I will try a new receiver - the end came off mine months ago so it seems entirely possible the bare board has become damaged. Don't suppose you have any ideas if there is a way I can test which of the two items is at fault before I spend the cash on a new dongle?

Should that fail though I plan to try your mod, I can't believe the thing doesn't work with a cable attached though out of the box!

[markusbart]

First of all, I'd replace the battery with a new one. I know it is rechargeable but those have a limited age, too. If the lights on the mouse (battery indicator) do light up and you still can't pair your mouse with your dongle, try another computer to make sure it isn't the driver. If that also fails, I'd get another dongle (from a friend or colleague) to try. And if that one also fails, the mouse is dead, time for a new one.

I don't think you can repair a dead mouse if it wasn't you who broke it and the broken part is clearly identified, can be bought in quantities less than 1000 pieces and is replaceable.

[Danger is my middle name]

Nice hack! My mouse has been dead for weeks so I've been using my laptop track pad and it's less than ideal!

[markusbart]

The un-modded Performance Mouse MX allows for recharging while using, but I couldn't find a flexible cable to do so. The cable in the package is annoyingly rigid, so the hack seemed neccessary ;-)