How to unstick the scroll ball on the Apple Mighty Mouse

I love my Mighty Mouse, especially the way the little scroll ball allows you to scroll effortlessly in any direction.  A lot of users have reported the little ball starts sticking and this happened to me today, I could scroll down or sideways but not up.  I found a simple and quick fix to deal with the problem and while it's probably appeared elsewhere on the web I figured I would share it here.

The scrolling problem is because dirt gets underneath it.  First slightly and carefully moisten the ball, I used spit on my fingertip. :)   Then take a clean sheet of paper and turn the Mighty Mouse upside down.  Run the ball rapidly in all directions on the paper.  In about 5 seconds my problem was fixed as the dirt worked itself loose and came out on the paper.  I love my Mighty Mouse again.  :)

Comments

[JK's Wife]

Or, do what I do. Throw it against the wall then bring it to JK and act like you don't know what happened to it. OK, maybe your method is better!

[Tax Man]

To JK's wife,
Now that you know what he uses to clean it (i.e., spit) you might want to get your own mighty mouse! LOL

Just a thought,

Tax Man

[Lincoln]

I had given up on my mouse ever scrolling down again, this fixed it in 20 seconds. Thanks so much!!!

[Josh Bancroft]

This is one of the most popular incoming searches on my blog:

http://www.tinyscreenfuls.com/2006/09/apple-mighty-mouse-wont-scroll-down/

I ran into this problem, and your solution matches the "official" Apple one, which is basically "turn it upside down and roll it around a lot". They even have a KB article and a video on how to do it.

Alternatives include just pushing really hard on the mouse ball while you roll it around vigorously (like you're really mad at it, which you probably are), spray it with compressed air, and one I recently discovered, blow into the scroll ball with sealed lips, like you're trying to do rescue breathing. That will loosen up the gunk inside. Then, combine with banging it around upside down, or one of the other methods.

Ah, the lengths we crazy Mac people will go to for our precious white translucent peripherals. ;-)

[James Kendrick]

Josh, the key was the spit and the piece of paper. I tried rolling it for a long time with no luck. Rolled it on the paper and 10 seconds, bingo.

[Scotty]

I use the cleaning cloth Motion Computing supplied with my LE1600. It is a tiny 3M Scotch Brite cleaning cloth and its primary advantage over a paper towel for cleaning the Mighty Mouse is lack of lint. Your ball gets cleaner and you can wash and re-use the Scotch Brite cloth so the earth stays cleaner too. :-)

Unfortunately after about a year, cleaning can become a constant chore. I've had to nearly retire the Mighty Mouse I bought the day Apple first sold them. :-(

[Isaac]

I would strongly suggest denatured ethyl alcohol instead of saliva (based on having cleaned many many Apple mice)

[mad mouser]

The paper WAS the trick!!!! I used white vinegar, as I do to clean all things related to the laptop

[Zach]

I confess, I was skeptical but there was no harm in trying it. It worked superbly, and the trackball feels exactly like new again! I've had the mouse several years and the trackball was continually degrading to the point where it finally became unusable. Many thanks!

[Peter Kirk]

Hah, surprised it worked! God bless you!!