Logitech M705 Wireless Mouse: Are the batteries dying, or does the device have a hardware failure?

Question

I have a Logitech M705 wireless mouse. I'm first time using a wireless mouse, so I don't have much experience with the hardware features and behavior.

It is rated that it runs for 3 years with the same batteries. I think this "3 year" rating is calculated for a very low usage and activity; like 2 hours a day. I'm using it for about 12 hours a day, so I expect it to run out of batteries in a much shorter time in my case. I have been using it for about half a year. Recently (for the last two weeks), it started to make some peculiar behavior when clicking and drafging objects.
- When I click something, it sometimes double click it.
- When I drag something from one place to another (or selecting some text), it sometimes drops the object in the halfway (when selecting text, the text which had selected up to that time becomes unselected and it starts to select the rest of the text from that moment), but it goes on being in the "left-button-pressed" state. It is like, the pressed button switches to "unpressed" state for a moment, then returns back to the "pressed" state. When one of these faults occur, it occurs several times sequentially.

There is no problem in pointer movement, scrolling or right-clicking.

Since the batteries last for a very long time for this device, I don't expect it to stop working in an instance. I expect it to give these kind of syndromes of a time period.

My question is;
Is this how batteries run out for a wireless mouse?
Or, is this another kind of hardware/software problem?

Answer 1

I've had to have my M705 replaced by Logitech two times due to the issues you are describing. The mouse button switch wore out. (they don't make them like they used to) And I only had the first mouse for 9 months and the second for 5 months. Both were replaced before even the original batteries had ran out of power.

Note that I have an existing question: Logitech M705 left mouse button doesn't stay down when pressed

I recommend calling Logitech, going though their questioning, and getting them to send you a replacement.

Answer 2

To answer the original question, in case someone actually stumbles upon it:

The SetPoint software which can be downloaded from the downloads link in the question should provide information on the battery status and have an estimate of number of days the mouse can be used. In addition to that, once the batteries reach the critical stage, it should also provide pop-up which will inform the user that the batteries are almost dead. Do note that the meter is calibrated for alkaline batteries and may provide incorrect information with other chemistries. Manufacturer provides an illustrated use guide for the software here.

If the use of that software is for some reason not desirable, the LED on top of the mouse should provide information when the battery level is low. Unfortunately, the product page doesn't go into details on how exactly this is achieved, but usually the LED will have two colors. One for use when mouse is just turned on and to signal that mouse is working and another which is only used when battery is low.

Answer 3

I had this problem. I read another post on a different site suggesting the use of compressed air to clear the laser. So I blew hard on the laser, once, and it sorted the problem out immediately. If only all problems were this simple. Paul

Answer 4

Wireless mice (mouses?) sometimes build up static electricity in the micro switches and cause eratic behaviour like the poster describes with dragging and double clicking problems. You need to discharge that static ... here's how:

Turn on/off switch to off. Remove batteries. Click all buttons and clickers and wheels for at least one minute each. Re-insert batteries. Turn on/off switch to on.

Use your mouse and you will be surprised that it works perfectly.

Answer 5

This came out to be a frequently seen problem with this specific mouse model as Don D. explained.

I was lucky that the guaranty period wasn't over, so I sent it to the service and they repaired it for free. They replaced the inner mechanism of the left button. It looks the same from outside. But now the left button is slightly harder to push and makes a different (thicker) sound compared to the right button. The right button hasn't ever done any problem; it may be due to less usage frequency.

If you have this problem with your Logitech M705 mouse, go to you service before its guaranty period is over.

And... I'm still using the same batteries when I asked this question... Battery life of this mouse is indeed amazing!

Answer 6

My M705 mouse flashes a red light when the battery is low. I never installed the software. Generally speaking the mouse works for a little while like this then starts to act up. If after turning off the switch on the bottom of the mouse and back On again, and if it still doesn't flash a red light, it should be green, then "When I click something, it sometimes double click it." sounds like the button microswitches are getting flakey and they can usually be cleaned. For that, the cleaning process is well-documentded on the web.