Home > Consumer Reviews > Microsoft Cordless Wheel Mouse (PS2)

i love this product! it's not the cordless that i love so much as the roller. i would highly recommend it. make sure to keep spare batteries on hand, though. when the batteries go, there's no warning - you're just stuck with no mouse.

I bought this mouse with the hopes of being free from the cord tether. While it does give some degree of freedom, I found that the mouse must remain within about 18" of the receiver in order for it to work. Heck, my cord was longer than that! A waste of good money.

Technically, it works.... but it doesn't do what I needed it to do. The wireless mouse MUST be within 1 meter from the receiver. I needed to go about 6 to 10 feet so to me, this product is completely useless. It wasn't stated anywhere about it's limitations until the box arrived and opened the manual. Buyer beware.

I bought this mouse on a whim about 18 months ago. At first, I was really happy with the results: I kept the receiver within 2 feet of the mouse and usually within the supposedly unnecessary line-of-sight. I really enjoyed the way that the cordlessness freed up my desktop space.

It wasn't long, however, before I started having problems. The first was the batteries. I also own a cordless keyboard, which has been running on the original batteries for about 8 months now. I understand that a mouse, because the information is so much more sensitive, would use batteries faster than the keyboard...a set of batteries every month or two, however, is a little more than I would like to go through.

The power problem, however, was the least of my worries. Due to a somewhat unorthodox computer setup I had earlier this year, it worked best to have the mouse receiver and the mouse itself on seperate surfaces (one on a bookshelf, the other on a nearby table). Even within the manual's suggested 3 feet, there was absolutely no response from the mouse. I had to change my entire setup in order to have my mouse on the same surface as the receiver--apparently the radio waves are better transmitted that way.

Anyway, the worst thing is that a few months ago the wheel stopped working. As a third button it still functions normally, but as a scroller there is no response. I can't use Microsoft customer support; it must have run out after a year (although I must give it to them, when I was having the earlier transmission problems, tech support was friendly and quick-responding). So now I'm stuck with a wheel mouse without a wheel. It's frustrating.

In conclusion, don't buy this mouse. The freedom is nice, but it is a very limited freedom, and the durability of the mouse seems pretty shabby. I've heard nothing but good about Logitech...hmmm....

The hubby bought this not checking to see if was XP compatible. I couldn't find the correct drivers online so my brother who is 'savy on the pc' is searching for me. Not the manufacturer's fault but I do believe Microsoft should make it easier to find what you need on their site.