How long should 2 AA batteries last in an Apple wireless mouse? So far, I am getting about 4-5 weeks... that seems horrible.

[BlueberryMac]

I bought an older (Late 2013) iMac from my university and with it came an Apple Wireless Mouse, the not-rechargable kind that takes two AA batteries.

I got the iMac and mouse out of storage recently and put in some batteries I had, then noticed that a couple of weeks later I was getting messages about a low charge.

Then I figured maybe that was because the batteries weren’t 100% to begin with and that I wasn’t turning my mouse off each night. So I have been doing that since I replaced my batteries with new ones on January 28th. Last night, I got a low battery message that I was now at 11%.

That’s just over 4 weeks to go from 100% to 11% with just average mouse usage (I’m not gaming or anything with the mouse, just regular Finder and Safari stuff mostly).

Is this really the kind of battery use that is normal and expected with the Apple wireless mouse? I had mistakenly figured I would probably have to out in new batteries every 3 to 4 months...

 

[voyager77]

You're getting a whole month? That's very good!

My batteries are depleated in less than a week, thats why i always have charged spares at the ready.
(And yes the batteries are still good and hold a full charge.)

 

[Phil77354]

My suggestion is that you start using rechargeable batteries. Panasonic Eneloop are very good, you can get 4 AA size and a charger, and always have two charged and ready to go.

 

[MBAir2010]

my macally 2011 bluetooth mouse last 3 hours, and sits in a box!

 

[Bruninho]

I am on Big Sur latest version, with a 2013 rMBP 13-inch. I have been trying to use my magic keyboard and magic mouse (or the magic trackpad), all 1st gen, with my rMBP.

Every rechargeable battery I tried has ridiculous lifetime. I work 8h per day, five days a week, and I sometimes use my Mac on weekends. I have to recharge them every day, it’s ridiculous, they don’t last even 8 hours a day.

Could someone recommend me a battery brand and a charger for the same battery brand? I saw that someone mentioned the Panasonic Eneloop here. Are they really good?

Meanwhile I had to resort to the USB keyboard and mouse, borrowed from my dads 2009 iMac. Not exactly what I want. I thought about getting the Logitech K750 solar keyboard, apparently its good, but I have no good indication about other BT mouse brands that don’t need a USB dongle. I’m at a loss at the moment.

 

[Phil77354]

You mentioned the Panasonic eneloop. I've been using them for all of my battery needs for a couple of years. As far as I know, they are as good as any rechargeable batteries available today.

You can get a starter set with batteries and charger at Costco, or from Amazon. There are quite a few different sets available, and different style chargers. They all work fine (I'm referring only to Panasonics own chargers, that is what I have experience with myself).

My own practice is to keep charged batteries always on hand, so that any time I need to replace batteries then I swap them out and put the discharged batteries into the charger to have them ready.

Keep in mind that rechargeable batteries do not have the same voltage output as a normal non-rechargeable battery. When you put them into your keyboard or mouse, they won't show fully charged even when they are. It is the characteristic of the battery and normal.

You might also consider getting Apple's own keyboard and mouse with built in rechargeable battery, but its a lot cheaper to just get sufficient eneloops so that you always have a backup set to swap out whenever needed.

And as a final note, I've read that Amazon's own rechargeable batteries are just as good, and may in fact be made by Panasonic. If you do some searching on Amazon, look for reviews by NLee the Engineer. He's written many battery reviews on Amazon and they are very reliable guides.

 

[Fishrrman]

Agree with Phil.
Use rechargeables.
If you have a store nearby, I believe IKEA sells rechargeable batteries that are on par with the Eneloops for a very good price.

 

[Bruninho]

I just came here to say that I am retesting my current AA batteries and chargers... well, my dad is doing the job. So far we've found half AA batteries being defective, the chargers seem to be fine, and he gave me two AA batteries that passed his tests. I'm now using them today, with my Magic Mouse 1, and so far we're in 4 hours of work and Big Sur is still reporting them to be 100%.

Either his tests were that good and charged them correctly this time (he charged them for a straight 24 hours), or Apple fixed an issue with Big Sur reporting strange Bluetooth devices battery levels. I'm quite surprised. When he releases the rest of the batteries from his tests, I'll try them with the Keyboard and Magic Trackpad. Looking forward to have a less cluttered desktop, cable-free area in a near future...

EDIT: I might still go after the Eneloop ones. Come on, I still have very good first gen keyboard, mouse and trackpads. Why bother getting new ones if I can get batteries that last long enough to think less about charging them again? I might still need a Logitech mouse for gaming tho...

UPDATE: after more than eight hours later, and the two generic AA batteries I had are still holding 100%, according to my macOS Big Sur statusbar... I can't believe it. It must have been a bug in previous Big Sur versions or I wasn't charging them properly. I'm very impressed so far, and I will be much more impressed if they last at least 5 days.

 

[coldwaves]

I bought an older (Late 2013) iMac from my university and with it came an Apple Wireless Mouse, the not-rechargable kind that takes two AA batteries.

I got the iMac and mouse out of storage recently and put in some batteries I had, then noticed that a couple of weeks later I was getting messages about a low charge.

Then I figured maybe that was because the batteries weren’t 100% to begin with and that I wasn’t turning my mouse off each night. So I have been doing that since I replaced my batteries with new ones on January 28th. Last night, I got a low battery message that I was now at 11%.

That’s just over 4 weeks to go from 100% to 11% with just average mouse usage (I’m not gaming or anything with the mouse, just regular Finder and Safari stuff mostly).

Is this really the kind of battery use that is normal and expected with the Apple wireless mouse? I had mistakenly figured I would probably have to out in new batteries every 3 to 4 months...

I use a set of 1900mAh Eneloop rechargeable batteries. With them, the Magic Trackpad lasted about a month and the wireless keyboard lasts about another two weeks more. This obviously depends on your usage. I do not type that much so keyboard is used much less. The battery seems to last a bit longer when the keyboard/trackpad is new, but definitely not 4-5 months. Also, the battery will last a while after the low battery warning. Overall, I would say that battery life you have is not unusual.

Getting a set of rechargeable batteries is worth it. I got a set of four Sanyo Eneloop batteries with a charger in 2012 (The brand was still Sanyo before Sanyo was bought by Panasonic later) and they are still running strong in 2021. The new set now is branded Panasonic. The charger that comes with it is better. It charges each of the four batter individually while the old Sanyo one charges in pairs and thus not as "precise" as the new one.

 

[colodane]

Eneloop batteries are excellent in terms of quality, energy density, leakage resistance, and number of recharge cycles. But be aware that they are NiMH (nickel metal-hydride) batteries and have a different chemistry than the alkaline cells that the Apple accessories were designed for. The main difference is that they have a nominal cell voltage of 1.2 volts rather than the 1.5 volts of an alkaline cell.

The Apple battery status circuitry is calibrated for alkaline cells. So you will get a "low battery" message when using Eneloops when they still have the vast majority of their energy remaining. If you recharge them every time you get the low battery warning, you will be recharging them much more often than required.

They will, however, work well. You just need to be aware that you don't need to recharge them when you get the warning message. They will probably last another couple of months before needing recharging - but unfortunately there is no way to know exactly when unless you remove them and measure their voltage. So the majority of people just use good quality alkaline cells and avoid the hassle.

Lots more info available if you Google "NiMH batteries", etc.

 

[JonnyBlaze]

Eneloop batteries are excellent in terms of quality, energy density, leakage resistance, and number of recharge cycles. But be aware that they are NiMH (nickel metal-hydride) batteries and have a different chemistry than the alkaline cells that the Apple accessories were designed for. The main difference is that they have a nominal cell voltage of 1.2 volts rather than the 1.5 volts of an alkaline cell.

The Apple battery status circuitry is calibrated for alkaline cells. So you will get a "low battery" message when using Eneloops when they still have the vast majority of their energy remaining. If you recharge them every time you get the low battery warning, you will be recharging them much more often than required.

They will, however, work well. You just need to be aware that you don't need to recharge them when you get the warning message. They will probably last another couple of months before needing recharging - but unfortunately there is no way to know exactly when unless you remove them and measure their voltage. So the majority of people just use good quality alkaline cells and avoid the hassle.

Lots more info available if you Google "NiMH batteries", etc.

edited - having checked again because my batteries needed charging, I can confirm that what you've written is correct. Apologies for any confusion caused.

 

[Bruninho]

Thanks guys. I was thinking about getting some Logitech BT rechargeable keyboard and mouse (The solar K750 one and a MX Anywhere 3 mouse) because it also allows me to pair with other iDevices at the same time. Eneloops should be great for sure. I now have to decide between getting Eneloops for my 1st gen Apple keyboard and Mouse or getting new devices.

 

[Ifti]

My old MM used to last several months before changing batteries. I used to use Duracell Rechargeable batteries.
My MM2 is the same - I cant remember the last time I charged it, or my keyboard. I'm seriously impressed with battery life.
I use them daily - not for the entire day though as its my home system, so outside of office hours and weekends - but even then I've been very happy with battery life......

 

[LACW]

hello guys, when you put a fresh set of eneloop in a magic trackpad, what's the battery level? I have been using them in my trackpad for about a year, first time I put them into the trackpad the battery level was at 98%, then 75%, then today it's at 45%. is the battery deteriorating? or trackpad isn't sensing the battery level correctly? thanks for your input.

 

[Phil77354]

hello guys, when you put a fresh set of eneloop in a magic trackpad, what's the battery level? I have been using them in my trackpad for about a year, first time I put them into the trackpad the battery level was at 98%, then 75%, then today it's at 45%. is the battery deteriorating? or trackpad isn't sensing the battery level correctly? thanks for your input.

Read the post above by @colodane. This sounds like normal for eneloop batteries. I've used them for several years, for various devices. I don't currently use them for my mouse or trackpad since I purchased Apple's own rechargeable ones.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

hello guys, when you put a fresh set of eneloop in a magic trackpad, what's the battery level? I have been using them in my trackpad for about a year, first time I put them into the trackpad the battery level was at 98%, then 75%, then today it's at 45%. is the battery deteriorating? or trackpad isn't sensing the battery level correctly? thanks for your input.

I only recharge my Eneloop batteries when the mouse/keyboard/trackpad stop functionting.

 

[Don MC]

Eneloop batteries are excellent in terms of quality, energy density, leakage resistance, and number of recharge cycles. But be aware that they are NiMH (nickel metal-hydride) batteries and have a different chemistry than the alkaline cells that the Apple accessories were designed for. The main difference is that they have a nominal cell voltage of 1.2 volts rather than the 1.5 volts of an alkaline cell.

The Apple battery status circuitry is calibrated for alkaline cells. So you will get a "low battery" message when using Eneloops when they still have the vast majority of their energy remaining. If you recharge them every time you get the low battery warning, you will be recharging them much more often than required.

They will, however, work well. You just need to be aware that you don't need to recharge them when you get the warning message. They will probably last another couple of months before needing recharging - but unfortunately there is no way to know exactly when unless you remove them and measure their voltage. So the majority of people just use good quality alkaline cells and avoid the hassle.

Lots more info available if you Google "NiMH batteries", etc.

FYI, the Apple branded rechargeable batteries you could buy some years ago were actually rebranded Eneloops. So they are actually just what Apple wireless peripherals need.
And so are the IKEA branded batteries you can buy today; rebranded Eneloops.
I use nothing else. Eneloops are teh tits.

 

[sritrinity]

edited - having checked again because my batteries needed charging, I can confirm that what you've written is correct. Apologies for any confusion caused.

Eneloop batteries are excellent in terms of quality, energy density, leakage resistance, and number of recharge cycles. But be aware that they are NiMH (nickel metal-hydride) batteries and have a different chemistry than the alkaline cells that the Apple accessories were designed for. The main difference is that they have a nominal cell voltage of 1.2 volts rather than the 1.5 volts of an alkaline cell.

The Apple battery status circuitry is calibrated for alkaline cells. So you will get a "low battery" message when using Eneloops when they still have the vast majority of their energy remaining. If you recharge them every time you get the low battery warning, you will be recharging them much more often than required.

They will, however, work well. You just need to be aware that you don't need to recharge them when you get the warning message. They will probably last another couple of months before needing recharging - but unfortunately there is no way to know exactly when unless you remove them and measure their voltage. So the majority of people just use good quality alkaline cells and avoid the hassle.

Lots more info available if you Google "NiMH batteries", etc.

Hi, I was given an apple magic keyboard and am using disposable batteries for now. I find that some of the keys stop working, even with new batteries. Can anyone tell me why?

I am ordering some Panasonic Eneloop AA batteries but have found that there are 2 types on Amazon India, please clarify which ones I should purchase as I really would like all my keys t work:

1. Alkaline

Panasonic BK-3MCCE/4BN Eneloop(Up to 2000 mAH) AA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries, 4-Battery Pack

Panasonic eneloop AA 2000mAh type, 1900mAh min Ni-MH rechargeable batteries can be recharged 2100 times , work in extreme temperatures and last longer than normal dry batteries. These rechargeable AA batteries are pre-charged with solar energy and come ready to use. Panasonic rechargeable batteri...

www.amazon.in

2. NiMH1. Alkaline

eneloop Panasonic Eneloop BK-3HCCE4BE Pro AA High Capacity Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries - Pack of 4

Panasonic BK-3HCCE4BE Eneloop Pro AA High Capacity Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries (Pack of 4). The battery is slim and lightweight. Has Perfect fit and uses advanced technology that ensures improved energy density. It comes with overload protection which provides safety for your device.

www.amazon.in

Much appreciated!

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Hi, I was given an apple magic keyboard and am using disposable batteries for now. I find that some of the keys stop working, even with new batteries. Can anyone tell me why?

I am ordering some Panasonic Eneloop AA batteries but have found that there are 2 types on Amazon India, please clarify which ones I should purchase as I really would like all my keys t work:

1. Alkaline

2. NiMH1. Alkaline


Much appreciated!

The keys are not working because of age. That's what happens when time passing by, nothing to be surprised with a second hand keyboard.

The pro batteries have high capacity -> last longer per charge, but shorter lifespan.

 

[JonnyBlaze]

Hi, I was given an apple magic keyboard and am using disposable batteries for now. I find that some of the keys stop working, even with new batteries. Can anyone tell me why?

I am ordering some Panasonic Eneloop AA batteries but have found that there are 2 types on Amazon India, please clarify which ones I should purchase as I really would like all my keys t work:

1. Alkaline

Panasonic BK-3MCCE/4BN Eneloop(Up to 2000 mAH) AA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries, 4-Battery Pack

Panasonic eneloop AA 2000mAh type, 1900mAh min Ni-MH rechargeable batteries can be recharged 2100 times , work in extreme temperatures and last longer than normal dry batteries. These rechargeable AA batteries are pre-charged with solar energy and come ready to use. Panasonic rechargeable batteri...

www.amazon.in

2. NiMH1. Alkaline

eneloop Panasonic Eneloop BK-3HCCE4BE Pro AA High Capacity Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries - Pack of 4

Panasonic BK-3HCCE4BE Eneloop Pro AA High Capacity Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries (Pack of 4). The battery is slim and lightweight. Has Perfect fit and uses advanced technology that ensures improved energy density. It comes with overload protection which provides safety for your device.

www.amazon.in

Much appreciated!

normal eneloops will be better for the keyboard. The pros have a higher rate of self discharge I think. stick with the white ones.

keys not working will be because of something else. My space bar stopped working but was fine once I removed it and cleaned around gently with an alcohol spray.

(edited typo)

 

[sritrinity]

normal envelops will be better for the keyboard. The pros have a higher rate of self discharge I think. stick with the white ones.

keys not working will be because of something else. My space bar stopped working but was fine once I removed it and cleaned around gently with an alcohol spray.

Interesting thank you. The keys work for awhile and then suddenly the M key stops for eg. I will see if the white batteries make any difference otherwise try a clean.

 

[sritrinity]

normal envelops will be better for the keyboard. The pros have a higher rate of self discharge I think. stick with the white ones.

keys not working will be because of something else. My space bar stopped working but was fine once I removed it and cleaned around gently with an alcohol spray.

Will take this into account but the keyboard was working fine a few weeks ago before it was given to me by a friend, it wasn't used often.