iMac M4 Magic Mouse failed after 5 months — no replacement, and Apple doesn’t even sell it

[M4th]

It looks complicated... not that it's even realisitic to attempt a repair, since replacement wasn't an easy option either.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Quite a lot. Have you done any serious CAD (Zuken/Solidworks/Catia) or Photoshop work at all on mac vs windows? I have. The input latency, pointing precision, acceleration profile is much much better on windows. The rest of windows is however like punching yourself in the face over and over again.



Absolutes? How classy. It's measurable and observable. Try it. Plug it into your mac with the provided lightning cable, use it for an hour, then go back to bluetooth. There's a 25-50ms delay. If you use an MBP and switch to a desktop one occasionally, it's also pretty obvious. And as mentioned entirely useless for precise positioning. A good example is compare handwriting to someone who writes with finger movement versus arm movement. The arm is far better and that's where the mouse wins. And the dual-use of movement versus click causes positioning issues as well. Not much of an issue if you're just clicking around the UI doing casual stuff but they are horrible for anything creative/engineering related.

Agree with you

 

[Wando64]

… why is it impossible to access the same part in Europe, even under warranty?

Sorry but how did you come to this conclusion?

From your post you said Apple told you “the only solution was to bring it to an Apple Store in Milan”, presumably to repair or replace your mouse with a like for like part.

You also said “Apple doesn’t sell it. The color-matched mouse isn’t available separately — only white or black”, but this has nothing to do with issue of repairing or replacing your mouse.

 

[TruthAboveAllElse]

Hey — glad it worked out for your mom, really.

But that’s kinda the whole point.
It shouldn’t depend on luck, location, or which rep picks up.
If support works in one place and goes nowhere in another,
then it’s not a system — it’s a gamble.

This wasn’t “bad luck.”
It was just Apple saying:
“No options. Go to the store. That’s it.”

And yeah, after almost 40 years with Apple,
never thought I’d get stuck like this.
For a mouse.

Anyway…
At this point I’ve bought two.
If anyone needs a spare — let me know.
I’ve got enough now to start a collection.

Apple's customer service is pretty terrible these days. By terrible I mean wildly inconsistent. Not inconsistent in the sense that people are empowered to help customers by tailoring what is offered to what is needed, too often "inconsistent" is interpreted to mean this. But, inconsistent in the sense that people are ignorant or limited in different ways when you ask for help.

I've gotten replacement color matched keyboard and mouse for computer not covered under warentee. Same price as a regular not color matched mouse for me. I'm in the USA though. I didn't have to go into a store, just explained I needed them and was willing to pay. (They were missing, not defective.)

 

[Hajj.david]

While perhaps not available for retail purchase, I do know the colored Magic Mouse is available as a replaceable part under warranty in US which may not apply to your situation. You may also have been given erroneous info, which admittedly is also a problem and unfortunate.

You could've just went though Apple Support, and mailed out the old mouse for a new mouse

They would have given you a new mouse if you gave the old one back.
This is covered under warranty. Believe me, I have exchanged products because they were under warranty.

This is not the same as returning.

Sorry but how did you come to this conclusion?

From your post you said Apple told you “the only solution was to bring it to an Apple Store in Milan”, presumably to repair or replace your mouse with a like for like part.

You also said “Apple doesn’t sell it. The color-matched mouse isn’t available separately — only white or black”, but this has nothing to do with issue of repairing or replacing your mouse.

As someone who has had to deal with getting a replacement keyboard and mouse color matched it was a 3+ hour ordeal back and forth with customer service and transfer upon transfer. Horrible disgusting experience and shameful for any company not to mention a company like Apple. I complained strongly about how difficult apple makes getting replacements. Hours and hours of repeating myself, having to prove I own it (despite it being on my account) serial numbers, etc. Mind you this wasnt even a warranty replacement (coffee was spilled). Was completely ridiculous. Nobody should defend Apple on this issue.

The magic trackpad is terrible unless it's actually plugged into the computer with a cable. The latency is horrible.

Also totally useless for accurate positioning in graphics software for example.

The wireless mice with their own USB receiver are still far superior.

Nah you are tripping big time. I even game with the magic trackpad in addition to all of the development work I do with it.

 

[MCap]

Hi,

I agree with your issues regarding your attempt to replace your father's iMac M4 blue mouse. May I suggest you write a polite letter to Tim Cook explaining the issues and asking if a new Mouse can be sent to your father?

When I had awful iPhone purchasing experiences in 2016, I wrote to Tim Cook and had these purchases resolved by the Apple store in question in a matter of 3 weeks. For all the steps you've taken to try to resolve this under warranty, having to work around Apple is unfortunate. Sending a detailed letter may result in a new replacement mouse (Silly that you had to outlay money for this, but it cannot hurt to write Tim Cook about it.)

Thanks — I really appreciate the thoughtful suggestion.

In fact, I did write to Tim Cook.

I also tried through Apple Support, chat, phone, email, and escalations.

No reply. No callback. No option to replace, even at full price. Nothing.

It’s honestly frustrating that something so small required this much energy —

and that the most “efficient” solution ended up being buying a refurbished one elsewhere.

But yes — it absolutely shouldn’t be this hard.

And I completely agree: having to work around Apple is never a good sign.

 

[Audentia]

Hey — glad it worked out for your mom, really.

But that’s kinda the whole point.
It shouldn’t depend on luck, location, or which rep picks up.
If support works in one place and goes nowhere in another,
then it’s not a system — it’s a gamble.

This wasn’t “bad luck.”
It was just Apple saying:
“No options. Go to the store. That’s it.”

And yeah, after almost 40 years with Apple,
never thought I’d get stuck like this.
For a mouse.

Anyway…
At this point I’ve bought two.
If anyone needs a spare — let me know.
I’ve got enough now to start a collection.

I hear you. What I meant to say by "luck" is simply that your experience, while frustrating, may not be normative. No company, no support team, is perfect. It's not a gamble, just an imperfect system, but thats life I hate to say. The reality is it does depend on location and other things, this is for any company.

Anyway, also happy for you, hope the collection endures.

 

[AppliedMicro]

At this point, you may be “looking at it wrong” (as the late Steve Jobs might have said).

For a device that:
• Was purchased directly from Apple’s online store
• Failed after only five months
• And is still covered by Apple’s warranty

For a device that:
• Was purchased directly from Apple’s online store
• Failed after only five months
• And is still covered by Apple’s warranty European and Italian consumer protection and statutory warranty law.

Now, the seller in question may be in Ireland, so if push comes to shove, you may have to return the product there. But despite what Apple may say, I’d question the legality of making you your father physically drive more than 100km to the nearest Apple Store to pursue his warranty rights provide by law, for a product that was sold through an online store and that (I suppose) the seller had no issues with delivering to him.

Note how they say “without inconvenience to you” - a term that’s is conspicuously also used by Apple in their linked PDF, which makes me assume it’s probably a straight quote from the actual law.

 

[cjsuk]

Nah you are tripping big time. I even game with the magic trackpad in addition to all of the development work I do with it.

Which bit of measurable do people not understand?

It's absolutely of no consequence for dev work. High precision stuff like CAD / graphical work it is.

 

[AppliedMicro]

Off-topic:

It is of course a matter of personal preference and dexterity. But as much as I loved and got used to Trackpads years ago, and as good as Apple’s is, I’d agree that most (not necessarily all) users would probably find a physical mouse better suited to accomplish high-precision tasks.

 

[n-evo]

Really weird and poor service on Apple’s part. Sorry to hear it. In the Netherlands Apple does offer to pick up defective hardware. Through UPS - which sucks - but at least it’s something. The same option is shown online on Apple Italy’s website:

Riparazione e assistenza per Mac - Supporto Apple (IT)

Hai bisogno di riparare il tuo Mac? Vedi le opzioni di assistenza, il loro costo per tipo di copertura e la relativa durata.

support.apple.com

Maybe just not for accessories only? Which is, again, weird. Can you see what happens if you go through the steps online via the link provided above?

I know for a fact that complaints can be escalated at Apple to an employee higher up the chain. Unfortunately, I’ve been there a couple times.

Personally I absolutely hate going to the Amsterdam Apple Store for issues, even though it’s like only a 15 minute trip by tram or bike. How they handle your hardware is just disrespectful. A “Genius” once gave my AirPods Pro case back by just opening his hand 5-10 cm above the table and dropping it. Another time they more or less threw my former MacBook Pro M1 Pro on the table too. When some other “Genius” wanted to have a look (for reasons unknown) he just dragged the MacBook Pro over the table to the other side without picking it up. I actually made a video of it happening. When I told them at some point I’m not taking home this (at the time) brand new MacBook Pro anymore because of how it was handled and demanded a new one, they flat out denied doing the **** they did. I had to use the videos to be proven right.

 

[gracegrouigh]

apple should really make a new mice following logitech design

 

[ignatius345]

apple should really make a new mice following logitech design

They won't. I say all this as someone who has bought and gotten great use out of an ungodly amount of Apple hardware over many years: Apple has shipped bad mice for decades and I don't think they're going to stop anytime soon.

Whatever the successor to the Magic Mouse is, I bet it will have invisible "haptic" buttons, be 2x heavier than it should be, and somehow fit worse in your hand than anything else you've ever touched. They'll probably also mess it up in some really cutting-edge way none of us have even considered possible.

 

[M4th]

They won't. I say all this as someone who has bought and gotten great use out of an ungodly amount of Apple hardware over many years: Apple has shipped bad mice for decades and I don't think they're going to stop anytime soon.

Whatever the successor to the Magic Mouse is, I bet it will have invisible "haptic" buttons, be 2x heavier than it should be, and somehow fit worse in your hand than anything else you've ever touched. They'll probably also mess it up in some really cutting-edge way none of us have even considered possible.

Vibrate when gaming (or other activity)? Blood oxygen level/heart rate monitor? Pre-disposition to alzheimers?

 

[MacInTO]

Buy the same computer again, swap out the mouse and return it. Or go to a store with the mouse and if they have that colour in stock, this is what they will likely do. Store managers have some leeway.

 

[Fishrrman]

I doubt the OP is going to resolve this to his satisfaction through dealing with Apple.
Not much more to say than that.

Not much to do other than buy a replacement.
The OP bought a refurbished Apple replacement (though not refurbished by Apple, I'm thinking).
A 3rd-party pointing device would have done as well (or better).

 

[ruddyrdx]

My 82-year-old father bought a blue iMac M4 five months ago. It came with a matching blue Magic Mouse — part of Apple’s iconic design experience.

A few days ago, the mouse stopped working. It no longer charges, and is not recognized by any device. It’s clearly a hardware failure, and it’s under warranty.

Apple Support told me the only solution was to bring it to an Apple Store in Milan. My father is elderly and cannot travel. There is no courier service offered.
I then asked: can I buy the same blue Magic Mouse again? No. Apple doesn’t sell it. The color-matched mouse isn’t available separately — only white or black.
I was passed around through multiple support agents, across chat and phone. One call was dropped. Another agent told me “there is no supervisor.”

In the end, I had to buy a refurbished mouse from a third party to restore my father’s setup.
We’ve owned 50+ Apple products in 35 years. But now, I’m stuck with a company that sells design as a core value — and then completely fails to support it.
Why promote a color-matched experience if you offer no way to maintain it?

The same thing happened with my father's green M1 iMac from 2021. Last winter someting heavy fell upon the the trackpad and it cracked. I searched for a matching trackpad but didn't find one. To save myself from what seemed to be further futile exercise, I bought a black trackpad. Have been using it since.