Switch Magic Mouse between two devices

[inkswamp]

I have an iMac in my office that is paired to a first gen Magic Mouse. I recently bought a Macbook Air. I had assumed I could pick up the Magic Mouse and pair it with the Macbook Air so I could use it with either machine at will but it seems to be an incredibly painful experience, almost as if the Magic Mouse can only be paired to one device at a time. It literally takes 10+ minutes to get the mouse to "see" the new device, this after turning the mouse on and off, clicking repeatedly, etc.

For comparison, I have a pair of JBL Bluetooth headphones that easily jumps from device to device without a hitch. Would sure love to be able to have that kind of ease-of-use with the Magic Mouse. I'm hoping there's some trick I'm unaware of that makes switching the mouse between devices easier.

 

[DrCC]

I don't think there is any trick. You need a mouse that can work with 2 different devices.
Examples are Logitech M585 or Logitech Mx Master 3. These come with a separate button to switch between devices.

 

[All.in.4.Apple]

I have an iMac in my office that is paired to a first gen Magic Mouse. I recently bought a Macbook Air. I had assumed I could pick up the Magic Mouse and pair it with the Macbook Air so I could use it with either machine at will but it seems to be an incredibly painful experience, almost as if the Magic Mouse can only be paired to one device at a time. It literally takes 10+ minutes to get the mouse to "see" the new device, this after turning the mouse on and off, clicking repeatedly, etc.

For comparison, I have a pair of JBL Bluetooth headphones that easily jumps from device to device without a hitch. Would sure love to be able to have that kind of ease-of-use with the Magic Mouse. I'm hoping there's some trick I'm unaware of that makes switching the mouse between devices easier.

Check out AirBuddy. It allows you to transfer Apple BT devices between Mac’s.

 

[tlab]

Hopefully soon there will be an even better solution, which won't require you to switch between Macs at all.

macOS 12 and iPadOS 15 were supposed to be getting the Universal Control feature, allowing a single keyboard and mouse to control multiple devices without switching between them (you will be able to move the mouse pointer between the different devices, kind of like when you move the mouse pointer across multiple displays on a single computer). It was supposed to be included in 12.0 and 15.0, but it has been delayed. Apparently it's now expected to be coming in the first half of this year.

 

[salamanderjuice]

It can only be paired to one device at a time. The easiest way to swap between devices is to briefly plug it in with the lightning cable on the machine you want to use it on as that also pairs it when you unplug. That of course only works on macOS.

Most mice only support a single device at a time but there are some like the MX master that others have mentioned that support multiple devices.

 

[davvid97]

Universal control is limited to M1 devices, so it might not be an option.
Just connect mouse by lighting usb c cable to Mac and it should pair

 

[inkswamp]

Universal control is limited to M1 devices, so it might not be an option.
Just connect mouse by lighting usb c cable to Mac and it should pair

First gen Magic Mouse so no cable.

 

[inkswamp]

Check out AirBuddy. It allows you to transfer Apple BT devices between Mac’s.

Thanks. I'll do that. Disappointing that the "Magic" Mouse is less capable than a third-party product but oh well. I guess this is the way I'll have to go.

 

[DrCC]

The "Magic" Mouse is probably the worst product that Apple sells and it hasn't been updated in years.
There are definitely better options out there with programable buttons that you can assign touchpad gestures to.

 

[Fear12]

Universal control is limited to M1 devices, so it might not be an option.
Just connect mouse by lighting usb c cable to Mac and it should pair

No it's not: https://www.apple.com/macos/monterey/

Available on MacBook Pro (2016 and later), MacBook (2016 and later), MacBook Air (2018 and later), iMac (2017 and later), iMac (5K Retina 27-inch, Late 2015), iMac Pro, Mac mini (2018 and later), and Mac Pro (2019); and iPad Pro, iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad (6th generation and later), and iPad mini (5th generation and later). Both devices must be signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID using two-factor authentication. To use wirelessly, both devices must have Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Handoff turned on and must be within 10 meters (30 feet) of each other. iPad and Mac must not be sharing a cellular and internet connection. To use over USB, you must trust your Mac on the iPad.

 

[MacAsher]

It can only be paired to one device at a time. The easiest way to swap between devices is to briefly plug it in with the lightning cable on the machine you want to use it on as that also pairs it when you unplug. That of course only works on macOS.

Most mice only support a single device at a time but there are some like the MX master that others have mentioned that support multiple devices.

This worked for me for the simple case where I wanted to use the mouse with a different Mac. I would have had to unpaired it with the original and I wanted a simple way to swap the connection. So this is simpler - thank you!

 

[bajo]

This worked for me for the simple case where I wanted to use the mouse with a different Mac. I would have had to unpaired it with the original and I wanted a simple way to swap the connection. So this is simpler - thank you!

still in 2024 with the 3rd gen USB-C this is the only way to force the changing of device... it's almost like Apple want you to buy 1 mouse per device! Thanks for sharing