Yeah, and because the distance is less than a meter and nothing has to move between the 2 devices, a cable makes so much more sense.
I especially loathe wireless keyboards on desks. The thing don’t even move. There is no functional reason to be wireless. If you really want a wireless desk for some reason, just drill a hole and pull the usb cable through. It will save you about 200€ and tons of faff keeping the connection working properly when the device eventually runs out of battery.
I was a fan of wireless keyboards. But between still requiring a wired one for the rare bios visit, connectivity issues, if the dongle is not in front of the PC, and the last one just dying, they are banned now.
Most mice are still ok in wireless. A Razer one was too power hungry. But it’s wire-optionally design was great, except that the wire was too rigid.
Wireless has gotten pretty good over the past few years. I have a super cheap wireless mouse from Aliexpress that I use to control my PC while I’m on my couch (I have the PC plugged into my TV to watch Youtube videos and play the occasional game) and I only have to charge that thing every 2 months or so for like 20mins. The much bigger problem is the annoying latency and random connection breaks, but that might just be a factor of the mouse being super cheap.
My keyboard does both wired and 2.4ghz wireless with a physical toggle and it’s super reliable, but I have no idea how long the battery would last because I use it wired for my work Laptop during the day and wireless on my couch at night, so it’s basically always at full charge.
It only works well because you have a super cheap wireless mouse from Ali. I have a fairly expensive wireless mouse from Logitech and I have to use it in Bluetooth mode to get less stutter because the USB port on my display, literally 10-20 cm from the mouse, is angled the wrong way and apparently the Logitech unifying receiver is DIRECTIONAL but not by design.
I use one on my main computer. It still works while charging, and even on Linux I get a notification when the battery goes under 10%. I plug it and use as a wired mouse for the day, and maybe leave it charging overnight and unplug it in the morning. Had it for 8 years now, never an issue.
Same. The mouse is always something I’m going to use on the desk next to the computer. I don’t understand the advantage of making it wireless, that’d just be one more battery for me to keep charged. Honestly, if I had a wireless mouse I’d probably just leave it plugged in to the charger as I use it. (And don’t get me started on Apple’s mouse charge port on the bottom.)
I switch mine (and my keyboard) between private PC (located under my desk because it’s cramped enough atop it, to the right) and company-issue laptop (placed atop it, to the left) when working from home. Like hell am I pulling the cable(s) out of my cable management to move it (them) over and move it (them) back, sometimes multiple times within the same day.
I’ve got my private headphones and my controller wired, but mouse + kb are keyed to the same dongle, which I proceed to move as needed. It’s a concession to convenience.
They’re also very efficient - I chronically forget to turn them off, but they still last so long that I was genuinely puzzled when the mouse started acting up and turning off until I noticed the blinking signal to indicate low battery. They’re not rechargeable, unfortunately, but I probably should see about getting rechargeable batteries.
When you get rechargeable batteries, get yourself some good ones! Usually it doesn’t matter, but input devices are the one big exception because weak batteries can cause lags and sluggishness. VR controllers run on batteries too and some games turn into motion sickness hell if you have bad batteries, so a lot of people in the VR community have strong opinions on what rechargeable battery brands are good (iirc, the consensus is Eneloops and Eneloop Pros are a good choice, but that might have changed in recent years)
These generations of wireless mouses are fine. The advantage, as small as it is, is less drag from the wire and not having to juggle with wires when working with a laptop. Given the batteries these days I’m fine with wireless.
Now I do not have the same view on wireless keyboards as these are pretty much stationary by default.
4 day battery life? I forget to charge until it dies, and then it dies in the middle of using it.
The mouse I have is only wireless for the “less drag while gaming” aspect but the cable is actually super nice, so I dont even mind the cable… I just leave it plugged in now.
This mouse is designed to be extremely light weight. So the battery is small (500 mAh is less than half a AAA battery).
And it’s designed to handle up to 50g of acceleration (ie, fast FPS twitch movements), so it has to be doing a lot of tracking.
So between higher power consumption than normal mice and a smaller battery than normal mice, it only advertises 75* hours of use (* Depending on Hz, lighting on/offand playstyle).
I could absolutely get a mouse that lasts much longer. But not one that meets all the other criteria I have for a performance gaming mouse. I wasn’t attempting to come in hot about “wireless bad” or anything, just sharing my experience.
My laptop’s wireless mouse has used the same AAA battery for months, and it gets used regularly. It’s not daily, but it’s at least a few times a week for an hour, and usually a lot more.
My wired mouse on my PC gets used about the same amount, but the cable occasionally catches under the corner of the keyboard. It’s not helped by the fact that I move the keyboard around depending on what I’m doing. That’s also the reason I’m considering a wireless keyboard as well though.
I had a wireless keyboard where the internal battery was total crap, had to keep it plugged in because it would drain within an hour. Got one with replace batteries, plenty of those available. Might be safer bet for you as well.
Mine lasts several weeks. Also, it has a little light that turns red when it’s low (as in, needs charging within a few days). It can also be used while charging without much issue. When I see the red light, I just plug it in while I’m not using it or doing something like watching media. It’s really convenient. I have a mouse bungee, from when I had wired, and the cable just sits there waiting until it’s needed.
Just to join the poll, my logitech mouse will do about 2 months per charge. When the battery is low, it wil indicate with a red LED, but it will keep going for several days (thoigh I’ve never had the issue with not finding a charger within that time, so I don’t know how long it could run after the LED lights up).
The mouse I have is only wireless for the “less drag while gaming” aspect but the cable is actually super nice, so I dont even mind the cable… I just leave it plugged in now.
This is what I do. The mouse is plugged in most of the time but if I’m playing a game or working in like Photoshop, it comes off for the freedom of movement.
I used to live with a cat that chewed on cables. Other devices could have protective sleeves on the cables, but for the mouse that wasn’t readonable.
So that’s the only reason I know for having a wireless mouse.
I work tech support. And I’m often working in weird or cramped places on site with my laptop.
I hate using the touchpad! So I always bring a wireless mouse.
It’s a lot more convenient than a wired one.
Also, I can connect the laptop to a TV and watch movies from streaming sites, using the mouse as a remote while I’m on the couch.
I actually do this. I have a small power bank I keep the mouse hooked up to, and when it falls low enough it taps into it. Every few weeks or even a month I recharge the bank up. But wires being a problem will depend on your setup and desk real estate. This doesn’t bother me, but having a wired keyboard would lose some space, so I’m glad for my wireless there. And that’s even less of a hassle, as it’s still running off the original batteries it came with years (and years!) ago. Makes sense, there is very little power usage there being a boring old Logitech non-backlit keyboard.
For me, the computer towers are across the room so I use cheap wireless battery mice and a nice wireless keyboard. I use rechargeable AA for the mice, and they last a pretty decent amount of time. I had a lot of rechargeable AA and AAA already. The keyboard has built in rechargeable battery and can swap inputs with a button press so I just have the one for the towers. If I turned off the backlight it would hardly ever need charging, but since I like the light, it needs a charge every few days of actual use.
For my laptop, which isn’t across the room, I still use a wireless mouse because I just have them. I can also have one mouse tethered to two dongles and use the same device for two PCs that I don’t have on at the same time, so I do that between the laptop and the gaming pc.
extra cost,
extra weight (drives me nuts),
either a battery that eventually fails or replaceable batteries that you need to buy and replace,
and if its not bluetooth, some usb adapter that either gets lost of broken.
Most reasonablemice now support wither a 2.4GHz dongle, or Bluetooth. If your device has WiFi it almost certainly has Bluetooth support. So many motherboards are coming with built in wifi now, as do a lot of prebuilt towers. For most usage a Bluetooth connection is just fine.
Whoops! Big mistake buddy, you said something on the internet. Now we’re gonna fight! I miss balled mice. How ‘bout them apples? Nothing is as satisfying as cleaning the lint out of those things was
Now days sure, but I’d take one of later really good ball mice over many of the shitty cheap mice you get packed in with stuff now. The first few optical mice that I owned were legit worse than ball mice, while being much more expensive. I kept going back to the ball mice and regretting my wasteful purchases. The first one good enough to really kill them off was probably the MS InteliMouse 3.0.
I will concede only in the fact that it made me look like a miracle worker to my parents when I “fixed” their mouse that had stopped working with my magic.
On the other hand, the Christmas I gave them an LED mouse was peak level for all of us.
I miss the weighty rubberized balls IN the balled mice! Talk about a free fidget toy!
However, do trackballs count as balled mice? Because I got one for my laptop recently and I LOVE it. Wish there was more of a market for nice trackballs, with an assortment of ball materials for different inertias and whatnot. Lol
No, trackballs are a separate thing. And their design is usually better at keeping debris out of the ball meaning less maintenance even though it’s exposed literally all of the time.
i guess some people are too young to remember wired mouses
I prefer wired accessories. They don’t need to be charged, and I don’t have to worry about them having connection issues.
Yeah, and because the distance is less than a meter and nothing has to move between the 2 devices, a cable makes so much more sense.
I especially loathe wireless keyboards on desks. The thing don’t even move. There is no functional reason to be wireless. If you really want a wireless desk for some reason, just drill a hole and pull the usb cable through. It will save you about 200€ and tons of faff keeping the connection working properly when the device eventually runs out of battery.
I only use wireless keyboard with my home theater or TV setup. Otherwise wired all the way.
I was a fan of wireless keyboards. But between still requiring a wired one for the rare bios visit, connectivity issues, if the dongle is not in front of the PC, and the last one just dying, they are banned now.
Most mice are still ok in wireless. A Razer one was too power hungry. But it’s wire-optionally design was great, except that the wire was too rigid.
I only use wired. Batteries and charging suck.
Wireless has gotten pretty good over the past few years. I have a super cheap wireless mouse from Aliexpress that I use to control my PC while I’m on my couch (I have the PC plugged into my TV to watch Youtube videos and play the occasional game) and I only have to charge that thing every 2 months or so for like 20mins. The much bigger problem is the annoying latency and random connection breaks, but that might just be a factor of the mouse being super cheap.
My keyboard does both wired and 2.4ghz wireless with a physical toggle and it’s super reliable, but I have no idea how long the battery would last because I use it wired for my work Laptop during the day and wireless on my couch at night, so it’s basically always at full charge.
It only works well because you have a super cheap wireless mouse from Ali. I have a fairly expensive wireless mouse from Logitech and I have to use it in Bluetooth mode to get less stutter because the USB port on my display, literally 10-20 cm from the mouse, is angled the wrong way and apparently the Logitech unifying receiver is DIRECTIONAL but not by design.
I use one on my main computer. It still works while charging, and even on Linux I get a notification when the battery goes under 10%. I plug it and use as a wired mouse for the day, and maybe leave it charging overnight and unplug it in the morning. Had it for 8 years now, never an issue.
This is the way.
I still use them exclusively lol
Same. The mouse is always something I’m going to use on the desk next to the computer. I don’t understand the advantage of making it wireless, that’d just be one more battery for me to keep charged. Honestly, if I had a wireless mouse I’d probably just leave it plugged in to the charger as I use it. (And don’t get me started on Apple’s mouse charge port on the bottom.)
I switch mine (and my keyboard) between private PC (located under my desk because it’s cramped enough atop it, to the right) and company-issue laptop (placed atop it, to the left) when working from home. Like hell am I pulling the cable(s) out of my cable management to move it (them) over and move it (them) back, sometimes multiple times within the same day.
I’ve got my private headphones and my controller wired, but mouse + kb are keyed to the same dongle, which I proceed to move as needed. It’s a concession to convenience.
They’re also very efficient - I chronically forget to turn them off, but they still last so long that I was genuinely puzzled when the mouse started acting up and turning off until I noticed the blinking signal to indicate low battery. They’re not rechargeable, unfortunately, but I probably should see about getting rechargeable batteries.
I have a KVM switch for that.
When you get rechargeable batteries, get yourself some good ones! Usually it doesn’t matter, but input devices are the one big exception because weak batteries can cause lags and sluggishness. VR controllers run on batteries too and some games turn into motion sickness hell if you have bad batteries, so a lot of people in the VR community have strong opinions on what rechargeable battery brands are good (iirc, the consensus is Eneloops and Eneloop Pros are a good choice, but that might have changed in recent years)
I’ll save that comment for when I actually follow through on that resolution. Thanks for the advice!
These generations of wireless mouses are fine. The advantage, as small as it is, is less drag from the wire and not having to juggle with wires when working with a laptop. Given the batteries these days I’m fine with wireless.
Now I do not have the same view on wireless keyboards as these are pretty much stationary by default.
If you complain about the wire dragging, you should also shave your arms because the hairs on them drag even more than a cable would.
The batteries are my main issue.
12 hour battery? I charge every night.
4 day battery life? I forget to charge until it dies, and then it dies in the middle of using it.
The mouse I have is only wireless for the “less drag while gaming” aspect but the cable is actually super nice, so I dont even mind the cable… I just leave it plugged in now.
The batts last around a year
https://cherryxtrfy.com/mice/mz1-wireless/
This mouse is designed to be extremely light weight. So the battery is small (500 mAh is less than half a AAA battery).
And it’s designed to handle up to 50g of acceleration (ie, fast FPS twitch movements), so it has to be doing a lot of tracking.
So between higher power consumption than normal mice and a smaller battery than normal mice, it only advertises 75* hours of use (
* Depending on Hz, lighting on/off and playstyle).I could absolutely get a mouse that lasts much longer. But not one that meets all the other criteria I have for a performance gaming mouse. I wasn’t attempting to come in hot about “wireless bad” or anything, just sharing my experience.
My laptop’s wireless mouse has used the same AAA battery for months, and it gets used regularly. It’s not daily, but it’s at least a few times a week for an hour, and usually a lot more.
My wired mouse on my PC gets used about the same amount, but the cable occasionally catches under the corner of the keyboard. It’s not helped by the fact that I move the keyboard around depending on what I’m doing. That’s also the reason I’m considering a wireless keyboard as well though.
I had a wireless keyboard where the internal battery was total crap, had to keep it plugged in because it would drain within an hour. Got one with replace batteries, plenty of those available. Might be safer bet for you as well.
I’ve been using a wireless mouse at work now for over 12 years and can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had to change the batteries
Mine lasts several weeks. Also, it has a little light that turns red when it’s low (as in, needs charging within a few days). It can also be used while charging without much issue. When I see the red light, I just plug it in while I’m not using it or doing something like watching media. It’s really convenient. I have a mouse bungee, from when I had wired, and the cable just sits there waiting until it’s needed.
Just to join the poll, my logitech mouse will do about 2 months per charge. When the battery is low, it wil indicate with a red LED, but it will keep going for several days (thoigh I’ve never had the issue with not finding a charger within that time, so I don’t know how long it could run after the LED lights up).
My logitech wireless mice will run on a single AA for like … 2 years of daily use, I wanna say? At least 18 months.
Great, and my wired mice will run on no battery for eternity, no matter how much it gets used.
It’s running on your laptop battery
This is what I do. The mouse is plugged in most of the time but if I’m playing a game or working in like Photoshop, it comes off for the freedom of movement.
On the keyboard side it’s nice if your setup has you moving the keyboard to store it when not using the computer, eating when watching media, etc.
I think the main selling point was less the mobility and more that the cord didn’t get caught on things. Still not a huge concern, imo.
I used to live with a cat that chewed on cables. Other devices could have protective sleeves on the cables, but for the mouse that wasn’t readonable. So that’s the only reason I know for having a wireless mouse.
I work tech support. And I’m often working in weird or cramped places on site with my laptop.
I hate using the touchpad! So I always bring a wireless mouse.
It’s a lot more convenient than a wired one.
Also, I can connect the laptop to a TV and watch movies from streaming sites, using the mouse as a remote while I’m on the couch.
I actually do this. I have a small power bank I keep the mouse hooked up to, and when it falls low enough it taps into it. Every few weeks or even a month I recharge the bank up. But wires being a problem will depend on your setup and desk real estate. This doesn’t bother me, but having a wired keyboard would lose some space, so I’m glad for my wireless there. And that’s even less of a hassle, as it’s still running off the original batteries it came with years (and years!) ago. Makes sense, there is very little power usage there being a boring old Logitech non-backlit keyboard.
For me, the computer towers are across the room so I use cheap wireless battery mice and a nice wireless keyboard. I use rechargeable AA for the mice, and they last a pretty decent amount of time. I had a lot of rechargeable AA and AAA already. The keyboard has built in rechargeable battery and can swap inputs with a button press so I just have the one for the towers. If I turned off the backlight it would hardly ever need charging, but since I like the light, it needs a charge every few days of actual use.
For my laptop, which isn’t across the room, I still use a wireless mouse because I just have them. I can also have one mouse tethered to two dongles and use the same device for two PCs that I don’t have on at the same time, so I do that between the laptop and the gaming pc.
I bet you still have a mousepad and have to clean your balls on occasion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdoi3ZYC3Jk
I know it’s Lewis Black, but I’m still not gonna watch a video
i mean, it’s social media, i didn’t reply just for you to see
What are you talking about? This is my playground.
But seriously, a significant number of us aren’t going to watch a video, even if it has the promise of high quality as I purposefully indicated.
Same here.
With wireless you get:
extra cost, extra weight (drives me nuts), either a battery that eventually fails or replaceable batteries that you need to buy and replace, and if its not bluetooth, some usb adapter that either gets lost of broken.
Plus that adapter takes up one port…oh wait. But I’m still team wired mouse.
Most reasonablemice now support wither a 2.4GHz dongle, or Bluetooth. If your device has WiFi it almost certainly has Bluetooth support. So many motherboards are coming with built in wifi now, as do a lot of prebuilt towers. For most usage a Bluetooth connection is just fine.
Wired vs. wireless is whatever works for you, but no one misses balled mice. No one.
I miss balled mice. They worked better, IMO.
There are people who swear to trackballs though
Whoops! Big mistake buddy, you said something on the internet. Now we’re gonna fight! I miss balled mice. How ‘bout them apples? Nothing is as satisfying as cleaning the lint out of those things was
Stealing all the balls from the computer lab at school was fun.
You’re a monster. And also my type of people.
Like they said, nobody.
Now days sure, but I’d take one of later really good ball mice over many of the shitty cheap mice you get packed in with stuff now. The first few optical mice that I owned were legit worse than ball mice, while being much more expensive. I kept going back to the ball mice and regretting my wasteful purchases. The first one good enough to really kill them off was probably the MS InteliMouse 3.0.
Get a naked mole rat if you like bald mice. 😌
I will concede only in the fact that it made me look like a miracle worker to my parents when I “fixed” their mouse that had stopped working with my magic.
On the other hand, the Christmas I gave them an LED mouse was peak level for all of us.
I miss the weighty rubberized balls IN the balled mice! Talk about a free fidget toy!
However, do trackballs count as balled mice? Because I got one for my laptop recently and I LOVE it. Wish there was more of a market for nice trackballs, with an assortment of ball materials for different inertias and whatnot. Lol
No, trackballs are a separate thing. And their design is usually better at keeping debris out of the ball meaning less maintenance even though it’s exposed literally all of the time.
Less debris on the ball, but in my experience there’s more dust on the rollers. So it’s the same maintenance anyways.
Relying on batteries is for suckas
Mine is wired for a bit when the batteries need charging.
I highly prefer a wireless mouse, but only if does also come with a wire.
I highly prefer replacable batteries though, as i have chucked too much stuff just because its internal battery died.