Not all wireless mice are created equal when it comes to battery life. For example, the Logitech M705 Mouse offers a battery life that lasts months and months using four AA batteries. But the Logitech Master 2S (a superior model) lasts only weeks. In fact, most wireless mice only last for days or weeks. Thus you might have wondered (at some point) why most of these models don’t offer wireless charging to help make the task of keeping them juiced easier.
This is a fair question and there are a few models out there that support it (but only a few). Those few models require a proprietary charger/dock though. Even though it is possible to charge certain wireless mice via Qi wireless chargers for a more universal compatibility. So why companies don’t integrate this tech into new products is a little odd. Of course, there may be some reasoning on their end. I just wonder if it leans more toward cutting costs or having a good excuse.
Regardless, we had to give it a go to see if it was possible or not. In our research, we stumbled upon a YouTube video of a user adding a wireless charging coil to a Logitech Master 2S. Since we had a few of those models lying around, it was the perfect guinea pig to use.
What you will need is a mouse that has a built-in rechargeable battery (DO NOT try to do this with a model that takes alkaline batteries), a wireless charging coil (we used this one), and a soldering kit. Optional tools include a demmel kit for fine adjustments to the inner shell of the mouse (for the possible need of making a little space), heat shrink, and a heat gun.
Now it is important to understand that you have to have knowledge surrounding circuitry and some soldering skills in order to pull this off. This will also void the warranty of the mouse (regardless of if your operation is a success or not). There is a chance you might damage your mouse if you aren’t careful. So take this article as far as you are willing to chance things as we take no responsibility for your own science projects.
So disclaimers out of the way, I am going to share the video we ran into. Since there isn’t a universal way of explaining this as all mice aren’t created equal (as I said earlier). Where the wires of the wireless charging coil will solder to will vary with each model. Which is why you’ll need some understanding of circuitry to be able to identify your solder points.
The video (by Sasa Karanovic) walks you through how he took the mouse apart, where the solder points are for this specific model (Master 2S), and proof that it worked. Strangely, he didn’t show the actual assembly on how everything went back together. It seemed like he purposely skipped over this part. Likely because he ran into problems. So we will go into detail on how we accomplished that part, after/below the video.
So this is great, the author of the video had a successfully charging mouse via a wireless Qi charging pad. He shows exactly where to solder the wires, Making it easy for this model as it helps take a lot of the guess work out of the project.
Our guru (Kiefer S.) when it comes to everything from 3D printing to to electrical engineering (knowing where to solder, how to solder, and the dos and don’ts that come with everything) jumped on the project (and did all the heavy work). However, the approach we took was different when it comes to where to hide the wire and how everything goes back together.
This is where the video starts leaving valuable information out. Likely because where (and how) he decided to seat the coil would have blocked a smaller circuit that provides the button press for the thumb section of the mouse. He likely ran into issues and didn’t want to show that part (or simply didn’t record that part).
In our experience, we didn’t recoil the cable. We kept it flat and inserted it into the same area, but tucked some of it under the main board, keeping it as low to the bottom as possible. The wires running to the little board for the coil was extended just slightly to make it easier to work with, and the board was wrapped with e-tape and placed on top of the coil. The wire path can be seen above as well.
With this placement, we had to sacrifice one of the screws that hold the top and bottom halves the mouse together so the coil could take the space. The stem the screw would have passed through was dremeled out, along with some of the bottom surface area of the plastic floor in that whole area to help bring the coil as low as possible guaranteeing the charging pad will see it (as well as a few other areas as we saw fit). This also created space for the little board that is a part of the top half of the mouse shell that normally slides into that area.
You can see that the green lights are lit up and everything is properly charging. Making for a successful, thus far.
Everything mostly came together nicely. However, we had to leave the cone tooth of the top shell out instead of letting it snap down. When we snapped it into place, it put too much pressure on the newly adding parts causing the thumb button to no longer press down (click) properly, and the laser didn’t work (everything else worked button-wise) but no movement of the mouse itself. Likely due to where the coil might have been pressing against the main board (current theory).
But when we leave that tooth of the shell exposed, everything works just fine. Thankfully, when using the mouse, you don’t even notice it is slightly raised right there. A small sacrifice to pay.
In the end, we had a perfectly working wireless mouse that charged wirelessly as well. We made use of a flat charging pad and marked the center point of its coil with a silver paint so we knew where to drop the mouse down onto it each time, Aligning the thumb/wing side of the mouse with it perfectly. That way you aren’t sliding it around trying to get it to light up.
When the mouse isn’t in use, it can be place on the pad as you walk away. Eliminating the process of having to plug a cable in and out every time and making sure always remains charged for the next time you reach for it.
Just remember not to try this unless you are sure of your skills and understanding of how these boards and their components work. Even then, something could always go wrong. Also, kudos to Sasa Karanovic for making his video available to the world. Making it that much easier for DIYers to give it a go.
So have you given this a go? Share your success stories below in the comments. Let us all know what models you have tried this with.
