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I love the Magic Mouse, but there seems to be too much friction between it and my table, so I got a mousepad. That made it even worse, so I bought a special very thin mousepad. Maybe it's a little better, but still sucks compared to other mice when physically moving it around.

Today I went to the Apple Store to see if there's maybe a special mousepad I need. The employee showed me their sample magic mice and said that's just how they are.

Is this true? I love the Magic Mouse in every other way, if it was only physically more smooth, it would be absolutely amazing. Is there a mousepad that works particularly well with it?

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11 Answers 11

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Personally, I don't have a problem with the amount of friction when using the Magic Mouse.

A quick google revealed there are products, eg. "Fliders" that add "slippers" to the bottom of mice, and they have a Magic Mouse specific product. I don't have any direct experience with them or connection to the product in any way, but for $10 it might be worth a shot.

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  • Sorry to ping such an old question, but was wondering if you ever had any luck with the Fliders? I'm trying to solve the same issue with my Magic Mouse. Thanks! :)
    – trnelson
    Commented Nov 1, 2011 at 1:59
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I have a five year old magic mouse that's still going great.

I had the same problem with the mouse feet wearing down to the point where the battery cover was making contact with the desk. It became gritty and not very pleasant to use. I then coated the feet with teflon tape and also covered the worn spot on the battery cover. The tape is extremely thin and won't affect tracking. It feels like the mouse is new. The tape is durable - I haven't had to change it yet and the roll contains enough tape to do a LOT of mice.

The tape I used is ½ inch wide. I applied it as follows:

  1. Remove battery cover and measure the length of the feet. Cut a strip of tape the same length.
  2. Start from inside the battery cover by aligning the tape to the vertical part of the feet (at this point the tape should be perpendicular to the bottom of the mouse case. Use your fingernail or something like a toothpick to seat the tape to the fee.
  3. Gently roll the tape around the feet and under the 'v' between the feet and the mouse case. Again, your fingernail works great for this.
  4. Use a single edge razor blade or exacto knife the trim the excess tape.

Enjoy your 'new' mouse.

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I evenly spread some Talcum Powder on the Mouse pad and now the Magic Mouse is floating like a Air Hockey Mallet.

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  • You mean an air hockey puck?
    – IconDaemon
    Commented Nov 5, 2015 at 1:54
  • 2
    No he definitely means mallet. You don't move the puck with your hand.
    – Stimp
    Commented Jul 12, 2019 at 20:18
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The skates can get somehow coarse, which in turn adds friction. I simply added some Teflon tape to mine and it's been smooth ever since.

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I had the same problem.

I wound up taking a box-cutter and physically shaving down the two long mouse feet in the middle, so they only contacted on the ends.
It certainly helped, but as near as I can tell, the problem really boils down to the plastic used to make the feet.

One other thing that did help was a hard plastic mouse pad.

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  • I ended up doing the same thing, shaving down the long mouse feet using a knife, works really well
    – Haytham Elkhoja
    Commented Nov 14, 2012 at 16:56
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I solved the problem by applying a little bit of vaseline on the two long magic mouse feets and then rubbing them gently with the back of a knife. After that, I used a kitchen steel wool to rub both feets again.

The mouse now slides over any surface like a SpaceX falcon rocket Lol

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I'm a hobbyist who uses a self-healing cutting surface to razor-cut paper. I discovered by accident that this "board" is an excellent surface for the magic mouse. It's available at Michael's or other craft stores. It measures about 13" X 19"; this being a good size for paper-cutting, I left it as is, but you could cut it up to make several mousepads if you chose to. Actually first find out how to cut it up, since it's self-healing!

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The Magic Mouse has the slight drag by design. It needs this to prevent the mouse from sliding all over the place when you use the surface of the mouse with finger gestures. If it was smooth gliding there is no way the mouse could be effectively used as a touch mouse.

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I simply took cellulose tape strips and stick them on the rubber feet under the mouse. It works great! Its as smooth as it can be and simple to do.

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After reading the advice here and looking at the various tapes I just stuck Scotch Magic Tape to the skids on my Mac mouse, and it has reduced the grating sound. That'll do the job for me at the moment.

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There's not much you can do to make the mouse lighter. The only factor is less weight batteries which typically have less energy or more waste.

For reference AA battery weights in grams:

  • 24 - Duracell ProCell Alkaline
  • 26 - Eneloop NiMH rechargeable (1500 to 1900 mAh)
  • 28 - Energizer NiMH rechargeable (2500 mAh)
  • ≈18 - Eneloop Lite NiMH rechargeable (950mAh)

Once you've slimmed down the weight, consider altering the friction. Have you considered waxing or lubricating the table a bit? If not - then you could get some high quality silicone grease (home depot plumbing or scuba stores) to make the plastic runners a little more slick. It is safe and thick enough that it will stick rather than come off immediately.

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  • I am using eneloop lite, which is half of the capacity of ordinary AA rechargeable battery, but much lighter.
    – amdyes
    Commented Jan 4, 2019 at 6:08

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