I work 5 days a week and game, and I have multiple mice that are 20+ years old and still working. (Microsoft Intellimouse FTW.)
My job revolves around hardware and lifecycle in a corporate environment. If you’re killing a mouse in 18 months, in my opinion, it is either an extraordinary shitty cheap mouse that shouldn’t have passed QA and you should be complaining to the vendor, or you bought solely because it was cheap expecting greatness, or you’re abusing it to the point of failure. Even the cheap OEM mice will easily last 5 years.
If one genuinely uses a mouse that much, then I would leverage the Harbor Freight rule — buy the cheap tool from HF, and if you actually use it enough it breaks, spend the money to get a good one that will last. Better to spend $30-50, even $100, on a mouse every 15-20 years than $10 or band aiding a mouse every 18 months.
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As I write this and reading the words back before posting, I realize this might sound condescending or come across as angry, but that is not my intention. I would like to be helpful, learn more, and am open to discussion and differing opinions. Just wanted to call that out.
Start avoiding Logitech then. I have had three of their Anywhere MX mice of various generations, and now an MX Master mouse. They are expensive, and have ALL had switches start failing, that I had to replace and solder. Two of my coworkers have the same mouse, and like clockwork, after one and a half years one started failing. The other one is not at this mark yet, but I bet the same will happen.
I bought a Keychron mouse to replace it. It was also cheaper.
And to clarify, my comment was not to say it was expected that mice would last that short, rather that it is possible to use it enough that it falls within the expected lifespan in clicks of the switches they give.
I work 5 days a week and game, and I have multiple mice that are 20+ years old and still working. (Microsoft Intellimouse FTW.)
My job revolves around hardware and lifecycle in a corporate environment. If you’re killing a mouse in 18 months, in my opinion, it is either an extraordinary shitty cheap mouse that shouldn’t have passed QA and you should be complaining to the vendor, or you bought solely because it was cheap expecting greatness, or you’re abusing it to the point of failure. Even the cheap OEM mice will easily last 5 years.
If one genuinely uses a mouse that much, then I would leverage the Harbor Freight rule — buy the cheap tool from HF, and if you actually use it enough it breaks, spend the money to get a good one that will last. Better to spend $30-50, even $100, on a mouse every 15-20 years than $10 or band aiding a mouse every 18 months.
——————
As I write this and reading the words back before posting, I realize this might sound condescending or come across as angry, but that is not my intention. I would like to be helpful, learn more, and am open to discussion and differing opinions. Just wanted to call that out.
Start avoiding Logitech then. I have had three of their Anywhere MX mice of various generations, and now an MX Master mouse. They are expensive, and have ALL had switches start failing, that I had to replace and solder. Two of my coworkers have the same mouse, and like clockwork, after one and a half years one started failing. The other one is not at this mark yet, but I bet the same will happen.
I bought a Keychron mouse to replace it. It was also cheaper.
And to clarify, my comment was not to say it was expected that mice would last that short, rather that it is possible to use it enough that it falls within the expected lifespan in clicks of the switches they give.