What do you think are the best mice for use with linux?
What factors do you think are most important in selecting a mouse? (eg precision, build quality, comfort, other)
Price is optional
@phoh Do you mean the device the hardware when you mention mouse. If you do I think any good mouse works in any system no linux includes. I prefer mouses like this one https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Vertical-Wireless-Mouse-Rechargeable/dp/B07FNJB8TT/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2R9E7U9BIKABA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NtvOFD3vflxRQmrcZbBAeTvEtZpvC6RVQJQisSWTIKtHyCAZ4djsgrCneukJb7jNaHM98rsBBSb3I5ZfLgGbMF8BKXeG05Aefe05kyLeS3E2Qa6XBbUCpCYsGPKerQn_QhphPL6XkN2Z9xbIONgDYZ5FAebyWgELT9pedbyuCLgTtZSimw2tkDNmb5-6MDu5Wqip0Mpjs8NCv8BKKcR-Dq8_lMkBUIyPTviWGoNCWFE.YOTKbFt6LE8LzckOqChnY8noQx0gRl30_WPFNbOaSkQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=ergonomic+mouse&qid=1720474137&sprefix=ergonomic+mouse%2Caps%2C135&sr=8-5
yes i mean hardware.
people i work with use and love those vertical shaped mice. i find them too weird. that is probably cause i am stuck in my ways.
i have a logitech mx anywhere which i like but the side buttons don’t work very well on linux.
i am really just interested to see what people are using. maybe there is a better one out there for me.
thanks for the recommendation.
Mice are so standardized that basically any problem with the basic buttons has to be a configuration issue. I have never seen a mouse not working under Linux. Unless of course you are talking about programmable and RGB stuff coming with proprietary software, but I never understood their appeal (in fact I’m also still prefering cables over batteries over recharging ones -as the internal battery is usually what fails first-).
I personally would make sure to choose a mouse with on-board storage. E.g. most (all?) Logitech mice store DPI and RGB on the mouse, which means it works independent of the OS. At least some other manufacturers require a Windows “driver” to disable RGB and configure DPI, which is annoying as those aren’t available on Linux, and have to be constantly run in the background.
Basic configuration of Logitech mice can be done through Piper on Linux.
Edit: Precision shouldn’t be an issue with any decent mouse sensor. The PixArt PMW 3310 or later is good enough for even gaming and can be found in 20$ mice. Comfort is subjective, but I prefer larger mice where I can put most of my hand on top.
Edit 2: I’ve now read you’re already using a Logitech mouse and are having issue with the the side buttons. What issues do you have with them? My G Pro Wireless side buttons work for going a website back/forward in the web browser, but I don’t use them much.
I’ll second the onboard storage, and add that any >3-button mouse should have buttons that map to actual key/character presses. I got a Razer Basilisk Pro on clearance, and it does have onboard storage, so once I turned off the RGB in the windows software on an old laptop, I could get rid of it. What I didn’t realize til later is that the nice little thumb lever can’t be remapped by anything but the Razer software (which has to be running all the time) because it doesnt register as any key combo, it had to be processed through their app to be used. Damn it.
Edit: Have you tried looking at what keycodes the side buttons on your current mouse are mapped to? Sometimes you can intercept that input and make it perform correctly. I haven’t done it on linux yet, but I’m sure there’s an equivalent to AutoHotkey for Linux.
Using wev (wayland event viewer, which shows pressed keys) the side buttons show up as extra mouse buttons, so it should be possible to remap them.
button: 272 (left)
button: 273 (right)
button: 274 (middle)
button: 275 (side) <- side button
button: 276 (extra) <- side button
PS: My old Logitech G710+ keyboard has some extra buttons which show up as normal numbers, which makes them pretty much useless. A while ago I found the now abandoned sidewinderd project which adds support for them. It’s sad that those manufacturers don’t create proper standards for these kind of things and instead hack it together somehow.
I was looking for a mouse recently. My priorities were:
- Comfortable (i.e. vertical; after getting used to it I’m not looking back)
- Standard format replaceable battery, since built-ins always end up depleting or swelling and being hard to replace
- Nice scroll wheel (highly subjective though)
- Easy switching between Linux and Windows systems
- Small-ish, portable
I got the Logitech Lift. I am pleasantly surprised by how nice it is.
Granted I mostly use my mouse for browsing, scrolling and navigating UIs. The rest is all keyboard. For games I prefer controllers and game pads so precision/high performance wasn’t an issue for me at all.
Are there mice which are not supported in Linux? Everything I have used from a junky unbranded wireless mouse to a high end Logitech gaming mouse have all been plug and play for me. Even the RGB settings can be configured in openRGB.
Comfort should always be an important factor in a mouse for any OS, I would think. In terms of build quality, I have had the rubber on some mice start to degrade over time, but that is about it. Even the cheapest mice that are hard plastic can last for decades with no problem.
I would say that switchable DPI would be a must-have feature for me with modern displays. As someone with a 4k monitor, some junky office mice do not have enough sensitivity for me on high resolution monitors even with the setting cranked to max in the settings menu.
For wireless mice, I prefer AA battery mice over USB rechargeable mice, but that is a matter of personal preference. If my mouse battery dies in a AA mouse, I can swap the rechargeable NiMH battery in a minute and continue using it. However, if a USB rechargeable mouse is dead, I either have to use it on a tether for a while or remember to constantly keep recharging it. Also, having an integrated li-ion battery will give any mouse a limited lifespan unless you are willing to open up and solder in a new battery when it wears out, whereas I have some AA-powered mice which are going strong probably a decade later, so long I have had to open them up and re-solder them with new microswitches instead of new batteries.
I have CoolerMaster MM712. If I use the USB dongle the mouse goes to sleep after a while even when I am using it. So yeah, there are some quirky ones
Interesting. Do you use Powertop or TLP, by any chance? Some power utilities will turn on USB power saving if there is no activity on a USB port for a while, which can cause issues with USB mice. Generally I turn off that specific setting, or I believe there might be some way to whitelist certain USB devices to not have this sleep behavior.
No. I have a bog standard ASUS UX325UA_UM325UA laptop running arch+kde. I have not tweaked with power saving at all (only adding hibernate)
Logitch mice work on Linux but additional mouse buttons are not supported for some reason
Another reason to use Logitech mice: ease of repair. Apart from skates covering the screws on the underside, Logitech does not use glue to keep it’s mice together. And due to their popularity, replacement parts (including the battery btw) are widely available even for older models.
I most logitech mice soley because you can unlock the scroll wheel and it can go brrrrrrrrr
