How to Pair an Old Apple Mighty Mouse or Magic Mouse in Windows 10
Got an old Apple Bluetooth mouse laying around? Good news, it works in Windows 10!
I was digging through boxes in my basement the other day and unearthed a buried treasure: my old Apple Mighty Mouse. My brief stint as a Mac user ended over five years ago, and so my once-trusty Apple-branded Bluetooth mouse had been collecting dust. I was surprised to see that upon switching it on; it blinked to life. I decided to see if it would work on my Windows 10 PC. And it did, with a little coaxing.
Here’s how to get yours working, too.
Installing Apple Mighty Mouse or Magic Mouse Drivers in Windows 10
If your computer has Bluetooth, that’s half the equation. Drivers are in the second half.
I am using the discontinued Apple Mighty Mouse, model A1197.
Apple makes official Windows drivers for their peripherals, including the Mighty Mouse and Magic Mouse. They are bundled up with Boot Camp, which lets you boot Windows on your Mac.
Normally, you get these drivers as part of the Boot Camp Assistant setup process. But if you are no longer a Mac user, you can snag them from Apple’s support pages. I found the driver in the Boot Camp Support Software 5.1.5769 (August 2015) zip file.
Go ahead and download this file and unzip it. Inside, navigate to the BootCamp > Drivers > Apple folder. In there, you’ll find a file called applewirelessmouse64.exe. Run it to install your Magic Mouse drivers or Mighty Mouse drivers.
(Note: If you are using an Apple Magic Trackpad, try out the AppleWirelessTrackpad64.exe drivers.)
Proceed through the Device Driver Installation Wizard.
Click Finish when you’re done.
Pairing Mighty Mouse or Magic Mouse in Windows 10
Now that you have the drivers, the next step is to pair the mouse. It had been so long since I used my Mighty Mouse that I had forgotten how to pair it. There isn’t a pairing button, just an on/off switch on the bottom that slides over the optical sensor on the bottom.
To get it to pair, go into your Bluetooth settings in Windows 10. Turn off your mouse and click Add Bluetooth or other device and choose Bluetooth.
When Windows starts looking for the device, switch on your mouse while holding the left-click button. Keep holding the left-click button till the green light on the bottom starts flashing.
Your Apple mouse should show up in the list of devices. Click it. If prompted for a passcode, try 0000 or 1111.
Once you’re connected, Windows 10 will finish setting it up.
That’s it! You should be up and running.
I’ve only tried this on my Apple Mighty Mouse. But I believe it should work with any Apple wireless mouse. If you try it on your Windows 10 PC, let me know about your success or failure in the comments.
PS A note about the feature image. This was taken by Feureau (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL] via Wikimedia Commons. I could’ve taken a photo of my own Mighty Mouse, but it’s filthy. When I say I dusted it off, I mean that figuratively…
11 Comments
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RD
February 1, 2018 at 9:34 am
Bro, I also connected my mighty mouse but its scrolling ball is not working even after installing the drivers. Although it works with Mac.
Can u help me out in this?
Steve
October 16, 2018 at 12:36 am
That is a known problem with the mighty mouse. Try turning it upside down and scroll the ball around. Some debris or something dislodges and the scroll bar starts working again.
Jeff
August 7, 2018 at 5:34 am
The Mighty Mouse pairs and I can move around, but the left and right mouse buttons don’t work. The scroll ball seems to work OK, too.
Steve
October 16, 2018 at 12:36 am
Worked like a charm! Thanks for the post!
Bruce R
November 27, 2018 at 9:22 pm
Thanks so much for this post. I bought an even older model A1015 on eBay for next to nothing thinking it was the two button version you have – my mistake! However, your instructions allowed me to download the driver for Win10 and I got it working.
The biggest problem I had was pairing the A1015. There was a metal strip on top of the batteries which fell out as soon as I opened the battery cover. I took me a long time to work out how to re-insert that strip. The trick was realizing that the strip of white was intended to be visible from the underside of the mouse when it was switched off (the cover was closed). Once I got it correct I was able to pair the mouse successfully to Win10.
Pity is wasn’t the two button version!!
Thanks again !!
Jeff
October 29, 2019 at 7:22 am
Tried using a Magic Mouse 2 with a windows 10 PC. I am unable to use the scrolling/gestures, but basic mouse (buttons and movement) work fine. So — 70% of the way there, but definitely not seamless.
alexd
November 25, 2020 at 11:42 am
meehh.. .why would anyone want a half ass mouse like that on a decent Windows box ? Perhaps on a desperate day until the new one arrives… but I would take the day off instead :-)
Jett Peterson
February 21, 2021 at 8:36 am
My mouse won’t even turn on. I even replaced batteries. Tips?
The Lazer
January 31, 2022 at 9:06 am
Good article. I would add that I was having a problem where a mouse I had previously paired was not longer working. Originally thought mouse was paired with another device or needed a hard reset. Having followed these instructions a first time with no success, I went back into Bluetooth settings and scrolled down to ‘Other devices’ at the bottom of the window. Hiding away there was the mouse which I promptly clicked to remove.
Once this was done, I followed the instructions again and the mouse appeared immediately for pairing and started to work fine.
Andres
August 3, 2022 at 3:08 am
Works perfectly for me ! Thanks for the tip
Kennon
November 30, 2022 at 7:49 am
Works perfectly for me using wireless Mighty Mouse on W10 work laptop. Thanks!