Mi Dual Mode wireless mouse is almost the perfect wireless mouse

This is the wireless mouse I have been looking for. It’s called the Mi Dual Mode Wireless Mouse Silent Edition which seemed to be a weird name at first, but when I clicked its buttons I understood why. It’s much quieter compared to the wired mouse I have been using. The pressure needed to click the buttons on this mouse and even the tactile feedback when using the scroll wheel is nicely damped for minimal noise.

Bluetooth means free ports

It also offers dual mode connection, one mode uses a wireless USB dongle that you plug into your device, and that’s how the mouse will connect to it. The other uses Bluetooth which for me was the top priority when I was looking for a wireless mouse. My Asus laptop only has 2 full-size USB ports meaning if I plug in a mouse I have already used up 50% of the USB ports I have available.

Using a regular wireless mouse was also not an option because it communicates with the device through a wireless USB dongle which again still consumes a USB port. Bluetooth on the other hand does not use USB port-filling dongles. Perfect. And of course thanks to bluetooth you can use this mouse on other devices like tablets, smartphones, and smart TVs.

Simultaneous dual device connection

An unforeseen but very welcome advantage for me with this mouse was the ability to use it on 2 different devices at the same time…sort of. Let me explain. My workflow uses multiple devices. I have this Asus ROG Zephyrus with its insanely powerful hardware running all the workloads that require high-performance computing like graphic design and video editing and this very power-efficient HP Envy running all my web-based applications and other light work. And so I use both devices concurrently.

Since my muscle memory is already hooked to a physical mouse, I prefer using it on both devices. So what I did is I had the HP connect to the mouse with a wireless dongle because that pc has 3 full-size USB ports. Then on the Asus, the connection to the mouse is over bluetooth.

I know what you are thinking. Won’t it be a bad idea to have one mouse moving and clicking on stuff on 2 different laptops? Well, that’s where the ‘sort of’ simultaneous connection comes from. 

Mi Dual Mode wireless mouse is almost the perfect wireless mouse

There is a button here just above the scroll wheel. On other mice, it adjusts your mouse sensitivity but on this mouse, it’s the button you use to switch between bluetooth mode and wireless dongle mode. But the switch is made in under a second which is not even noticeable considering the time it takes me to shift my head and left hand from one laptop to the other.

The button also has a tiny LED indicator light that lights up blue in bluetooth mode, green in wireless dongle mode, and red if the batteries run out. Speaking of batteries running out, you can see the battery level of the mouse in the Windows bluetooth settings. Something that can prove useful since the mouse has no built-in rechargeable battery. In the month I have been using it I have lost about 2% of battery life which feels fine.

Anyway, my 2 PC setup is a very niche use case but one that I was not thinking of when I got this mouse. I just wanted something wireless that did not compromise my USB ports.

Some quirks

Speaking of compromises it’s obviously not perfect and these are the things I didn’t quite like about it.

I would have hoped to get a built-in rechargeable battery and a USB-C port so that when it runs out of juice I can recharge it via USB and also be able to use it as a wired mouse while I charge it. Also, they do not include some batteries in the box. Something that slightly frustrated me when I got home and I was so excited to give it a spin.

There is a sleep mode on the mouse to conserve battery but I feel it is too aggressive. After 20 seconds the mouse enters sleep mode and when you move it, it gives this slight delay before the cursor on the screen responds. It’s like a half-second delay but I found it annoying especially when editing videos and trying to make precise cuts. If only you could adjust it even to around 3 minutes I think that would be a lot better. 

Aside from that I am really loving this mouse. In terms of price, it set me back US$25 and I got it from the Mi store Zim. You can click here to check them out.

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