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A friend lives in an apartment and has a Microsoft wireless keyboard and a Logitech wired (USB) trackball.

Since installing a new laptop we keep getting messages that the wireless MOUSE batteries are low. But she has no wireless mouse! However a Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse 3000 shows up in Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Devices and Printers

Presumably this is picking up a wireless mouse at a neighboring apartment. (Hence the weak signal.)

I disabled the wireless mouse in the device manager but then still got the battery is low message. We've checked the box to no longer show the message.

The real question is whether there is some way to tell the wireless system USB receiver that a given device is NOT to be connected.

In Bluetooth terminology (which this is NOT using) I want to "Un-pair" the device.

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    This is weird; the range on those MS things are usually terrible. Have you considered asking the neighbors if they do indeed have such a device?
    – Shinrai
    Commented Oct 25, 2011 at 19:43
  • In you uninstall it from the Device manager, does it come back?
    – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007
    Commented Oct 25, 2011 at 19:49
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    Also it seems odd you would just get this mouse auto-magically, as usually (with wireless mice) you have to hit the connect button on the receiver to start scanning, and then the button the keyboard and/or mouse to have them sync to that receiver. If you installed an extra MS drivers/utilities for the keyboard, try uninstalling them and see how it goes (ie: IntelliPoint, etc.).
    – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007
    Commented Oct 25, 2011 at 20:00
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    @Pigasus - If you'll read carefully, OP has a receiver installed - for the Microsoft keyboard. Presumably whatever and wherever this mouse is, it uses the same receiver type.
    – Shinrai
    Commented Oct 25, 2011 at 20:05
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    @techie007 - if I uninstall it just comes back. Disabling in Device Manager was the only way to keep it from trying to work and messing up the real pointing device.
    – lcbrevard
    Commented Oct 25, 2011 at 20:43

2 Answers 2

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OOPS... The mouse with low battery was in fact a mouse that came with the keyboard and had been put into a drawer nearby - in 2006!

We happened to find it and THEN my friend remembered that there was one.

SO... she was NOT picking up something from a neighbor.

I'm still wondering what binds a given mouse / keyboard to a given receiver and how does that work if more than one is in the same range.

I also wonder why with the new computer it decided to pickup that mouse after all the years.

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  • I think the cheaper combos [used to] just pick an arbitrary channel. I once ordered 5 sets similar to what you're using for a small office. Everyone was thrilled until we realized that some people were able to type on 2 different computers at the same time! They make a good case for using bluetooth!
    – Stefan Mohr
    Commented Oct 31, 2011 at 8:29
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I humbly submit that you replace that keyboard.

Ordinarily that's a stupid, evasive answer, but in this case I argue you have a security issue. You have a receiver that picks up information from a mouse in another home. That implies that another home has a receiver that is picking up your keyboard input. Just like you haven't knocked on their door and suggested they replace their batteries, they may not have done anything about strange keystrokes appearing on their screen from time to time...

Microsoft recently put out a wireless keyboard and mouse combo that offers encrypted communication with the dongle. Price: $40. Here's the first article I found on Google, but I learned about it from an MS Hardware rep a few days ago: http://www.techspot.com/news/44096-microsoft-offers-keyboard-with-128-bit-encryption.html

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  • That's a very good point. HOWEVER... we found the problem - we found the mouse in question. My friend had completely forgotten that the original set included a mouse. And guess what. We finally found the mouse hiding in a drawer about 5 feet away with very corroded batteries! OOPS.
    – lcbrevard
    Commented Oct 29, 2011 at 14:42

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