Logitech M221 - Silent but also not silent for the wrong reasons

[wwenze]

I suddenly became aware of mouse click noise after using the free China mouse from somewhere from Taobao and that mouse was really horrible. So I decided to get a silent mouse for my next mouse.

Not many cheap choices except M221. Yea I decided to move to wireless since good and cheap and small wired mice seem to have gone extinct.

So, the click is indeed damped. Not silent, but damped. Objective improvement, but makes me wonder if really results in a necessary improvement in daily life.

But while the click is softer, somewhere else is much, much louder than normal. I often lift my mouse, and every time I lift or put down the mouse, the battery cover rattles. The cover is not a tight fit to begin with, and it is used as a load-bearing surface for the mouse feet. And it's cheap plastic so it gets loud. Louder than the clicks themselves.

Missing the forest for the trees.

 

[wtfh4x]

The cheap Logitech wireless accessories are horrendous. I bought the MK240 Wireless Combo from them for about $30, the whole thing felt like a children's toy. Flimsy af, the key legends were so cheaply printed the edges were smudged and blurry, and to top of all off, it broke within 3 days. Thankfully I could refund cos I bought it through Lazada.

I then took the same amount of money and went to order a Chinese Jelly Comb combo from AliExpress. What a world of difference, both the keyboard and mouse actually feel solid, the key legends were printed properly, concave keys and it's still working two years later.

The difference really night and day.

 

[wwenze]

MK240 was okay for me for like <$20, but my keyboard died when I spilt water and it corroded the conductive traces.

 

[watzup_ken]

The cheap Logitech wireless accessories are horrendous. I bought the MK240 Wireless Combo from them for about $30, the whole thing felt like a children's toy. Flimsy af, the key legends were so cheaply printed the edges were smudged and blurry, and to top of all off, it broke within 3 days. Thankfully I could refund cos I bought it through Lazada.

I then took the same amount of money and went to order a Chinese Jelly Comb combo from AliExpress. What a world of difference, both the keyboard and mouse actually feel solid, the key legends were printed properly, concave keys and it's still working two years later.

The difference really night and day.

My experiences with Logitech wireless mice both expensive and cheap ain’t pretty. They generally cost a lot than some off branded mouse, and while build quality for the expensive mouse appears to be good, the mouse usually don’t last. The one and only mouse from Logitech that lasted for more than a decade is the G1 wired mouse. It is still alive by the way, and you can Google when the first release was in order to get a sense of how long it lasted. Every single Logitech wireless mouse I used tend to develop some missed clicks, or some connection issue over a few months of usage. The last one was the MX Master 2S that is sitting in my drawer rotting for almost a year. It is been in the drawer 2 months after buying it because it started to not register some clicks and stuttering/ lagging from time to time. And while Logitech failed to deliver, I’ve used Genius brand wireless mouse and it is also still alive and well after a decade.

 

[Outramkia]

My experiences with Logitech wireless mice both expensive and cheap ain’t pretty. They generally cost a lot than some off branded mouse, and while build quality for the expensive mouse appears to be good, the mouse usually don’t last. The one and only mouse from Logitech that lasted for more than a decade is the G1 wired mouse. It is still alive by the way, and you can Google when the first release was in order to get a sense of how long it lasted. Every single Logitech wireless mouse I used tend to develop some missed clicks, or some connection issue over a few months of usage. The last one was the MX Master 2S that is sitting in my drawer rotting for almost a year. It is been in the drawer 2 months after buying it because it started to not register some clicks and stuttering/ lagging from time to time. And while Logitech failed to deliver, I’ve used Genius brand wireless mouse and it is also still alive and well after a decade.

Replace thr omron switch?

 

[xtreme84]

I've had great experiences with the G700 previously and I've been using the G304 at work and at home for a few years now without any issues. Lightspeed is great and there's no noticeable lag when I'm gaming. (but boy does the G700 eat batteries!)

My experience with the Microsoft 3500 and 3600 was good as well, but I find the sensor on the G304 to be better than the ones in theirs. And connectivity is ok, but not as good as Lightspeed.

If I had to replace my mouse, it's quite likely I'd just get another G304 as it checks all the boxes for me.

 

[wwenze]

Found a simple solution for the battery cover rattling

Take a piece of tissue, roll it up, and jam it into the battery compartment, and put the cover back.

 

[shawntyq]

Recently I just gotten myself m650 L. Like it a lot but not sure how long its gonna last

 

[tsteo77]

I suddenly became aware of mouse click noise after using the free China mouse from somewhere from Taobao and that mouse was really horrible. So I decided to get a silent mouse for my next mouse.

Not many cheap choices except M221. Yea I decided to move to wireless since good and cheap and small wired mice seem to have gone extinct.

So, the click is indeed damped. Not silent, but damped. Objective improvement, but makes me wonder if really results in a necessary improvement in daily life.

But while the click is softer, somewhere else is much, much louder than normal. I often lift my mouse, and every time I lift or put down the mouse, the battery cover rattles. The cover is not a tight fit to begin with, and it is used as a load-bearing surface for the mouse feet. And it's cheap plastic so it gets loud. Louder than the clicks themselves.

Missing the forest for the trees.

Pal, you seem to have no luck with mouse, it's either spoiled in short period or lousy build.
I'm using basic logitech wired keyboard k120 and mouse M100R, so far so good and it's not expensive.
Avoid wireless, it's not good for your health.

 

[wwenze]

After buying AAA to AA adapters to reduce the weight, I realized I could have just bought lighter AA batteries instead.

The typical alkaline AA battery can weigh around 23g to 25g, but the Eveready AA only weighs 15g. It also has a reduced capacity at 1,100mAH but this is still more than the typical AAA. Plus Eveready batteries are cheap.

Now... to report after 3 months of usage... Battery life. Lasted for a little bit over 3 months with a single AAA battery, I am starting to encounter occasional disconnects so I think it is time to change the battery. For desk work this is still usable but I also do gaming so the battery got to go. Unloaded voltage sitting at 1.085V.

For comparison my MK240 mouse which I used while on business trip uses two AAA batteries and lasted around the same, with much less gaming. So the M221 lasted more than double of a cheap but decent mouse and would have probably lasted above half a year of frequent gaming if using AA battery as intended by design. This is pretty good and does reflect well on the higher rated battery life of 18 months.

Also, the top part of the chassis rattles. Eww.

 

[wwenze]

Japanese M220 is selling on Amazon.sg for $15 all the time. Good value and only matched by M221 selling for $16 during Lazada sales.

This M220CG has glossy instead of matte plastic at the edge instead. Dunno if it is due to being M220 or due to being black. I can't find any rhyme or reason which type you're getting.

On the plus side, this version, the chassis top does not rattle.