What's the best way to ignore a wireless mouse from a neighbor?

6

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.

lcbrevard

Posted 2011-10-25T19:31:36.040

Reputation: 568

3This 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 – 2011-10-25T19:43:34.993

In you uninstall it from the Device manager, does it come back? – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 – 2011-10-25T19:49:51.727

What model, make of laptop? – N4TKD – 2011-10-25T19:58:35.643

1Also 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 – 2011-10-25T20:00:26.597

Presumably, the mouse would need to be Bluetooth, right? Other wireless options should require a usb receiver to be plugged in. Do you use the Bluetooth feature on your laptop? If not, you should be able to disable it and prevent the mouse from interacting with your laptop. – Pigasus – 2011-10-25T20:04:06.910

1@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 – 2011-10-25T20:05:28.233

Right. If she had a MS Wireless mouse for real, this would pick it up. My guess is there is one in a drawer somewhere with the batteries all but run down. Worse, apparently it has one of the mouse buttons stuck down (or something on it). If we let the mouse actually connect it interferes with clicking using the trackball (or built-in track-pad). – lcbrevard – 2011-10-25T20:36:09.683

@JohnDR - not that it matters, but the laptop is a huge ASUS NX-90JQ-B2 with 18.4" screen and B&O speakers. And, I should mention that Bluetooth is turned off as is 802.11 WiFi. The Internet connection is via Ethernet. I try to avoid ALL use of wireless in apartments due to all the interference. – lcbrevard – 2011-10-25T20:39:01.880

1@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 – 2011-10-25T20:43:01.797

Did the wireless keyboard the user has come from a keyboard/mouse combo kit originally? Did you install any extra MS utilities/drivers? If so, uninstall them and then delete the device and see if it comes back while the utilities are uninstalled. Also, if you unplug the receiver and delete the mouse from the device manager, does it come back? – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 – 2011-10-25T20:51:37.420

@Icbrevard are you saying you have a usb dongle plug in? "USB receiver" if so what for. You say the Bluetooth is turn off have you check under "View Bluetooth Network Devices" to see if anything is paired with the computer(see your manual). With the dual touch-pads I would make sure the driver has not been over written by some other version that is not compatible. I hope this helps. – N4TKD – 2011-10-25T21:08:51.167

@JohnDR - there is a USB dongle receiver for the wireless Microsoft keyboard. No wireless mouse was ever used with this computer. I double checked and the (built-in) BlueTooth adapter is turned OFF. Therefore there are no Bluetooth Network Devices. Each of the two touch pads (one USB and one PS/2) shows up as an additional pointing device so I don't think one of them is the phantom mouse. – lcbrevard – 2011-10-26T22:07:12.657

Answers

3

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.

lcbrevard

Posted 2011-10-25T19:31:36.040

Reputation: 568

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 – 2011-10-31T08:29:29.583

1

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

Stefan Mohr

Posted 2011-10-25T19:31:36.040

Reputation: 439

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 – 2011-10-29T14:42:00.937

Asked: 2011-10-25T19:31:36.040

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Active: 2011-10-29T15:15:08.120