Failure of Switches in Logitech and Other Popular Mice Reportedly Caused by Improper Voltage

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Image: Logitech

It’s not unusual to hear of enthusiasts with even the most expensive, high-quality mice to experience annoying issues such as singe clicks registering as double clicks or outright failure of buttons after extended ownership. According to a technical review by YouTuber Alex Kenis, the reason why Logitech and other popular mice are failing lies with a discrepancy between the voltage at which they’re running and the ubiquitous Omron D2F switches that many of these devices employ. Despite being rated for 6 volts, most modern mice are said to be running at a much lower voltage (e.g., 3.3 volts), which could result in early and premature switch failure.

TL;DR:

-the change from 5v to lower (3.3v) logic voltage and use of the MCUs’ higher resistance internal pull-ups (~40k) necessitates a change in hardware design, which manufacturers have not caught up to yet

-the change to faster MCUs and higher polling rates necessitates more advanced firmware logic, which manufacturers have not caught up to yet

-the ‘general purpose’ switches we have been using don’t work well at new voltages/currents/rates, and the ruggedized 50M versions are even more incompatible, and may ‘fail’ even faster than the lower cycle-life versions

-Micro-load rated switches like D2F-01F or similar may offer better performance and longer electrical life (but possibly shorter mechanical life)

Sources: Alex Kenis, r/hardware

Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

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