Are dongles specific to make/model of computer mice?

[GreensandsParticipant @greensands]

I have wireless optical mouse made by Logitech  I use with my somewhat ancient laptop which because it has seen better days,  I  tried running with an optical mouse made by another company (Vivanco) using the Logitech dongle but without success. The dongle supplied originally with the Vivanco has gone missing but I had assumed that dongles of a similar vintage/application  worked on the same frequency and would therefore be compatible. Perhaps someone  could illucidate.

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Unlikely that dongles and mice/keyboards from different manufacturers will work, even though the frequency used may be the same.

Logitech nowadays use what they call a ‘unifying receiver’ where one of their dongles will work with both a mouse and a keyboard, for instance, at the same time. So, as each Logitech device comes with a dongle, you may find someone with a spare – this obviously won’t help with the Vivanco, though.

Rob

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

In my experience two Logitech mice of the same type won’t work with each-other’s dongles.  If they did then their use in an office with several computers would be impossible!

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

It depends on the use of the Logitech Unifying software, in which you can pair the devices to the receiver. So, for those of a mischevious bent (and access to a colleagues computer), you could pair a second mouse to their computer and annoy the heck out of them 🙂

I suspect, though, that Greensands’ elderly Logitech mouse pre-dates the Unifying protocol, so might just be easier to buy a new one.

Rob

[Grindstone Cowboy]

On Grindstone Cowboy Said:

It depends on the use of the Logitech Unifying software, in which you can pair the devices to the receiver. So, for those of a mischevious bent (and access to a colleagues computer), you could pair a second mouse to their computer and annoy the heck out of them 🙂

I suspect, though, that Greensands’ elderly Logitech mouse pre-dates the Unifying protocol, so might just be easier to buy a new one.

Rob

I agree. We have 3 pcs all running Logitech keyboards with touchpads. The dongles are specific to the keyboards.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Broadly, yes, dongles and Mice come as a matched unique pair and they can’t be mixed.   This allows a computer to support more than one mouse, not unusual if the user is into CAD or video editing etc, and also allows a few hundred computers in a open plan office to work without confusion.

The wireless link is in the same band, 2.4GHz, in which many channels are available.   But as many devices are allowed to share the same channel, pairing doesn’t depend only on frequency.  Each mouse/dongle has a 64bit identifier that is picked out by the computer; it only responds to matching mouse/dongle pairs.

It is possible for a manufacturer to generalise the match process by providing software allowing a special dongle to be configured by the user.  But as far as I know, the facility is proprietary, and doesn’t even work on everything sold by the same vendor.

I know it’s terrible hard on a thrifty model engineer, but the answer is to buy a new mouse.   A few months after it arrives the gremlins will rub salt in the wound by unveiling the missing one.   It will be hidden in plain sight just were you left it…

Dave

 

[GreensandsParticipant @greensands]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Thanks everyone and Dave for your explanation. I will take the given advice and fork out for a new mouse.</p>

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