In this guide we walk you through the different steps to solve the problem with your M510 mouse. Many people have reported issues with the mouse – the most common ones being:
- Problems with connecting
- Jitter and Intermittent loss of connectivity
- Not functioning at all
Basic Checks
If this is the first time you are attempting to use the mouse, make sure the battery tab is removed (shown in the picture below) and the mouse is turned on.
M510 is a wireless mouse and needs a USB receiver dongle (found in the battery compartment) to be plugged into a PC or Laptop’s USB port.
Troubleshooting Tips
The M510 uses two AA batteries. (While it takes two batteries, the mouse can work fine with just one).
Is the LED on the mouse blinking red? If so, the battery level is low and it needs replacement. If the LED is off, the battery could be dead. Check the battery on the M510 and ensure that it’s working. If not, replace it. Make sure that when you replace the batteries they are in the correct orientation.
To really check if the battery is not working use a multimeter to measure the voltage across the terminals. If you don’t have a voltage meter, it’s easiest to just try a new set of batteries.
Wireless Connection
The M510 is a wireless mouse. If it isn’t working, the problem is most likely due to a broken wireless connection. The M510 uses a Unifying Receiver or Dongle that is plugged into a USB port on your laptop / PC to connect.
The link between the mouse and the Unifying receiver can either stop working or work intermittently for a few different reasons:
Low battery level
The battery life is stated to be 24 months. If using one battery, the life is halved to 12 months. It could be shorter or longer depending on how often it has been used. The battery powers the wireless link so if there’s an issue with it, the link won’t function properly.
Using no receiver
The M510 needs a Unifying receiver to operate. It does not use Bluetooth for wireless connection. It cannot use a cabled or wired connection either.
Read this post on what to do if you have lost or misplaced your receiver.
Using the wrong type of receiver
Sometimes when the USB dongle is lost, a user might plug in another USB dongle they have around the house. Logitech makes four different types of wireless dongles. A Unifying mouse needs a unifying dongle to operate – it cannot be used with a Lightspeed dongle, for instance.
Moving the receiver from one USB port to another
If the USB dongle is switched to another port you might lose connectivity if the port is not working. Move the receiver to other USB ports to see if it works. If you were plugged into a USB 3.0 port, try switching to a USB 2.0 port.
You can tell a USB 3.0 port by the blue color.
Using the receiver in a USB hub
USB hubs can cause the mouse to experience latency, jitter or be completely non-functional. Instead plug the dongle directly to the PC.
Moving the receiver to another computer
If you moved your receiver to another computer, the mouse won’t work with any other computer other than the one that the receiver is plugged into.
Radio Frequency (RF) Wireless Interference
Wireless signals from Wi-Fi routers, cell phones and other sources can disrupt the link between the mouse and PC. I have seen many situations where an access point is placed on the same desk as the PC. The wireless signals from the Access Point will interfere with the operation of the mouse.
To solve this problem, move all other wireless devices away from the mouse. Ideally at least a foot away (if not more).
If after trying all of the above steps, the mouse is still having connectivity issues then there’s possibly an issue with the drivers. Try the next step.
Reboot your PC to Safe Mode
Follow these steps to start your PC in Safe mode. Check to see if your mouse works. If it does, then it’s a driver issue or a conflict with another application. To resolve driver issues, first uninstall the drivers.
The next step is to restart the PC. This should reinstall the necessary drivers and your mouse should now connect as it normally would.
Summary
In this post we have described the steps used to solve the problem of the M510 not working. There are two main categories of problems we have identified as being the cause of the problem:
- Connectivity
- Drivers
Within each of these categories we have provided solutions.