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A wireless mouse uses a USB dongle to connect to your laptop.
💡 This post will identify different solutions if you lose or break the USB dongle.
Quick Summary:
- If you have a Logitech Mouse you can buy a replacement dongle depending on the type of mouse
- If it’s a Bluetooth Mouse, you can buy a replacement Bluetooth dongle. Although if your laptop has Bluetooth built in, you might not need to.
- With some brands like Razer, Corsair or Aerox, you can get replacement dongles from the manufacturer
- In the case of cheaper brands like Amazon Basics, you will have to replace the mouse entirely.
Now let’s get into the details.
The post walks you through troubleshooting steps. You can also jump ahead using the following table of contents to your specific brand of mouse
Table of Contents
What Technology does your Wireless Mouse Use?
The first step is to find out what wireless technology your mouse uses
A quick google or bing search using the part or product number will answer this question.
A wireless mouse uses two different wireless technologies:
- Bluetooth
- 2.4 GHz radio frequency (RF)
There are three different scenarios:
Your mouse supports both 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth
In case you lost the dongle, you have two options:
- Try connecting the mouse directly to Bluetooth on your laptop
- If your laptop does not have built-in Bluetooth support, then you can buy a replacement Bluetooth dongle
Your mouse supports only Bluetooth
In case you lost the Bluetooth dongle
- If your laptop has built-in Bluetooth support, you don’t need a dongle. Instead connect your mouse directly to the laptop
- Alternatively you can buy a replacement Bluetooth dongle
Your mouse supports only 2.4 GHz
In this case, the mouse will not work without a dongle. The mouse needs a receiver dongle to communicate with the laptop or PC.
As well, 2.4 GHz RF is proprietary and cannot be used across brands. For instance, a Logitech mouse that uses 2.4 GHz RF dongle to communicate with the laptop cannot use a 2.4 GHz dongle made by Amazon Basics. So you cannot mix and match dongles from different manufacturers.
Let’s now look at what do for specific mouse brands.
Logitech Mouse
Many Logitech Mice are supported by Logitech Unifying Receiver technology. If this is the case then you’re in luck. In this situation the simplest solution is to purchase a Logitech Unifying Receiver Dongle.
A Logitech unifying receiver lets you connect up to six compatible keyboards or mice to one laptop.
How do you know the mouse uses Unifying Receiver Technology?
You can find out in one of two ways:
- Search the part number in Bing or Google
- Look under the mouse; open the battery compartment and you should see it there.
What if the mouse does not use a Unifying Receiver?
Logitech also makes three other mouse receiver technologies.
👉 Read this article to find out what receiver to buy in case it’s not Unifying.
Amazon Basics Mouse
Amazon Basics uses a proprietary 2.4 GHz wireless technology. It is called a Nano receiver (just like Logitech). The mouse does not work with Logitech or any other brand of USB receivers. It’s not a Bluetooth mouse.
Most importantly you cannot buy a replacement receiver if you lose it.
Unfortunately you have to replace the mouse.
Lenovo Mouse
Lenovo uses a proprietary 2.4 GHz wireless technology for their USB mouse dongles.
Lenovo sells a replacement nano receiver on their website but it only works with a few different models.
- Lenovo Professional Wireless Keyboard & Mouse Combo (4X30H56796)
- Lenovo Professional Wireless Keyboard (4X30H56841)
- Lenovo Professional Wireless Laser Mouse (4X30H56886)
If you have a product that’s different from the above, then you might try eBay for a used dongle.
Alternatively you will need to replace the mouse.
Razer Mouse
Razer uses a proprietary 2.4 GHz wireless technology for their USB dongles. Razer sells mouse dongles on their website. Alternatively, you can also search eBay for a dongle.
Other Mouse Brands
All of the following brands of wireless mouse products sold on Amazon use their own proprietary 2.4 GHz technology to connect.
You cannot buy replacement dongles and instead have to replace the mouse entirely.
- Vssoplor
- Memzuoix
- TECKNet
- WisFox
- YABBOQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Connect Your Wireless Mouse without a Dongle?
Yes, if the mouse supports Bluetooth technology and your laptop or PC has Bluetooth built in. In this case, you don’t need a dongle. However if
- It’s a 2.4 GHz Mouse, you will need a dongle to connect.
- It’s a Bluetooth mouse and your laptop/PC does not have Bluetooth built in, you will need a dongle.
Can you use any USB dongle to connect a wireless mouse to your laptop?
No, every non-Bluetooth mouse implements a proprietary 2.4 GHz wireless technology to connect. Products within the same family – for instance Logitech Unifying can be connected with a unifying dongle – shown below. But such products cannot use a different – e.g. nano USB dongle.
In the case of a Bluetooth mouse, you can use any BT dongle as the it’s a universal standard.
Which wireless mouse should I buy if I lost my dongle?
In general we recommend the Logitech Unifying products as the company has a large selection of mouse and keyboard products and replacement dongles.
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