Logitech MX Master 3S is well-known for its excellent design. Some obvious reasons for the MX’s popularity are its excellent battery life of almost 70 days on one charge, plenty of programmable buttons, and front and side scrolls.
However many users face issues when attempting to connect over Bluetooth. In this article we will guide you through solutions to this problem.
Without further ado, let’s get into the details
Table of Contents
Introduction
Logitech MX Master 3 can be connected over wireless using either a proprietary dongle connection or Bluetooth.
Users who attempt to pair using Bluetooth sometimes complain about connection and pairing problems.
Some users can’t find the MX Master 3 Bluetooth in their PCs’ available Bluetooth connections. While others report that nothing happens if they try to pair the mouse with the PC. These problems are very annoying and overshadow all other amazing features and specifications.
If you are also facing mouse connectivity problems, we suggest trying the solutions in this post before giving up on this fantastic device.
The Basic Stuff
As a first step check to see if the battery in the MX Master 3S is fully charged. Low battery can cause intermittent or flaky connectivity. The green LED indicates a battery level of 10-100%. Red indicates lower than 10% and no LED means the battery is completely discharged.
Solutions
Reconnect Your Mouse
Disconnecting and reconnecting your mouse is usually the first solution when your electronic devices stop working. Try disconnecting, reconnecting, and then pairing your Bluetooth again. It often resolves the issue.
Update the Mouse Drivers
Logitech regularly updates their device drivers. Ensure you have the latest updated MX Master 3 mouse drivers installed on your PC.
Update the Operating System
Please note that the Logitech MX Master 3S does not support older operating systems. For example, it supports
- Windows 10 or 11
- Mac OS 10.15 or later
- iPad OS 14 or later
- Android 8 or later
We recommend updating your OS if your PC is running one older than the ones mentioned here.
Check the Bluetooth version
Logitech MX Master 3s is not compatible with the Bluetooth 3.0 radio chips and technology. It supports a newer Bluetooth 4.0 – also called Low Energy (LE) Bluetooth technology. If your OS doesn’t support this technology, you can connect the mouse through the proprietary dongle but not through Bluetooth. You can check here to see if your OS is compatible with Bluetooth LE 4.0.
Bring the mouse closer to the laptop
See if this makes a difference to connectivity. If the connection is more reliable with physical proximity of the mouse, then you’re likely dealing with an RF interference issue. Go to the next step.
Check nearby Wi-Fi Devices
Bluetooth 4.0 operates on 2.4 GHz, and so do most Wi-Fi devices. If a Wi-Fi device (such as a router or access point) is close to the laptop or mouse, radio interference will impact performance and connectivity. Sometimes the interference between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is so strong that the BT communication signals cannot reach their destination.
In that case, we suggest removing Wi-Fi devices from the surrounding area.
Another option is to switch the Wi-Fi signal from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz if your router supports it.
Operating System Specific Solutions
Logitech MX Master 3 Bluetooth Not Connecting in Windows 8,10 or 11
When you install Logitech Options software, it also installs ‘Logitech download assistant. This extra software keeps an eye on the recent updates and runs them automatically for login options software. Windows 10 and 11 have problems with this Logitech download assistant. They register it as a device, and it causes Bluetooth connectivity issues. Try connecting Bluetooth after disabling the Logitech download assistant. To disable it,
- Press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to open the task manager.
- Go to the Startup tab and look for Logitech Download Assistant.
- Right-click it and select Disable.
You can also try Windows Bluetooth troubleshooting for Windows 8, 10 or 11. For this purpose,
- Click Start>Settings>Update and Security>Troubleshoot.
- Select Bluetooth from Find and Fix other problems.
- Run the troubleshooter and follow the instructions.
MX Master 3S Bluetooth Not Connecting in Mac OS
When the mouse is paired many times with different devices, it does not forget recently paired devices. When you try connecting it with the new Apple device, it shows up in the pairing mode but doesn’t go further.
To bring your mouse to the actual pairing mode
- Press the channel button (shown above) once and bring it to Channel 2
- Then press the channel button for at least 5 sec or the channel two indicator starts blinking faster
- Now turn your PC’s Bluetooth off and then turn it on again
- Next click connect when the mouse shows up in the Bluetooth. It will connect immediately.
You can also try logging in to the safe mode and pairing the Bluetooth. Although it won’t resolve the issue permanently, you can get rid of it for a few days.
- Before entering the safe mode remove all the Bluetooth instances from the Bluetooth preference window
- Restart your PC and keep holding the Shift key
- Look for the ‘safe mode’ text and enter your credentials
- After entering the windows environment, pair your Bluetooth.
Summary
As a recap here are some solutions for solving Bluetooth connectivity issues with the MX Master 3S:
- Reconnect your mouse
- Update the mouse drivers
- Update the OS
- Check the version of the laptop’s Bluetooth radio chip
- Check for nearby Wi-Fi devices that could be interfering with Bluetooth
- Disable the Logitech Download Assistant or use the automated Bluetooth Troubleshooting tool in Windows 8,10 or 11
