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Reparation of an Apple pro mouse (light version)

As usual, I cannot be responsible for any damage to your machines when you will experiment the following tutorial.

(update 20 august 2004) here another technique.

The goal is to give another life to a dead Apple pro mouse.

One year ago, refering to this page, I said that this operation is too uncertain compared to the cost of a concurrent optical mouse, with more functionalities that the Apple product.

For instance this product

So why changing my mind ?

First of all, a challenge for me. Then next, the fact that I receive 6 dead mouses: plenty of subjects for testing the best possible surgery ;-)

1)

The ill beasts.

2)

Same disease: total or partial rupture of the cable at its junction with the mouse's block (yellow arrow).

3)

First of all to open the mouse: removes the first white ring.

4)

We see the damaged cable.

5)

Now, a delicate step. Removing the second, black, ring... keeping it as intact as we can... because it is on this ring that the mouse's transparent shell is glued on!

6)

I start with a small lever, then I use a plate ruler (to apply the same effort on a bigger surface and therefore to avoid damaging the ring).

7)

The mouse's shell now unhooked.

8)

We can now attack the plastic ring.

9)

Unfortunately, it is glued on the rear part of the mouse. We can remove then but we damage it...

10)

The now removed ring.

11)

We can uplug the defect cable.

12)

The yellow arrow shows a small metallic ring which clamp the inset onto the cable. The inset is used to impede cable's movement inside the mouse.

The best solution would be to replace the connector just before the break... but I have no other one!

13)

-> cut and weld ;-)

The inset is pointed by the blue arrow. The yellow one shows the metallic ring.

14)

We slide the inset a little away. We can replace the metallic if we are sure where the inset was. Which is not my case!

15)

We smoothly denude the cable.

16)

All the parts.

17)

We pewter the wires. We start from the mass's braid on which we put a thermal retractable girdle.

Unfortunately, I do not have another fine girdle for the other wires:-(

-> so I will use some 'chatterton'.

Other wires are not easy to identify: one black, one black/white, one black/green and one black/red.

18)

Dirty weld :-(

19)

Other ones are better. And the LED works back.

20)

-> Now, rebuilding the mouse. We unplug it from the USB connector, the latter we pass in the black shell.

21)

Then next through the transparent bottom...

22)

Through the black part of the rear...

23)

... that we can now slide back in the transparent bottom.

24)

We can put back the led's lens.

25)

Then put back the electronic circuits (yellow arrow).

Do not loose (blue arrow) the tab.

The white arrow shows one of the 'chatterton' welds.

26)

We can therefore put back the black shell onto the electronic board.

27)

Put back one of the "ear" (yellow arrow) and prepare to put in place the led's cache.

28)

We will clamp it on its lugs (one of them shows by the yellow arow).

Then same operation with the next "ear" (blue arrow).

29)

The cache back in place.

30)

Now, we have to slide the tab pointed by the yellow arrow into the inset pointed by the blue arrow.

31)

We clamp the shell onto the mouse's bottom.

32)

Sure, the mouse has suffered during this operation ;-)

33)

The last pieces...

34)

Therotically speaking, the metallic ring has to go there.

35)

But I do not put it back in place.

36)

The shell shows cyanocrilic glue droplets...

37)

... either on its upper and lower faces.

38)

The ring has to be glued at the 3 places shown by the yellow arrows.

A delicate operation as we have to straighten up the damaged black ring.

39)

For the transparent shell, two other glue droplets (yellow arrows).

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