Apple magic mouse on linux setup and how to guide

Setting Up a Magic Mouse on Linux Mint

Getting an Apple Magic Mouse working on Linux Mint (and other Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Fedora) is a straightforward Bluetooth pairing process. This guide walks through pairing a Magic Mouse on Linux Mint step by step, plus a couple of common gotchas people run into.

The Apple mouse uses Bluetooth to connect, so you need a Bluetooth adapter – built in if you’re on a laptop, or a cheap USB dongle if you’re on a desktop. Make sure Bluetooth is switched on before you start.

Pairing your Magic Mouse on Linux Mint

• Make sure Bluetooth is enabled in your system settings.
• Turn on your Magic Mouse (the switch is on the underside).
• Move the mouse to wake it up and make it discoverable.
• You will see a ‘pair’ request appear on screen.
• Enter 0000 as the pairing code.
• You can now use your Apple Magic Mouse on Linux Mint as a fully functional pointing device.

Troubleshooting your Apple Magic Mouse on Linux

If you don’t get the pair request, click on the Bluetooth icon in the system tray and then click the ‘+’ icon to add a new device manually. Wait for the system to identify your Magic Mouse in the scan results, then click the text that’s displayed (it will say ‘Apple Magic Mouse’). You will now get a pair request and should be able to complete setup as above.

If scrolling feels jerky after pairing your Magic Mouse on Linux Mint, check that you’re running a reasonably recent kernel – Bluetooth HID scroll support for Apple’s mice improved significantly in later kernel versions, and older Mint releases based on older kernels can behave inconsistently.

Sources: Apple Magic Mouse