It is easily the most beautiful mouse ever designed. It’s also, occasionally, the most infuriating piece of hardware sitting on your desk. You’re mid-workflow, trying to breeze through a massive spreadsheet or a long article, and suddenly, nothing. Your finger slides over that smooth acrylic surface, but the screen doesn't budge. Magic Mouse scroll not working is a specific kind of digital purgatory that Apple users have dealt with since the original model launched back in 2009.
Honestly, it’s usually not a hardware failure. That’s the good news. Before you start looking up the price of a Magic Mouse 2 or considering a switch to a bulky Logitech, you need to understand that the "Magic" part of this mouse is actually a complex layer of capacitive sensors—the same tech in your iPhone screen. When those sensors get confused or the macOS software driver hits a snag, the scrolling dies while the tracking and clicking stay perfectly fine.
Why Your Magic Mouse Stopped Scrolling
Usually, the culprit is one of three things: software glitches, sensor interference, or a literal "gunk" problem.
Let's talk about the software side first. macOS handles peripheral input through a process called hidd (Human Interface Device Daemon). If this process gets bogged down or hits a logic loop, it might stop interpreting multi-touch gestures like scrolling while still allowing basic X-Y axis movement. It feels broken, but the mouse is technically fine.
Then there’s the physical reality. Unlike a traditional mouse with a scroll wheel, the Magic Mouse relies on a seamless surface. If your hands are particularly oily, or if there's a thin film of cleaning residue on the mouse, the capacitive sensors can’t "see" your finger moving. It thinks you’re just holding your hand still.
The "Turn it Off and On" Method (With a Twist)
It sounds cliché. I know. But with the Magic Mouse, the power cycle needs to be deliberate. Flip the mouse over. Slide that green switch so the green disappears. Now—and this is the part people skip—leave it off for a full ten seconds.
Why? Capacitors.
Electronics hold a tiny residual charge. Giving it a few seconds ensures the internal memory of the mouse controller actually clears. While it's off, toggle your Mac’s Bluetooth. Go to the Bluetooth menu in the top bar, turn it off, wait, and turn it back on. Then flip the mouse back on. Often, this forced "re-handshake" between the mouse and your Mac solves the Magic Mouse scroll not working issue instantly.
Check the Gesture Settings
Sometimes, a macOS update or a random system hiccup flips a toggle you didn't touch. It’s annoying. Open System Settings (or System Preferences if you're on an older OS like Monterey or Big Sur). Navigate to Mouse.
Look at the Scroll Direction: Natural checkbox.
Toggle it. Turn it off, then turn it back on. Seriously. Sometimes the preference file just needs a "nudge" to remember it’s supposed to be active. Also, ensure the "Secondary Click" hasn't somehow hijacked the surface area. If the Mac thinks you're trying to right-click constantly, it might ignore scroll inputs.
Digging into the macOS Terminal
If the basic stuff didn't work, we have to get a little more aggressive. We’re going to kill the Bluetooth background process. Don't worry, it restarts itself immediately.
- Open Terminal (Cmd + Space, type Terminal).
- Type
sudo pkill bluetoothdand hit Enter. - You’ll have to type your Mac password. You won't see the characters as you type them. That’s normal.
This command forces the Bluetooth daemon to crash and restart. If there was a driver-level hang causing your Magic Mouse scroll not working nightmare, this usually clears the pipes. Your mouse will disconnect for about three seconds and then pop back up.
The Battery Secret for Gen 1 Users
If you are using the older Magic Mouse—the one with the two AA batteries—this is likely your problem. The battery compartment on the original Magic Mouse is notoriously loose.
Even a microscopic gap in power can cause the Bluetooth radio to reset. While it might reconnect fast enough that you don't notice the "Connection Lost" pop-up, the gesture engine (scrolling) often fails to initialize after a micro-power drop.
The Fix: Take the batteries out. Look at the contacts. If they look dull, rub them with a clean cloth. Some people even put a tiny piece of folded paper or a small bit of aluminum foil inside the battery cover to keep the batteries pressed firmly against the contacts. It's low-tech, but it works. If you have the Magic Mouse 2 (the rechargeable one with the Lightning port on the bottom), you don't have this physical issue, but you should check your battery percentage. If you're below 10%, macOS sometimes throttles "non-essential" features like complex multi-touch gestures to save power.
Interference and the "2.4GHz" Problem
Bluetooth lives on the 2.4GHz frequency. You know what else does? Your microwave, your old 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, and poorly shielded USB 3.0 cables.
If your Magic Mouse scroll not working issues happen mostly in the afternoon or in a specific room, check your desk setup. Are you using a cheap USB-C hub plugged right next to your mouse? Those hubs are famous for leaking radio frequency interference that "drowns out" the relatively weak Bluetooth signal of a mouse. Try unplugging your peripherals one by one. If the scrolling suddenly returns when you unplug your external hard drive, you’ve found your culprit. You need a shielded cable or a different port.
Resetting the NVRAM and SMC
This is the "nuclear" option before you decide the hardware is dead. NVRAM (Non-Volatile Random Access Memory) stores small bits of data like speaker volume, screen resolution, and—crucially—peripheral settings.
For Intel Macs:
Shut down. Turn it on and immediately hold Option + Command + P + R. Hold them for 20 seconds. You’ll hear the startup chime a second time or see the Apple logo twice.
For Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3) Macs:
These don't have a traditional NVRAM reset combo. Just shut the MacBook or iMac down completely, wait 30 seconds, and turn it back on. The system runs a self-diagnostic on every "cold" boot.
Cleaning the "Invisible" Sensors
Because there’s no wheel, we forget that the top of the mouse is a sensor array. Finger oils build up. Over months, this creates a literal barrier of lipids that prevents the sensors from detecting the electrical change of your finger movement.
Don't use harsh chemicals.
A slightly—and I mean slightly—damp microfiber cloth with a tiny drop of Isopropyl alcohol is fine. Wipe the top surface thoroughly. Dry it immediately. If you use hand lotion, that’s usually the "hidden" reason your Magic Mouse scroll not working problems keep coming back. Try to keep the surface bone-dry.
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Is it Actually Broken?
If you’ve reset the Bluetooth, killed the processes in Terminal, cleaned the surface, and checked the settings, but the mouse still won't scroll on any Mac, the capacitive layer might be shot. Hardware failure usually happens because of a drop. Even a small fall from a desk can hairline-fracture the internal sensor ribbon.
To test this, pair your mouse with an iPad or another Mac. If the scroll fails there too, it's time for a replacement. But 90% of the time? It’s a software glitch or a dirty sensor.
Actionable Troubleshooting Checklist
- Toggle Power: Flip the mouse off for 10 seconds.
- Refresh Bluetooth: Turn Mac Bluetooth off/on via the Control Center.
- Surface Check: Clean the top of the mouse with a dry microfiber cloth to remove oils.
- Terminal Kick: Run
sudo pkill bluetoothdto reset the driver. - Update macOS: Go to Software Update. Apple frequently pushes "Input Device" patches in minor updates that don't get mentioned in the big headlines.
- Test Environment: Move your USB hubs away from your mouse to rule out signal interference.
If you’ve gone through these steps, your mouse should be back to its smooth, scrolling self. If the scrolling feels "stuck" or jittery instead of completely dead, check your Accessibility settings under Pointer Control, as the "Scrolling Speed" slider might have been accidentally moved to the minimum setting. Always look at the simplest software explanation before assuming the hardware has given up.