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Fix guides

Most mouse faults are mechanical, and most mechanical faults are cleanable. Each guide works through the repair path in order, starting with the fixes that cost nothing.

Repair before you replace

The failures that make people buy a new mouse are overwhelmingly mechanical wear on parts that cost a couple of dollars. A switch that double clicks has an oxide layer on a metal contact. A wheel that jumps has dust in an encoder slot. A cursor that drifts frequently has a hair across the sensor lens.

None of those need new hardware, and all of them respond to isopropyl alcohol and compressed air. The guides here follow that order deliberately: the free fix first, warranty second, component replacement third, and buying something new last. That ordering is not there to be frugal for its own sake — it is there because it is genuinely the sequence most likely to solve the problem quickly.

Every guide pairs with a test on this site, so you can confirm the diagnosis before you start and verify the repair when you finish.