The mouse scroll wheel is a mobile element that consists of, precisely, a wheel on an axis that we can rotate with our finger. This turn causes, with use and over time, a certain level of wear that can end up resulting in an unpleasant squeak or that the wheel does not turn as well as would be desirable. If your mouse wheel squeaks or does not work properly, in this article we are going to tell you what you should do to fix it .
Nowadays it is almost inconceivable a mouse for PC (whether gaming or not) that does not have a scroll wheel, a very necessary element especially for Internet browsing but which is also essential today in games. For this reason, if the mouse wheel squeaks or has an uncomfortable scrolling (for example, it is too hard) it can be quite an annoying inconvenience, but fortunately it has an easy solution .
How to fix mouse scroll wheel?
As we said before, the mouse’s scroll wheel is placed on an axis (or in some mice, on two supports) and therefore has a certain level of wear, but not only that, but any type of dirt can be deposited on it. mechanism, causing that unpleasant screeching sound that we hear so often with mice that have already been used for a few months.
As we said before, the solution is quite simple but even so it is a bit laborious because as you will already suppose, it implies having to open the mouse to access its interior. Therefore, you will have to find where your mouse has the screws that allow you to remove the outer casing (many times they are placed just below the Teflon legs , and the recommendation is to heat them slightly with a hair dryer to remove them without damaging the adhesive and thus be able to access the screws) and thus access its internal hardware.
Once you have removed the mouse housing you will see something similar to what we show you in the image above, with access to the scroll wheel. Now, as we have mentioned a moment ago, the normal thing is that the wheels are placed on two supports as in the image or on an axis, generally metallic, that we can remove and that goes through the wheel and leaves it fixed in the supports .
At this point, you will have to remove the wheel from its anchor (normally you can do it by applying slight pressure with a flat screwdriver on the sides to make it come out, it has to come out smoothly and without forcing the supports because, otherwise, you run the risk of they break ), and once this is done you should clean very well (help yourself with a clean, dry microfiber cloth and / or ear swabs) both the wheel axle and the supports to remove any dirt or traces of wear.
Now comes the tricky part, which is to grease the mechanism so that it rotates easily again and stops making noise. To do this, you can use a little 3 in 1 , petroleum jelly or even cooking oil , but the trick is not to pour it directly into the mechanism, the wheel or the shaft, but to slightly impregnate (a single drop is enough) a kitchen paper or piece of toilet paper and rub the shaft with it. If it is very slightly impregnated, it is more than enough.
Once this is done, it only remains to reassemble everything and test if the mouse still squeaks and if the wheel now turns more smoothly (it should be if you have done it correctly). Keep in mind that if you have used petroleum jelly for this, it is possible that when you reassemble everything and use the wheel, you will feel a bit hard, but with use the product will be impregnated throughout the mechanism and in a short time it will begin to work properly. perfect.