Ok, here's a very easy fix for all of those who find problems with their MX Revolution no longer toggling properly between click-to-click and free
scrolling - i.e. it is permanently stuck in free scroll. This will also help if you are finding your click to click scrolling is a bit "soft".
The first step is to confirm that this is indeed a hardware issue and not a software one. To do this, unplug the USB receiver from your PC, and ensure
the mouse is powered on. Try click the wheel to toggle between the two modes - if this works, your issue is software, and I suggest you reinstall
SetPoint as a starting point. If you find that you can't toggle though, this is mostly likely a very simple hardware fix that I will detail now!
You will need:
1 small Philips screwdriver (approx 2mm tip diameter)
1 small thin blade, flat screwdriver or equivalent item
a lamp so you can see what you're doing
a workspace where you can find tiny springs if they ping off!
1) Ok, to start with, turn off the mouse, flip it over, and GENTLY use a blade to prise away the rear two feet, and the frontmost wide foot. The feet are made of a teflon layer, then a neoprene layer, and finally the adhesive. If you're careful, you should be able to get underneath the adhesive layer and ease the whole thing up as one. If you don't, you may need to tack the feet back on with Bostick (I like Bostick, sticks well to most things, and isn't a pain to remove at a later date). Take care not to bend the feet too much as you'll be putting them back on at the end.
2) With feet removed, you will expose 4 small Philips screws. Remove these, and set aside. Next, GENTLY seperate the lower tray from the top half of the
mouse. There is a delicate ribbon cable that goes to the top buttons on the mouse, but as long as you're cautious there's no need to disconnect it.
3) With the internals now exposed, look at the very front point of the wheel assembly - there is a single Philips screw holding it in place. Remove that, and set aside.
4) Now, gently lift up the whole wheel assembly - it will come away easily, and will have enough flex in the cable to move. First thing is to check underneath the assembly as to whether there is a little spring poking out of it - if there isn't, it's still on the circuit board, so find it and put it somewhere safe.
5) Now that you can see the assembly, you will see it consists of an arm pushed against the inner radius of the wheel by a spring. A small stepper motor with a semicircular rotor is used to push away the arm to enable free scrolling. The problem with being stuck in free scroll is caused by that little spring on the arm becoming weak.
6) At the lower side of the arm you will see a silver Philips screw. This is retaining the arm, so remove it and set aside.
7) You should now have an assembly that looks like the picture below:
8) Ok, take your blade and gently push the visible end of the spring back into the housing, and at the same time, gently push the arm back (towards the motor) and pull it up. You will find the whole thing simply lifts away.
9) Remove the spring from the arm. Depending on the state of it, you have one of two options. If it's not too badly compressed, you may be able to just gentle tease it out a bit. To do this, gently "stretch" the spring between your thumb and forefinger, slowly rotating it so that you don't end up simply introducing a curve. If the spring is too badly worn, you will need to replace it with something similar. I found mine was just about acceptable at the width of a USB connector, although I'd prefer it a bit stiffer (didn't have a replacement spring to hand though).
10) Now it's just a matter of reassembly. Put the spring into the lever arm, hold it in place with your blade, and slide the arm back onto the pinion, and ensure the spring ends up slotted over its little holder. Replace the shiny retaining screw for the arm.
11) For mounting the wheel assembly back onto the mouse, I found the easiest way was to hold the wheel assembly upside down, place the small spring we removed at the start onto the little cylindrical protrusion that holds it, and then bring the mouse body down on top of it. You can then hold the assembly against the circuit board with one hand whilst you use the screwdriver with the other. Finally, replace the 4 external screws and the feet, and away you go!
scrolling - i.e. it is permanently stuck in free scroll. This will also help if you are finding your click to click scrolling is a bit "soft".
The first step is to confirm that this is indeed a hardware issue and not a software one. To do this, unplug the USB receiver from your PC, and ensure
the mouse is powered on. Try click the wheel to toggle between the two modes - if this works, your issue is software, and I suggest you reinstall
SetPoint as a starting point. If you find that you can't toggle though, this is mostly likely a very simple hardware fix that I will detail now!
You will need:
1 small Philips screwdriver (approx 2mm tip diameter)
1 small thin blade, flat screwdriver or equivalent item
a lamp so you can see what you're doing
a workspace where you can find tiny springs if they ping off!
1) Ok, to start with, turn off the mouse, flip it over, and GENTLY use a blade to prise away the rear two feet, and the frontmost wide foot. The feet are made of a teflon layer, then a neoprene layer, and finally the adhesive. If you're careful, you should be able to get underneath the adhesive layer and ease the whole thing up as one. If you don't, you may need to tack the feet back on with Bostick (I like Bostick, sticks well to most things, and isn't a pain to remove at a later date). Take care not to bend the feet too much as you'll be putting them back on at the end.
2) With feet removed, you will expose 4 small Philips screws. Remove these, and set aside. Next, GENTLY seperate the lower tray from the top half of the
mouse. There is a delicate ribbon cable that goes to the top buttons on the mouse, but as long as you're cautious there's no need to disconnect it.
3) With the internals now exposed, look at the very front point of the wheel assembly - there is a single Philips screw holding it in place. Remove that, and set aside.
4) Now, gently lift up the whole wheel assembly - it will come away easily, and will have enough flex in the cable to move. First thing is to check underneath the assembly as to whether there is a little spring poking out of it - if there isn't, it's still on the circuit board, so find it and put it somewhere safe.
5) Now that you can see the assembly, you will see it consists of an arm pushed against the inner radius of the wheel by a spring. A small stepper motor with a semicircular rotor is used to push away the arm to enable free scrolling. The problem with being stuck in free scroll is caused by that little spring on the arm becoming weak.
6) At the lower side of the arm you will see a silver Philips screw. This is retaining the arm, so remove it and set aside.
7) You should now have an assembly that looks like the picture below:
8) Ok, take your blade and gently push the visible end of the spring back into the housing, and at the same time, gently push the arm back (towards the motor) and pull it up. You will find the whole thing simply lifts away.
9) Remove the spring from the arm. Depending on the state of it, you have one of two options. If it's not too badly compressed, you may be able to just gentle tease it out a bit. To do this, gently "stretch" the spring between your thumb and forefinger, slowly rotating it so that you don't end up simply introducing a curve. If the spring is too badly worn, you will need to replace it with something similar. I found mine was just about acceptable at the width of a USB connector, although I'd prefer it a bit stiffer (didn't have a replacement spring to hand though).
10) Now it's just a matter of reassembly. Put the spring into the lever arm, hold it in place with your blade, and slide the arm back onto the pinion, and ensure the spring ends up slotted over its little holder. Replace the shiny retaining screw for the arm.
11) For mounting the wheel assembly back onto the mouse, I found the easiest way was to hold the wheel assembly upside down, place the small spring we removed at the start onto the little cylindrical protrusion that holds it, and then bring the mouse body down on top of it. You can then hold the assembly against the circuit board with one hand whilst you use the screwdriver with the other. Finally, replace the 4 external screws and the feet, and away you go!