Customer Reviews

Belkin Bluetooth Mouse with USB Adapter

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Zero documentation for installation and setup on Mac -- I had to download a PDF from their website and ultimately email Belkin Tech Support for help.

Once I got the mouse basically working, I asked them how to configure the various buttons. Out of the box, the side button does nothing. Belkin told me "We don't have any special software to program the buttons but you may be able to find a third-party application"!! Clearly their Mac OSX support is an afterthought. My advice: Wait and buy one that really IS compatible.

Belkin advertises their F8T041-B Blutooth Mouse as compatible with Apple products if you have OS 10.2.6 or above, but it is not full featured. Don't be lured into thinking it has 4 buttons plus a scroll wheel. After 15 days of email and a 50 minute phone call, I was told by their support staff that my 2 buttons and the scroll wheel is the best it can do.

Okay, so they don't make all the features for Apple that they do for Windows users, what else is new? My only gripe is that it is advertised on their product box and elswhere that it works with OS X. It doesn't mention that if you pay the same amount of money and use it on an Apple computer you don't get all the features.

I had to pay shipping to receive this product and now must pay to return it. None of that money will be returned to me. I hope Belkin makes a lot of money making products for OS X. But I also hope they make the products up to the grade of their advertisements.

The lack of documentation was no surprise, nothing has MAC documentation and that's ok. The install was pretty easy. I took the mouse out of the box, turned it on and clicked the bluetooth icon on my Mac to do the pairing. Configuring the side and scroll buttons to drive expose was also trivial. However...

The connection is intermittent. I get the "connection list" warning every 15-30 seconds. The mouse may or may not be connected after a 30-45 second pause to type (much like I am doing now) and may or may not require a few seconds to reconnect. Its not usable. So I changed the batteries and fideled around with my Bluetooth settings. No joy. I even rebotted my Mac. Still no joy.

When Belkin cares about the Mac market enough to include documentation, I'll care about their product enough to figure out how to use it. I mean, its almost as bad as open source software: it might work if you set it up right, but there's no documentation. Until then, it goes back to the store and I am back to either a bluetooth one button mouse or another wireless standard.

Update:

I went back and bought the Microsoft wireless mouse. Its not bluetooth, so its not as handy with my PowerPook with built-in Bluetooth, but it works and has 3 buttons!

Although there's no documentation about OS X, it's simple to set this thing up (in 10.3.3): just open the Keyboard & Mouse preferences, choose Bluetooth, and click "Set up new device..." and push the connect button on the bottom of the mouse.

And while there's no OS X support for the third (thumb) button, you're still a right-click and a scroll wheel ahead of Apple's own Bluetooth mouse offering... for less money.

I demand more accountability on the part of manufacturers and their affiliates. It is shoddy workmanship to put out a product that partially works sometimes, this one needs work and I do now appreciate buying something to find that I am the guinea pig consumer the product is being tested on. Get the software and device functioning consistently and correctly all the time and I can then give a great recommendation. Failed is not praiseworthy. One star means D for a grade.