The mouse is one of those peripherals in which we hardly repair when they work correctly, but which a real nuisance becomes when they start to fail. That’s when you consider buying a new mouse and you have a doubt that has tormented millions of users for years: Is a wireless mouse or a wired mouse better?
Almost without noticing the mouse is, along with the keyboard, one of the components that we use the most when we sit down at the computer. Therefore it is convenient to take a few minutes to analyze what use we make of it and, based on those conclusions, you can decide if it is better to buy a wired mouse or a wireless mouse.
Currently, both types of Mouse are very even thanks to the incredible advances in wireless connectivity and there is not as much difference as some years ago. However, there are still some drawbacks in the use of a wireless mouse or a wired mouse.
Next, we will try to list the pros and cons of each technology so that, with all the information at your disposal, you can decide it is better to use a wired mouse or a wireless mouse depending on the use you are going to give it. In this sense, you have the last word. Wireless mouse or mouse with cable, which one to choose?
Advantages and disadvantages of wireless Mouse
Up until a few years ago, wireless Mouse was mainly oriented to occasional use and always in the domestic sphere because they were unreliable. Things have changed a lot since then and today’s connectivity technologies allow wireless Mouse to be used in virtually the same situations as wired Mouse.
However, there are some limitations and disadvantages that technology has not yet been able to solve.
Freedom of movement and portability
One of the undeniable advantages of wired Mouse is the freedom of movement provided by wireless Mouse. The use of a cable that keeps you “tied” to a device and that limits its use to a certain area of use is one of the main reasons for choosing a Bluetooth or radio frequency mouse. This decision will help you keep your table tidier and cable free.
The fact of not having cables that limit movements makes wireless Mouse the ideal choice to always carry them with your laptop.
In that case, even the chosen wireless technology will be important because, if your laptop or convertible has Bluetooth support, you will not even need to connect the USB receiver that you need to connect a wireless radio-frequency mouse, leaving a free USB port in your device.
Always attentive to the battery
One of the disadvantages of using a wireless mouse resides precisely in this capacity of mobility that provides the use with battery. Depending on the type of mouse and the use you make of it, the battery life of a wireless mouse ranges from 20 to 30 hours of use offered by a high-performance mouse, up to several months of use without the need to recharge or change it the batteries.
One of the worst situations you can find when using a wireless mouse is running out of battery and not having the charging cable or spare batteries, so you should leave what you are doing until you can recharge it.
Some wireless Mouse allows them to be used as a wired mouse while charging, although this feature is not common for all wireless Mouse and is usually found only in high-end models. No doubt a versatility of use with which Mouse with cable cannot even dream.
Some high-end models avoid this constant need for charging including a wireless charging system by induction. In this way, the mouse stops incorporating a battery and feeds on the energy it receives when using it on a charging base as a mouse pad. As you can imagine, the freedom of movement is limited to the perimeter of the load base because it does not work outside of it.
Wireless mouse for gaming?
Accessory manufacturers have invested many resources in improving the accuracy and quality of wireless mouse connections. Probably one of the great weaknesses of this format of Mouse.
Luckily for the users, in most cases they get it and it is already possible to play with a wireless mouse, even at a competitive level in esports. One of the biggest problems faced by this type of gaming accessories was the latency that was created by the wireless connection. In gaming, every millisecond counts and the minimum latency penalizes the players.
In normal situations, the new high-end wireless gaming Mouse allows for faster and more stable connections, matching their wired counterparts in performance. However, we are not in a perfect world, and outside of laboratories, reality strives to prove it to us constantly.
If you are in an environment where RF signals from other devices converge (such as a wireless keyboard, for example), Bluetooth connections and Wi-Fi connections, you can create interference in the mouse connection that will seriously affect the performance of these devices to the point of constant random disconnections.
Comfort is never cheap
The price is one of the most decisive factors when deciding between buying a wireless mouse or a wired mouse. At this point, it should be noted that, as a general rule, wireless Mouse tend to be between 10% and 30% more expensive than their equivalent with cable.
This surcharge can be assumed if you are going to use the wireless mouse with a laptop or in an office computer since the ease of use and the absence of cables make it worthwhile to bet on this technology.
Having said that, we enter the controversial world of gaming Mouse, where the already high price, is joined by the extra to remove the cable and add the necessary accessories and transmitters. In this case, the price difference between wired and wireless Mouse can be disproportionate and, in certain circumstances, even suppose a loss of performance.
Advantages and disadvantages of Mouse with cable
The most purist of computer science will tell you that nothing can equal a cable in reliability and performance. With regard to Mouse and keyboards, part of the reason is not missing.
It is striking that, in the era of wireless connectivity, the wired mouse remains one of the few peripherals for computers that resists wireless use if what is really sought is reliability and good performance.
The cable marks the limits
As we have already said in the wireless Mouse section, the presence of the cable is a determining factor for choosing one or the other type of mouse.
Having the computer in an inaccessible or relatively remote position may be one of the most important reasons to choose a wireless mouse. At this point, the Mouse with cable is limited by a cable that oscillates between 80 and 120 cm. This distance may be insufficient to work comfortably if, for example, you have a large work table and the computer on the floor under the table or on one of the sides, causing constant pulls and tangles in the cable that would not do more than hinder its use and, in the medium and long term, end up damaging the connection or the mouse cable.
Wired Mouse is also not the best option for the mobility inherent in laptops and 2-in-1 convertibles, precisely because they are forced to work next to the computer.
This reduces functionality to the laptop because with a wireless mouse you can control the equipment at a certain distance, thus facilitating the connection of the laptop to an external screen and allowing, for example, enjoy your favorite series from the couch using the mouse as a command to a distance from which to control the player.
We could say that up to here come the disadvantages of using a wired mouse since, apart from this, everything else is advantageous.
Play without worrying about the battery
When even esports professionals agree that wired Mouse is the best option to play, it will be something.
The cable is the guarantee of precision and performance that every gamer expects to find in a mouse. With a wired mouse you avoid the risk of running out of battery in the middle of a game or experiencing disconnections at the worst time.
If you’re looking for a gaming mouse, wired models tend to be much more affordable than wireless equivalents. In addition, there is much more variety of models of all ranges, while wireless Mouse to play we usually find them in the middle and high ranges.
Direct connection to your PC
A detail that usually goes unnoticed to many users is that when you use a wireless keyboard or mouse, that peripheral is not really connected to the computer, but it is connected to an external component such as the Bluetooth module or the radio frequency receiver.
These external PC modules are enabled once the operating system has been loaded. This means that, if at any time you need to access or modify any parameter in the BIOS or UEFI of your computer, you will need a keyboard and a wired mouse to the computer since the wireless ones will not work because the operating system that still governs them it has not been loaded.
In short, there are several reasons for and against using a wired mouse or a wireless mouse, so it is not possible to say with total certainty if one is better than the other. As we said in the first paragraphs, the convenience of using one or another type of mouse is only defined by the use that is going to be