Logitech M525 Wireless Mouse

I really like this mouse and the Unifying Receiver (this is my second one). I used to use the M505 and liked it but it now feels clunky compared to this one, especially the scroll wheel (I just ordered two more M525s to replace the two M505s I have on my desktop). The scroll wheel on the M525 is quieter and turns much more freely, allowing faster vertical scrolling without losing any precision. A quick flick on the wheel will send the page sailing up or down. Clicking the scroll wheel button was a bit tricky to learn how to do because the scroll wheel spins so freely but I was able to get the hang of it pretty quickly (allowing the tip of my finger to rest on just in front of the wheel and pressing down on the wheel pretty much always keeps the wheel from turning). The Unifying Receiver and the associated software allow up to six devices, such as mice and keyboards, to be paired up with one Receiver, a real plus when faced with a paucity of USB ports. There is a place inside the mouse's battery compartment where one can park an extra receiver (the Unifying keyboards also have a place to park extra receivers). Unfortunately, a device can be paired up with only one receiver (don't ask how I found that out). The mouse is roughly midway in size between a full sized desktop mouse and a laptop mouse. Full size mice are a bit large for my hand and laptop mice are small enough to be hard to hang onto comfortably; the M525 fits my hand perfectly. After using the M525, a full sized mouse feels like a clunky monster. The reason I initially gave it only four stars is because of the software (I also knocked off another star for the feet). First, there is no CD with the drivers included with the mouse even though the box was more than large enough for one (come on, Logitech, how expensive would it be to include a CD?); one has to go to Logitech's website to download them (Logitech's website is not the easiest one to navigate). There are three programs to download: the one for pairing up devices with the Unifying Receiver, a scroll app that's supposed to make the mouse scroll more smoothly (I think), and the Set Point software for making settings on the mouse. The Unifying software works well and is easy to use (which is fortunate because Logitech's documentation is pathetic). The Smooth Scroll software is supposed to make scrolling smoother, I think. It does seem to be smoother with it enabled but Logitech doesn't include any documentation saying exactly what it is supposed to do so I can't be sure if it is working the way it is supposed to or not. Edit: After fooling around with it some more, I've found the Smooth Scroll does smooth out the vertical scrolling function. However, it did make the scroll wheel extremely sensitive and scrolling does overshoot a bit after you release the scroll wheel, making precisely positioning a page vertically difficult and unstable. Fortunately, it can be disabled, which I have done. The Set Point software also suffers from a lack of documentation, such as Help screens. Most settings were easy to figure out but I had to go to my old friend Mr. Google to find out what the heck Smart Move was (it causes the mouse pointer to snap more quickly to a pop up box, which, in my opinion, would be annoying so I left it un-enabled). The setting that drove me insane before I finally figured it out was for using the scroll wheel for horizontal scrolling by pressing the wheel sideways. First, Logitech labeled the left and right position of the wheel as Forward and Back. I eventually figured out if I selected Back, then clicked on Other on the menu to the right, a window would pop up. Clicking on the down arrow opens up a drop down menu that has around forty functions (seriously), one of which is Left Scroll. When I clicked on that, a couple of sliders popped up: one for scroll speed and one for scroll acceleration. I had to do the same thing for Forward to get Right Scroll, including setting the scroll speed and acceleration. Why someone would want to be able to want to be able to set different scroll speeds for left and right is beyond me. There is a menu in Set Point for Gaming Settings. I didn't understand any of the settings in there but, then again, I'm not a gamer. Mayhap a gamer would be able to make sense of it. I just left it un-enabled. There is a section for check the battery condition (the mouse uses two AA batteries; I use Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables). It's a bit redundant since the mouse will give a popup alert when the batteries get low. Also, it will show the batteries for only one mouse at a time (I guess it never dawned on Logitech there may be someone who would want to have two mice turned on and connected to one machine). Changing out the batteries is easy since the battery compartment is clearly marked which end is positive. There is also a section for pairing up the Unifying Receiver. I don't know if it can replace the separate software or not since I had all three programs already and I'm too lazy to check it out. Post Edit 1: I've found out the settings I make in Setpoint do not stick. I have to reset them frequently, especially every time I boot up. I'm removing it. When you register the mouse with Logitech (probably makes warranty claims easier when you do), the website asks for a bunch of information that isn't on the bottom of the mouse; it's hidden under the left battery. Also, the model number isn't M525; there is a different one under the battery. Break out a magnifying glass because the print is tiny. As aggravating as the support software was to obtain, install, and use, I knocked off only one star since one only has to deal with it once when setting up the mouse. Amazon's price for this mouse is also very reasonable, almost half what I paid for my first one. Post Edit: The two feet on the bottom of the mouse at the end closest to my arm came loose. I first had to clean the smeared adhesive off both the feet and the mice; it was amazing how hard it was to remove the adhesive because it was so sticky yet it couldn't keep the feet in place. I reattached the feet with double sided cellophane tape and that has been keeping them in place since. Not long after that, the mouse started dragging on the mouse pad. I checked with Logitech to see if they carried replacement feet for this mouse. They didn't but offered to replace the mouse under warranty. I decided against doing so since I would have to pay to ship the mouse back and the replacement might have the same problems. Instead, I ordered a roll of mouse tape (search for CS Hyde Conformable PTFE Tape With Silicone Adhesive, Brown 1 inch x 36 yards) and applied that to the feet (it's a bit pricey but a roll will last a lifetime). That made the mouse glide over the pad like it never did before. I took another star off for the hassle with the feet but the mouse itself still works very well. Post Edit 2: Since my first mouse, I have accumulated a mischief of ten of these mice (mouses?) and I'm going to order a couple more for spares (even though I have yet to have a mouse go bad on me). None of the additional mice have had issues with their feet so I added back a star to the rating. I've grown to really love these mice. I still use Teflon tape on the feet to protect them from wear but the tape also makes them glide much more smoothly. I ditched Windwoes a year and a half ago and now exclusively use Linux Mint. Logitech does not supply supporting software for Linux (which is my reason for keeping only a four star rating; shame on you, Logitech!). One can pair mice (and other Unifying Receiver devices) from within Linux by using a program called Solaar (you may have to go to Solaar's website to get it). There is no software for changing mouse settings but Linux Mint has its own settings that cover most functions (wheel tilt being one that is not supported; I never used wheel tilt anyway so that's no great loss to me). Three year battery life, even if one switches off the mouse when not in use, is rather optimistic. Maybe if one used lithium batteries, used the mouse only a couple hours a day, and switched the mouse off when not in use, one might be able to eek out three years of battery life. I'm still using NIMH rechargeables and switch off the mice when not in use, and I still only get no more than four to six months of battery life. I always have spare, fully charged batteries on hand so having to replace the batteries every few months is not a problem for me. Typically, the mouse I use daily is on for 8-12 hours a day. Post Edit 3. After 10 years of use, one of these mice (I've built up a herd of them over the years) finally had to be replaced because the wheel click button finally wore out (I have a second mouse on the way out for the same reason). That kind of longevity in a mouse is practically unheard of and prompted me to raise my rating to five stars despite Logitech's lack of support for Linux. Instead of having to keep reapplying Teflon tape to the feet, I removed the stock feet, filed the feet bosses flat, then installed ceramic mouse feet to all my mice (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MW5XJ8G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1). After a year of use, these feet are still like new and well worth the cost. They make these mice pretty much maintenance free.