Deteriorating rubber on mouse scroll wheels

[gash44]

Dear HP.

My employer has purchased several hundred HP desktop PCs over the last couple of years.  Sadly, the mouse scroll wheels are starting to deteriorate - the rubber is becoming slippery with a film of oil on the surface which makes the thing unpleasent to use.

Unfortunately, they are reluctant to contact the suppliers to seek replacements under warranty.

Can I ask what HP's position would be on this please, and would HP be prepared to help out in any way.

I would quite gladly send you the mouse from my desk, so you can experience the issue yourself (which could potentially get me into some trouble at work).  At the moment, trouble at work would be preferable to having to use this mouse 😞

Thanks.

[mdklassen]

> the rubber is becoming slippery with a film of oil on the surface which makes the thing unpleasent to use.

Are the users of the mice wearing surgical gloves, or are their natural skin oils, plus any "hand-cream" products, transferring something "oily" onto the rubber wheels?

Do some of the users have small electric-powered boxes, that heat up some fluids, to produce an aroma/scent, on their desks, near to their computers?

> they are reluctant to contact the suppliers to seek replacements under warranty.

Unless you can prove some "leakage" from the lubricant of the ball-bearings, my guess is that your warranty claim will be denied.

> Can I ask what HP's position would be on this ...

No, on this forum, you cannot get an "official" response from HP.  This is a "user-to-user" forum.

> I would quite gladly send you the mouse from my desk ...

Be "sneaky".  Purchase a wireless mouse.  Plug its (tiny) adapter into a USB port on your computer, and use the wireless mouse, leaving the original mouse to the side.  At each break-time, take the mouse with you, out of sight of your manager(s).

[gash44]

Thanks for your response.  I had hoped that HP would read and respond.

My desktop mouse is one of the worst - I don't use any creams or gloves or anything like that.  You can pretty much line all the mice up in order of age, and the slipperyness of the scroll wheel will correspond.

The machines vary from roughly 1 to 2 years of age.

I think it comes down to using the wrong materials in manufacture.  They're not designed or tested for survival for more than a year.  It's very disappointing because the machines are otherwise quite decent.  It is a known problem, there are plenty of examples on the web.  I just wouldn't expect the problem so quickly.

I also have a DELL on my desk - its 5 year old mouse and its scroll wheel are absolutly fine - so it is possible to build a quality product.