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A4Tech X7 mouse scroll wheel problem and solution

Published by

Ertürk

2011-10-23

Lately I’d been having a problem with my gaming mouse, A4Tech X7 XL-750BF. It had been making weird jumps while using the scrolling wheel. It is a relatively expensive mouse for throwing out and buying a new one, even it is three years old. When I was googling for a solution, I’ve found out that it is a general problem with A4Tech mice. Too little or dried off lubricant from the factory causes malfunction as the time goes by. But there is a cheap and easy solution for it: petroleum jelly a.k.a. pure vaseline. You can easily get it from a pharmacy.

In this post I’ll be telling how I fixed it with pictures. Click them to view full-size. I now have a mouse like the day I bought it and I hope this post helps others 🙂

IMPORTANT: I confidently open up my devices but I must warn you, this voids the warranty. I just shared my experiences and I must also say that I’m not responsible from the damage you can give to your device because of any lack of skill or misapplication or… just anything.

First of all, you must remove the two screws under the mouse, one beneath the sticker:

After removing the hood it should look like this:

Then you should remove the side cover holding the 18g weight inside and cable from the front. Be careful with the two side buttons on the left while removing. You will have something like below. Remove the connector pins to detach the cover and operate easily.

Here we come to the tricky part. You need to pull the wheel (down in this photo) as much as possible to reveal part of the axis in the black jacket that holds it. But be careful not to push its limits and break it. Take some petroleum jelly (pure vaseline) and apply it to the scrollwheel’s axis where it meets the black jacket. I preferred a toothpick. After applying, release the wheel you pulled (down). It goes to where it belongs, inside that black jacket. If it doesn’t, place the axis back to its first position in the jacket and turn the wheel to distribute the lubricant around the axis.

I suggest to test the operation before putting the parts back again. I just connected the pins back without the cover. That’s why you see the LED is on in the photo. If you are not satisfied, apply some more jelly like before and turn the wheel again to distribute it. When you think it’s enough, clean the excessive lubricant around the axis to avoid collecting dust. After that put the parts back together and enjoy 🙂

a4tech, petroleum jelly, problem, pure vaseline, scroll, wheel, x7

74 responses to “A4Tech X7 mouse scroll wheel problem and solution”

ebol94

2015-09-22

YOU ARE AWESOME! I’ve had the same problem for a week now, and I couldn’t find how to fix it. I was about to set it on fire but your guide was 100% succesful!. Thanks a lot, greetings from Argentina.-

Reply
zyrobs

2015-12-15

Hi,
I didn’t have any jelly around so I tried cleaning it with pure alcohol first… that only helped for a few days. So then I opted for replacing the entire faulty sensor. You can find a 10 pack of them on aliexpress for less than $5 (shipping included):
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/10pcs-lot-original-HUANO-TF-mouse-encoder-for-original-A4tech-mouse-11mm-decoder-mouse-accessories/32390695444.html

For the XL-750BH and XL-750F, those worked perfectly. Other ones may have different size sensors, not necessarily 11mm. The size was, luckily, written down on the side of the sensor itself, so it was easy to find which one I needed.

A quick solder job, and now both my current and my older mouse works as new, and I have some spares in case they go faulty again.

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1. erturk
  
  2015-12-15
  
  Looks like a pro solution 🙂
  
  Reply
  1. zyrobs
    
    2020-04-08
    
    Coming back to this 5 years later – after switching the sensors roughly every year, I’ve reached a point where the plastic of the mouse is getting worn out. For the 750BH, the peg of the wheel is too loose to drive the rotary encoder, and the two forks holding the wheel are bent, so the peg hitting the middle button is out of place and cannot be pushed easily. I can add some glue to the wheel peg and let it try to make it “thicker” and fit better into the encoder, but I fear this mouse is on its last legs. Still that’s 6-7 years of constant everyday usage that this thing survived, and it had no other problems beyond cosmetic ones.
    
    The 750F is still in use at the office and does not share this problem, despite being the older of the two.
    
    It’s time to get a new mouse, here’s hoping whatever I get next will last longer and requires less maintenance.
  2. Ertürk
    
    2020-04-10
    
    Indeed. The worn-out plastic made me change it a while ago although it was still functional. I couldn’t shake off that sticky plastic feeling despite cleaning it frequently. We are the people against planned obsolescence so whatever comes next I believe it will survive for longer than it is intended 🙂 Cheers!
lgnct

2015-12-26

defalarca temizledim olmadı.yazınıza rasgeldim. vazelin i sürer sürmez işe yaradı.
gerçekten çok etkili hiç aklıma gelmemişti.
teşekkürler

Reply
Blab

2016-01-05

Thanks man! You saved me money.

Reply
sss333

2016-01-17

The wheel should be removed (btw, you may clean it then), then you should SLIGHTLY tighten all clamps. The wheel would rotate not as freely as before, but erratic jumps would stop. See video (in russian, but actually voice explanations are not needed). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYnvnLyzsMQ
As you’ve mentioned, silicone grease is a welcome addition.

Reply
vlad

2016-03-14

thank you very much, worked like a charm. i have email A4tech shaming them and because this is clearly their poor a.. vaseline f.cking up some great products

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