Razer Pro Click Mini review: A wireless mouse for power users

A mouse is an obvious candidate for cord-cutting. Going wireless ensures that you don't get tangled up in your cord or have to deal with cable drag, and wireless connections have become so reliable that even gaming companies are offering wireless mice with no real lag issues.

The situation is a bit more complicated for people using multiple devices. Bluetooth connections may be stable, but that doesn't mean I want to pair and re-pair my mouse repeatedly. Sometimes, being able to just plug in a mouse seems easier.

But there's another way. The Razer Pro Click Mini joins a selection of wireless mice that let you pair with three Bluetooth devices and pick which machine you're controlling with the press of a button. You can add yet another PC to the mix by using its included wireless dongle, for a total of four connected devices.

The $80 Pro Click Mini is a more portable, cuter version of the original Razer Pro Click, which costs $20 more. The new mouse has a longer battery life and is highly programmable, from its five-way wheel that can manage two different scrolling styles to its ability to store macros. But rivals with similar feature sets offer even longer battery life, a quieter scroll wheel, and even an easier way to toggle across your connected devices. Does Razer's new mouse do enough to keep up?

Specs at a glance: Razer Pro Click Mini
Sensor	Razer 5G optical sensor
Connectivity Options	Bluetooth 5.0 or  2.4 GHz dongle
Programmable Buttons	eight, including 5x scroll wheel
Onboard profiles	0
Lighting	None
Size	3.9×2.5×1.3 inches (100.2×62.7×34.1 mm)
Weight	With 1x AA battery: 3.1 ounces (88 g) With 2x AA batteries: 3.9 ounces (111 g)
Warranty	2 years
Price (MSRP)	$80
Other perks	2 AA batteries included

One wireless mouse, four PCs

As with the full-sized Pro Click before it, you can connect the Pro Click Mini to three devices via Bluetooth, plus a fourth by using the mouse's wireless dongle. There's a smattering of wireless mice that let you control multiple PCs over Bluetooth. However, if you want to connect to a fourth device or use a dongle, the Pro Click Mini stands out. Logitech's MX Anywhere 3 can do all of the above, too, and at the same MSRP as the Pro Click Mini, but it ups the ante by offering wired control and charging. The Dell MS7421W and HP Spectre 700 mouse can also connect to four devices, and both are rechargeable.

But it's not so easy to toggle across Bluetooth devices with the Pro Click Mini. You switch machines by pressing the same button that you long-press to start Bluetooth pairing. But unlike with the MX Anywhere 3, MS7421W, and Spectre 700 mice, there's no image on the mouse itself to let you know what you're currently connected to. Instead, you have to memorize a color code. A light on the mouse's underside turns blue when connected to PC 1, for example, green for PC 2, and greenish-yellow for PC 3. It's a tiny light, and two of the colors are pretty similar, so the system isn't exactly intuitive.

Moving to the device with the dongle is much easier. You just toggle a switch on the mouse's underside from Bluetooth to 2.4 GHz mode. The dongle connection is supposed to be more reliable and induce less lag than the Pro Click Mini's Bluetooth option. Both worked well for me, even alongside a Bluetooth keyboard.

If you'd rather save a USB-A port, the Pro Click Mini has helpful dongle storage under its top cover.

Removing and replacing the top cover worked without any alarming plastic friction sound, and I never had an issue with the cover coming off accidentally.

Battery life

The Pro Click Mini is smaller than its predecessor, but it has a longer battery life. Razer says the tiny clicker will last up to about 725 hours with a Bluetooth connection and up to 465 hours with the dongle. Battery life for the MX Anywhere 3, however, dwarfs that number at 1,680 hours. The Dell MS7421W claims up to six months, which is around 4,464 hours, and HP's Spectre wireless mouse should last up to 1,848 hours.

Of course, you can expect the Pro Click Mini's battery life to vary depending on how you use it and if you're toggling between the different wireless modes. Also, expect battery life to drop if you use the mouse with one AA battery instead of two (you can use one battery for a lighter mouse—3.1 ounces versus 3.9 ounces). Ditching a battery makes the mouse feel mildly off-balance and not light enough to justify the reduction in battery life.

A light under the wheel blinks red when the remaining battery life is under 5 percent. Razer's Synapse software provides a battery meter, though it doesn't give a precise percentage.

You can also squeeze the most battery out of the mouse by using Synapse to program it to enter sleep mode when idle (for one to 15 minutes). I set it for one minute, lower than the default of five, and the mouse still woke up quickly.

But no matter how long the batteries last, you'll need to get new batteries once they die; the mouse itself isn't rechargeable.