Experience using the Logitech G502 X Plus mouse

For me, the conditions for using a home laptop or performing work processes at a computer in the office should always be comfortable thanks to a well-chosen keyboard and mouse. I carefully choose my peripherals for many years and consider this process worth the time spent. This review became possible because I was looking for a replacement for my old assistant, which I had been repairing, lubricating, and beautifying for almost 10 years – the Logitech G700.

Specifications

• Mileage: approximately 10 years
• Power supply: AA battery
• Connection: wireless module \ proprietary USB cable
• Weight: 150 grams

Maintenance

• periodic replacement of the AA battery
• replacement of glides
• replacement of candles with Japanese Omron ones
• updating the appearance

During my use, I appreciated the function of storing profiles in the internal memory, which helps me not to go into the sensitivity settings every time I connect to different devices. I also liked the weight and size. And the proprietary wheel with two scrolling modes is a real invention. A lot of time was invested in its maintenance, and I had plans for further modernization. I was considering replacing the microUSB connector with a USB-C connector and replacing the battery with a lithium one. But this would require replacing the charging module, which has almost no space. So I started to lean toward finding a worthy successor.

Over the years, I’ve seen and tried many alternatives from different companies. Some were brought to me for repair, some I bought for my friends and tested them. I’ve had models from different price ranges in my hands, and all of them had some problems. Some were just too small and too light. There were some that did not fit in my hand. But almost all of them have one thing in common: economy. It doesn’t matter if you have a mouse for a lot of money – the switches can fail in six months. Also, the wheel has changed: if earlier it had optical sensors, now almost everywhere they use encoders with mechanical contacts (which may also need to be disassembled and cleaned). Of course, I really like the idea of some manufacturers to make candles removable on the panels. This care for the fans of customization is very touching! But it seems to me that this way they solve the problem of repair.

There was no intrigue, so yes, I chose the Logitech G502 X Plus. Logitech has the Hyperfast feature (when you can switch the scroll to free-rotation mode). And the switches with optical sensors bribed me. Recharging via USB-C (instead of micro USB) and a lithium battery are commonplace, but I liked the idea of additional contacts (more on that later).

There are three models of mice in this case, and I have noted the difference between them for myself.

But let’s not delay, let’s move on to the review.

The box looks premium. All the necessary and unnecessary information is printed on the outside, in different languages. In addition to the mouse, we have a USB radio module, a plug for one of the buttons, a manual, a USB cable, and a USB adapter. Other (non)tangible extras are as follows:

• LIGHTSPEED technology, which reduces delays in wireless connectivity. The response speed of this connection is measured in units of milliseconds, which is the same as a wired connection.
• LIGHTFORCE switches, in which the mechanical contact was replaced by a light flux blocking. In turn, this will help the switches to be almost eternal.
• HERO 25K sensor, which can be adjusted in the range of 100 – 25600 DPI and operates at accelerations up to 40G.
• DPI-Shift button to quickly switch the sensor sensitivity.
• the wheel with HYPERFAST technology can work like other wheels or rotate freely due to inertia.
• LIGHTSYNC technology – the mouse has a series of multi-colored LEDs. They flicker.
• Powerplay technology (an option), which I will talk about later.

I don’t think the mouse is that heavy. It weighs 106 grams, which is the average weight today. A small mouse for example.

Indication of the modes and battery power is done by changing the color of the LED located between the left and right keys. It is available in the entire G502X line, but in my case, the mode color is also duplicated by the LEDs (even if other effects are turned off in the settings).

The charge level on the mouse itself cannot be viewed at will. Only when the mouse wakes up from sleep can the indicator light up green for a few seconds. At 20% charge, it will turn red. And at 14% and below, it will blink constantly. This indication is not as obvious as I’m used to on the G700. For example:

On the G700, the active profile number, DPI, and charge level are always available on the five-level indicator light. This is much more informative than having to memorize what a particular color means, and you can’t change it at will.

Almost the entire surface is matte, hiding dirt and fingerprints. Only some keys and a small part of the case have a glossy finish. The corrugated surface on both sides feels quite firm and grippy at the same time. I didn’t even realize at first that it was rubber, not plastic. Everything is fitted very carefully, the transition from rubber to plastic can be seen only on a white mouse (there is such a variant).

The switches are pressed very confidently, with a tactile response. There are complaints on the Internet that the two main switches are very loud, which is strange. There is a difference, but not that big. For example, in the cheap Logitech M170, the click is not as loud, more viscous. The old G700 with Japanese Omron D2F-01Fs sounds more refined. The new G702X Plus sounds loud, but the volume of all mice is almost at the same level.

Working in wired mode with the included cable is quite pleasant (more comfortable than with the old G700). At first glance, it’s clear that it wasn’t just made for charging. The 1.9-meter-long cable is thin and very flexible. If something happens to it or you forget it somewhere, you can always find a replacement. The rodent’s USB-C connector has no specific grooves or guides. Not all cables will fit into the narrow profile near the socket, but out of ten different ones, half of them fit.

In wireless mode, the mouse behaves almost exactly like a wired mouse. The LIGHTSPEED radio module works without any problems up to five meters (I did not test longer distances). There were five cursor failures, but the frequency at regular intervals seemed suspicious to me, so I started looking at the Wi-Fi access point in the corner near me. Everything went away when the radio module started working a little further away from the Wi-Fi. The manual also contains the following warning: if the radio module is located near a Wi-Fi router, the developer suggests using the bundled USB-C to USB-A adapter to connect the module closer to the mouse.

I love the HERO sensor! The new mouse feels just like the old one, but more natural and controllable. Perhaps the change in perception is due to getting used to the greater weight and off-center sensor on the old mouse. The G700 also has good sensitivity and unpretentiousness to the type of surface, but the developers went further with the new sensor. Namely, only later, after I started using it (when I started taking photos), did I find out about the presence of a film.

As for the DPI-Shift key, it’s a good idea to make it removable. You can flip it over so that you can shift it for a more comfortable press. The idea of changing the speed at the right time may be useful, but I don’t need it. Also, with my hand, the key makes it difficult to hold, so I covered it with a cap, and the function itself can be reassigned to another key if necessary.

Battery life

The display on the rodent, as I said, is not very informative, but in the app, the percentage of charge and the calculation of autonomy are quite accurate. You just have to wait a while after charging. At first, I was surprised at the increase in charge from 10% to 52% in about 10 minutes, but after a dozen seconds the value returned to normal (it dropped to 20%). The charging speed is not very fast for today, but it is comfortable. I checked that from a completely discharged state, you can reach 10% charge in 10 minutes to work for two days (this is without RGB effects). That is, you can count every 10% of the charge as 12-14 hours of work. Accordingly, 100% will equal 137 hours of work. By the way, I noticed a funny behavior – if the battery is less than 10% discharged, then the power saving mode turns off the color flashes of switching modes altogether… but this does not affect the effects, so even the last moments will be multi-colored!

You can charge not only via the USB-C cable. You can also charge through the metal magnetic contacts under the mouse. Logitech calls this charging option Powerplay, and sees it this way: instead of a lid under the mouse, a wireless charging module is inserted, and the accompanying mat constantly transmits a charge of vigor to the rodent.

The official gadget to support the technology is the Logitech Powerplay Wireless Charging System mat. This is the solution for me, although I didn’t like the price. Among the unofficial solutions, you can find stands with two contacts. This is when the mouse can be placed on a cylindrical stand that reaches the mouse’s pins.
Something like that:

I decided to test the transitional version. I bought a Powerplay receiver cap separately, and a standard charger (one that supports energy transfer up to 5W according to the Qi standard) worked for me as a transmitter.

After testing this symbiosis, I came to the conclusion that it would be very difficult to make something similar to the branded mat at home. That mat probably has a lot of coils all over the surface, and the controller switches them until one starts transmitting energy to the mouse. The inductive receiver is so small that it requires centering the transmitter coil to start charging. Misalignment leads to a drop in efficiency and strong heating of the transmitter board. At least the receiver under the mouse does not get hot during such manipulations. That’s why I decided to make a charger for the G502x circuits, where the transmitter will be right under the receiver.

The result is something like this. Unfortunately, the charge indication in the rodent does not work in this mode, so the sides of the docking station were made transparent to indicate this process by the charger.

Thus, the mouse receives 0.25 W (5.0 V \ 50 mA). This is not much, but it will be just right for recharging at night. The transmitter consumes about 2.5 W (5.0 V \ 300-600 mA), which means that any USB in the computer is enough. As a bonus, it can now charge from a smartphone. This may come in handy when someone is on a business trip, for example.

The battery in the mouse has the following parameters: Li-ion, 3.7V, 500 mAh, 1.85 Wh. Zero percent charge is counted at 3.61 V (but the mouse still works up to 3.58 V). Charging is completed when 4.2 V is reached. This means that the battery is standard and there will definitely be no problem finding something similar, even of an approximate size, because there is enough space.

If you recharge it with a cable, the rodent will receive 2.3 W (5.0 V \ 466 mA) and the process is much faster. I tracked the charging time, and 2260 mWh of energy was transferred in an hour and a half. That is, for a 3.7 V battery, this is about 610 mAh (the mouse was turned off), which is a very good result.

Software

The official mouse control app, Logitech G HUB, supports the following operating systems: Windows 11, Windows 10, macOS 13, macOS 12, macOS 11. But you can still download the old 2021 version for Windows 8, Windows 7, and macOS 10. At the time of testing, we were using G HUB version v2023.9.473951, which does not yet have the Ukrainian language.

About two years ago, Logitech started migrating all of its products from Logitech Gaming Software to Logitech G HUB, which allows you to transfer settings from the outdated version when you first start it. I liked the new G HUB because of its conciseness. You can create many profiles, after which they can be multiplied (something like sub-profiles). Under each profile, you can fully customize the mouse (colors, key bindings, sensor sensitivity). Each profile can even be assigned the execution of LUA scripts.

A week after in-depth study, noticeable problems began to emerge. The necessary settings are scattered throughout the program and some of the icons may turn out to be buttons. Some actions are taken without confirmation, and some only after pressing Enter. Also, you can’t create a profile just like that, without linking it to a program on your computer. But what surprised me the most was the inability to save some settings to the mouse memory.

You can only turn on On-board Memory Mode and hope that the active settings are somehow saved in some onboard profile. Even though the program says directly “some functions are not saved in this mode”, but which ones? In this offline mode, the program shows only the mouse parameters, such as the charge and the selected one of the five profiles. For the second year in a row, the Internet has been full of bad comments about the developers, as well as the surprise of those who have their settings saved in full (even color effects). These discussions gave me nothing but a link to another program – Onboard Memory Manager.

It is Onboard Memory Manager (version 2.0.1639) that is the missing part that I am missing in G HUB, and G Hub itself does not know anything about it and does not cooperate in any way. And this new program is not installed at all. That is, you have to put the application file somewhere and make a link on your desktop. There is also no automatic check for updates.

The first thing I did with this program was to cure a mouse behavior that was annoying me. It looked like this: after turning off the computer, the mouse would turn on some effect and demonstrate it for about ten minutes. Now, in On-board Memory Mode, the mouse doesn’t do this after losing connection with G HUB. But what the program can’t do is export the configured profiles as a file. I’ve already encountered the situation when G HUB somehow overwrites or resets the mouse settings. Then Onboard Memory Manager throws up its hands and shows me the default settings. In my case, it helped to remove G HUB from the startup.
Once again, I wanted to say a few words about the program’s abilities.

The program works, the settings are configurable. But the interface and logic were developed, as they say, by programmers for programmers. You just need to adjust to this logic to understand the behavior of the configured profiles. And I’ve already made some progress. When you first start G Hub, it creates profiles based on the programs and games it finds. These profiles will automatically switch according to the active window. But the first one is a rather tricky “Desktop” profile, which switches from the program to it constantly as soon as the mouse cursor crosses the border between the program and the desktop. So I turned off the created profiles, and made the Default subprofile of the Desktop profile Persistent like this:

You can also increase the predictability of your behavior by using locks in the settings. In different sections, they help to fix the settings from sudden changes, which will save your nerves when you continue to study the program.

Mysterious inner world

Disassemble the mouse and see if everything was put in according to the list.

This particular mouse is very pleasant to disassemble, everything is done with high quality and thoughtfulness. The parts fit together and the wires do not interfere. But these screws! There are at least 30 of them and you need to remember in which sequence to tighten them, and some of them need to be guided with tweezers.

The bottom board is used only for the sensor. The sensor itself is made as a separate module, with its own optics and backlight.

On the body, I found spring-loaded stops to hold the two “petals” of the main mouse keys. You don’t often see such subtleties in the design of manipulators.

The top board is a complex frame with LEDs placed at different angles and boards with switches (I counted eleven). All the main switches are branded “Omron”, with a tactile response.

While we’re inside, we can take a look at the inside of the optical switches.

The wheel mechanism is almost unchanged from the one in the G700, but there is significantly less plastic. Everything points to the hard work on weight reduction.

What I got

I liked the mouse for its very high-quality build and ergonomic body. I’m already getting used to the reduced weight and low stance. All keys are located “at hand”. It may happen that the DPI-Shift button will interfere with the thumb, because I covered it with a cap. The wheel is not only well made, but also very informative. For example, when viewing an album, the photo changes at the moment of tactile response when it is rotated, and this is almost a “forgotten technology”.

The autonomy, as I wanted, has increased significantly. With the improvised docking station, charging is done with minimal manipulation. Waking up the mouse from sleep is now instantaneous, because the old one took about a second and it was annoying. However, the quick response comes at the cost of a USB radio module that must be placed in close proximity to the mouse.

I wasn’t impressed with the mode indicator, although it’s not needed that often. I turned off the lighting, and it’s almost invisible under my hand. But someone will definitely like all these blinking options and special effects like “like on a monitor” or “audio visualization”.

I’ve figured out how to save the settings in the mouse’s memory and use the G Hub only to enable on-board memory mode. I’m already inclined to think that I could have taken the G502 X LIGHTSPEED, which is the same, but without LEDs. But I’m worried what will happen to the rubber coating in ten years? I hope that the developer’s website will have something in the “spare parts” section.