How to connect a mouse to your iPad

The best iPhone mouse apps to turn your phone into a computer mouse

iPhone mouse apps for the iPhone are extremely useful tools that allow users to use their iPhone as a mouse on a Windows PC. It’s obviously handy when you don’t have a mouse and are in dire need of one.

There are a variety of iPhone mouse apps for PCs on the market right now, but we want to simplify your choice, and so we’ve narrowed your choices down to five of the best tools that let you use your iPhone as a multi-touch mouse on your Windows-based computer.

Check out these tools and their feature sets and then decide which one best suits your needs and preferences.

The best mice for the iPad in 2020

Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made through our selected links.

“Just the right size to be portable while still remaining comfortable to use over long periods of time.”

Best for Multiple Devices: Logitech M720 Triathalon at Amazon

“Will pair with up to three different devices, which should be as many as most people need for a single mouse.”

“The buttons still feel responsive and not “mushy” yet they make nary a sound.”

“Handy if you’re using your iPad alongside a desktop computer since Logitech’s “Easy Switch” feature lets you pair it with two devices.”

“One of the cheapest and most reliable Bluetooth mice you can buy.”

“The most compact mouse you can buy. it’s small enough toss into a business folio with your iPad or even your jeans “

“A nice little USB-C mouse that has quite a few things going for it, including quiet clicking.”

The iPad is a fantastic hybrid device that fills the critical utility range between the best laptops and the best smartphones. But if you plan to use it extensively for productivity, you’ll want to get one of the best mice for the iPad. A great mouse extends your tablet’s capabilities to replace a full-size laptop on the fly or cut the blow for a full day’s work if you’re really interested in portability.

Some of the best tablet accessories on the market, including several of the mice on our list, connect via USB, a port that unfortunately a number of iPads lack. If, unlike the iPad Air 2019 and iPad mini, you don’t have a Lightning-to-USB cable, check out our helpful instructions for connecting USB devices to your iPad.

How to Connect a Mouse to an iPad or iPhone

You can connect almost any mouse to your iPhone or iPad, among other things:

Connecting a Bluetooth mouse

First, make sure your Bluetooth mouse is nearby and has enough charge. Now on your iPad or iPhone:

• Go to Settings Special Features Touch.
• Select AssistiveTouch and turn it on.
• Scroll down to “Pointing Devices” and click “Devices”.
• Click on “Bluetooth Devices” to begin the pairing process.
• Now set your Bluetooth mouse to discover (or pairing mode) and click on its name when it appears on your iPad or iPhone.

Can’t connect your mouse? Try turning off and on your iPhone or iPad and the mouse itself, then try pairing again. Apple hasn’t specified which mice are compatible with iOS 13 or iPadOS 13, so you’ll know if your particular model works by trial and error.

Connecting a Wired Mouse

To connect a wired mouse to your iPhone or iPad, you’ll need the Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter (29), formerly known as the Camera Connection Kit. This nifty little Lightning-to-USB accessory was originally designed to transfer images from your digital camera to your device’s internal memory.

If you have a newer iPad Pro with a USB Type-C connector and are using an older USB Type-A mouse, you should use the USB-C to USB adapter (19). If you have an iPad with a USB Type-C adapter and a compatible mouse, you can simply plug it in directly.

Of course, this is not the only use for the camera connection kit. In addition to mice, you can use it to connect USB MIDI instruments, USB microphones, or even other smartphones (including Android) to your iOS or iPadOS device. Here we will use it to add support for a simple USB wired mouse:

• Plug your mouse into a USB port, then plug the Lightning connector into your iOS or iPadOS device.
• Go to Settings Special Features Touch.
• Select “AssistiveTouch” and turn it on.

Connect a wireless mouse with a dongle

Wireless keyed mice are virtually the same as wired mice, except they use a small RF key to communicate over short distances. Since the key and mouse are already connected out of the box, the instructions are similar to connecting a wired mouse:

• Plug the dongle into the USB port and then plug the Lightning connector into your iOS or iPadOS device.
• Turn on your mouse and make sure it has power.
• Go to Settings Special Features Touch.
• Select “AssistiveTouch” and turn it on.

How to connect your wireless mouse to your Mac

Nowadays, a wireless mouse is a useful and handy accessory. Given that desktops are usually woefully out of space, getting rid of the extra wire streamlines your workflow. Plus, no wires will make you feel freer. Here’s how to connect a wireless mouse to your Mac.

So there are two basic types of wireless mice. Which accessory you purchase determines how it connects to your computer. For example, radio (RF) mice work by means of radio communication signals. That means you must attach a USB adapter to your Mac to connect them. Make sure the mouse is turned on and in range. After that, you can get to work right away, because in this case you don’t have to wait for synchronization.

But connecting a wireless Bluetooth mouse to your Mac is a bit trickier. Here’s what you need to do to do this:

• Turn on your mouse and make sure it’s within range of your Mac. On some models, you’ll need to press a button to begin the pairing process
• Tap the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of your screen
• Select System Preferences
• Click the Bluetooth icon
• Activate Bluetooth if you haven’t done this before
• Wait until your mouse appears in the list of devices. Press the icon or select “Pair” to complete the pairing.

As a reminder, we told you how to connect your wireless keyboard to your Mac. And here’s how to check your Mac’s memory.

To connect a mouse or trackpad on your updated iPad?

Now you are ready to pair your mouse or trackpad with your iPad. Open the Settings app on your tablet, then go to “Bluetooth.

Here, make sure Bluetooth is enabled by clicking the switch next to the “Bluetooth” list.

Now put your mouse in pairing mode. If you’re using the Apple-branded Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad, you just need to turn them on to activate pairing mode.

Once the Bluetooth device is recognized by your iPad, you will see it under Other Devices. Tap the name of your Bluetooth mouse or trackpad to select the device.

If you receive a pairing request, click the Pair button.

The mouse is now connected to your iPad. You will see a circle cursor on your screen.

How to Connect a Mouse or Trackpad to iPad via Bluetooth

Paired with iPadOS 13.4 Apple has officially introduced support for Bluetooth mice and trackpads for iPad. In this article, we’ll show you how to connect your mouse or trackpad to your iPad via Bluetooth.

First, you should check to see if your tablet has been updated to iPadOS 13.4. To do this, go to “Settings. “Software Update.”. In this update, Apple added support for Magic Mouse, Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad, Magic Trackpad 2, as well as third-party USB and Bluetooth mice.

Here’s how you can connect your mouse or trackpad to your iPad via Bluetooth:

• Launch “Settings” on your iPad;
• Select Bluetooth;
• Activate the trackpad or mouse, and then make sure to turn on pairing mode and place the accessory near the iPad;

The trackpad or mouse should appear in the Bluetooth settings in the Other Devices section. Select the name of the accessory to connect it to the iPad.

Once connected, the gadget will automatically appear in My Devices. It will work as long as you don’t disconnect it or move it too far away from your tablet.

How to disconnect the mouse or trackpad from your iPad:

• Go to Settings on your iPad;
• Select Bluetooth;
• Go to Information (as an “i” icon) next to the name of your mouse or trackpad in My Devices;

You can also use the “Forget this device” option, but then you’ll have to manually pair if you want to use your mouse or trackpad with your iPad again.

We hope you find our advice helpful! On our site, you can learn about other guides related to using the iPad.

In particular, we’ve written about how to restrict access to websites on the iPad. Also, AppleStatus told you how to fix the problem with the black screen on the iPad.

How to connect a mouse to iPad in iPadOS 13

Apple has introduced long-awaited mouse support in the new iPad operating system. A similar feature is present in iOS 13. True, it’s unlikely that many users will use a mouse with their iPhone. And here’s the application of the accessory when working with your tablet looks quite appropriate. Let’s figure out how to connect your mouse to your iPad in iPadOS 13.

Note that iPadOS 13 currently exists only in the form of a beta version for developers. Apple promises to introduce a public beta in July, and the full version of iPadOS 13 will be released in the fall. However, it is already possible to gradually understand the innovations of the operating system.

Using your mouse with the iPad

Before you use the mouse for the first time, you can change the settings. Here’s how:

Open the Settings app.

iPad How to Connect Bluetooth Mouse and Customize

Click Common are listed on the left.

Click Trackpad and mouse are listed to the right.

Adjust the mouse speed, assign a secondary click, and enable/disable natural scrolling.

As with using a mouse on any other device, you can use the circular cursor on the screen to move around the display and use the standard left-click to select. You’ll notice that the cursor automatically binds to individual buttons so that they’re easier to click, or that the cursor will change when you hover over text.

Customize the pointer

You can’t change the shape, but there are options to change the color and size. Here’s how:

Open Settings app.

Tap Accessibility are listed on the left.

Tap Pointer controls are listed on the right.

Change color, size, and scroll speed if necessary. Other options include automatically hiding the pointer and disabling animation.

Basic mouse gestures

Below is a list of mouse movements and tricks for navigating the iPad with any third-party mouse or Apple Magic Mouse.

• Wake up your iPad: Left-click.
• Open the Dock: Move the cursor to the bottom of the screen until the Dock appears.
• View Home Screen: Continue to move the cursor to the bottom of the screen after the Dock appears.
• Switch apps: On the home screen, move the cursor to the bottom of the screen until multiple apps appear.
• View slide: Move the cursor off the right edge of the screen.
• Open Control Center: Hover over the status icons in the upper right corner and left-click.
• Open Notification Center: Hover over the time and date in the upper left corner and left-click.
• Open context menus: Right-click.

Turning iPad Pro into a workstation using iPadOS and accessories

In today’s experiment, we’ll focus on the 2017 and 2018 iPad Pro. Both tablets have some serious stuffing that allows them to handle anything like video processing, music recording, or fiddling with a graphics editor. The global difference is the port for external connections: the older iPad Pro has Lightning, while the latest iPad Pro has USB-C Standard 3.1 second generation (but not Thunderbolt). In the process of turning the tablet computer into a workstation, we will pick up various accessories distributed in both interfaces, so before buying, pay attention to the plug. It’s a good time to check if the latest public beta of iPadOS, which unties our hands regarding the connection of additional devices, is installed and start.

This article was written with the support of our partners from the store iLounge, where you can buy all the components to create a full-fledged workstation based on iPad Pro with iPadOS.

Connecting a mouse to iPad

iPadOS brought a lot of cool features, among which it’s a sin not to emphasize mouse support, and it will work both with wired and wireless versions. If we set aside the wow effect of iPad being connected to a desktop accessory that was previously inaccessible, and try to find a practical application, we can immediately think of editing huge texts that are tedious to flip through with a finger, the mouse will be much more appropriate here. You can use one hand to reap lunch or drink coffee and nudge the wheel leisurely. There are a lot of application schemes here.

So, how are things with the connection. To add a mouse to our workstation, you’ll need:

• the mouse itself: the frontrunners Logitech and others, including the mice that have a USB receiver in the kit, but then you need the Lightning/USB adapter cable (as for the camera); in principle, look for any good mouse and connect it if the accessory is not from Apple, it will definitely start up 🙂

An important point: there are problems with the connection of the Magic Mouse from Apple!

Connection Instructions:

• Open the Settings app and go to the Universal Access tab, where we need the section for users with disabilities. By the idea of the Cupertinians, the iPad and iPhone (to which you can also connect a mouse) are independent devices, but they take into account the physical conditions of absolutely all users and meet the requirements.
• Next, go to the section Press, and then double-click on the inscription AssistiveTouch. If you have done everything correctly, we get a menu with additional settings for users who have problems with the normal controls.
• Find Pointing Devices, and then select Bluetooth Devices. The mouse is searched and paired. When the rodent makes its presence known, click on it and get to work.
• A round cursor will let you know the mouse is running.
• The same AssistiveTouch menu adjusts cursor speed, color, and other settings.
• We also recommend adding the Home button to the screen to let your fingers rest and focus on the mouse.

Connect the external drives

Previously, in order to transfer photos or video from the camera you had to buy a special MFi-adapter, but iPadOS allows you to do this with little effort, that is a direct connection, and even with the use of no-name adapters. It’s especially helpful for the latest iPad Pro 2018, which is equipped with USB-C interface that comes with a whole arsenal of USB sticks and cables.

No more specialized applications and dancing with tambourine. All you need to do is take a flash drive (both Lightning and Type-C), an external hard drive or SSD, find the right connector, and simply plug it into the tablet. To transfer information you’ll need any file manager, such as the Files app that comes with iPadOS. You can use it however you want.

Just as an external device appears on macOS, its icon also appears on iPadOS in the left sidebar. Click on it and work with your files at your own pleasure, but watch out for support for specific formats and archives, because even on desktop machines there are problems with it.

Switching from Wi-Fi to Ethernet cable

Let’s imagine that the Wi-Fi access point has died, the traffic for mobile Internet has dried up, but you need access to the World Wide Web like oxygen and urgently need to look for a solution. By the way, it will not take long, because they sell USB-C Ethernet adapters everywhere. Plug one into your 2018 iPad Pro, automatically pick up the connection, and go online.

Connecting a cool monitor via HDMI

And once it seemed utopia. No, we remember AirPlay and display on the big screens, but what about the sophisticated users who want accurate color reproduction, picture quality and enhanced interface for applications?? The answer is simple: get an iPad Pro, which supports HDR, and introduce the tablet to the monitor through the appropriate adapter.

Life could have been a lot easier if Apple had fitted the latest iPad Pro with a USB-C that matched the Thunderbolt standard to avoid the need for extra adapters, and the cry Vasily, stick my LG 5K in your iPad directly would have become commonplace.

The multifunctional USB-C hub

The public was particularly interested in hubs when the MacBook Pro with a single USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 port appeared and many users were immediately confronted with faulty accessories or insufficient current transfer. The most interesting thing is that the problems were observed with both expensive and cheap hubs.

We started with this for a reason. It is the connection of multifunctional hub will turn your iPad Pro into a powerful workstation, but it is necessary to choose it wisely. The tablet computer itself has enough power to accelerate even a few connected gadgets, so you should check the quality of the hub itself. Particularly popular are firms Satechi, Elgato, HyperDrive and Anker, choose according to your preferences.

As for the connection process, it is no different from the above described connection with external drives.

Charging the iPhone from the iPad Pro

Cable Lightning. Lightning in the nature does not exist, otherwise the thought of charging iPhone from iPad would have materialized long ago, but the latest iPad Pro 2018 is USB-C, and on this account there are a huge number of solutions. Buy a USB-C to Lightning cord and use it to power your exhausted iPhone.

If you have two iPad Pro models with USB-C ports, you can connect them directly with a USB-C cable. One iPad Pro will charge the other. To charge another iPad Pro, unplug the USB-C cable and plug it back in.

To charge the Apple Watch, connect the magnetically attached charging cable from the watch kit to the iPad Pro using the Apple USB-C/USB adapter. If you have a USB-C cable with a magnetic attachment for charging the Apple Watch, it can be connected to the iPad Pro directly.

Thus, we have a workstation based on the iPad Pro (better, of course, the 2018 version), to which is connected a monitor (this is actually a desktop), various peripherals, external drives, a keyboard (we have not written about it, but it is obvious) and is controlled with a mouse. We’ll write about the best accessories for a workstation like this in a separate article. It’s time for Honor to know. If you have any ideas or suggestions, write about them in the Комментарии и мнения владельцев.