Data scientist Sam Wilkinson holds the Logitech MX Ergo trackball in very high esteem. However, he isn’t an MX Ergo flaw denier. And so, after eight years waiting for Logitech to upgrade this trackball, Wilkinson says he decided to take matters into his own hands and build “the mouse Logitech won’t make.” There's just one problem: Logitech actually upgraded the Ergo in 2024 with tweaks that fix most of its shortcomings without him realising, making the project a very unfortunate and rather expensive misstep.
Three aspects of the 2017 MX Ergo “where the sheen of perfection wears off,” according to Wilkinson, are its use of a micro-USB port, its loud and clicky microswitches, and Logitech’s bloated software. We feel those are very valid critiques.
Re-inventing the wheel
Logitech would very likely agree with Wilkinson’s opinions about the hardware wrinkles of the 2017 trackball. That’s why, in late 2024, it released the MX Ergo S. In an unfortunate stroke of luck, it turns out that Logitech had addressed Wilkinson's concerns about switches and USB-C, and he hadn't even realized it. "After first publishing this article a helpful commenter let me know Logitech released the MX Ergo S in late 2024, with quieter switches, USB-C, and a $20 price increase," he wrote. "Let's just pretend I wrote this article a year ago! Still, at least this project let me avoid some e-waste."
Before we go on, we have to point out, and are sure Wilkinson will agree, that this isn’t an entirely economically sound upgrade, even without factoring in the Ergo S launch (especially with the soldering equipment purchased to get the job done). Nevertheless, the dogged determination to upgrade existing hardware, with or without the help of the manufacturer, and even when it doesn’t make financial sense, is admirable in some ways.
In Wilkinson’s blog post, you can read through the whole process of making a DIY-upgraded MX Ergo trackball. One of the first steps taken was to order a small USB-C-equipped PCB for this particular trackball mouse, which he found was already shared through the user portal at PCBWay. Those parts would cost $55, though Wilkinson bought 10 PCBs, so he would have some spares. Around the same time, he decided he needed a $200+ hot-air rework station…
We have some opinions on the best soldering equipment if you are in the market for this kind of gear.
Satisfied with his port wrangling, Wilkinson moved on to microswitch switching. He seemed very happy with some Huano Silent switches, which he described as "almost completely silent, with a soft but satisfying tactile bump when pressed." Impressively, these microswitches only cost $2.99, and de/soldering guides for the MX Ergo are available online.
$20 Logi Options+ alternative championed - but it's only for Mac
Last but not least, Wilkinson doesn’t hold back in his criticism of the Logi Options+ configuration software, which is “bloated, buggy, and occasionally malware-like,” according to the Oxford Physics graduate. We feel similar pain, but hadn’t previously heard of the $20 SteerMouse software, which gains great praise in Wilkinson’s blog. The tool's UI looks simple and intuitive, and it is said to be “super lightweight” – those qualities tick a lot of boxes, as does its wide pointing hardware compatibility, but be aware that this utility seems to be Mac-only. The software brings the expenditure on the project to $277.99, more than double the cost of the MX Ergo S Logitech launched last year.
In summary, Wilkinson noted that the USB-C port swap wasn’t entirely necessary, but was a fun introduction to PCB component soldering. Meanwhile, the most impactful change, the new microswitches, was the cheapest.
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