Thirty-six months is the claim printed all over the Logitech M705 Marathon. Logitech’s product page promises up to that much battery life from auto-sleep and an on/off switch, and it is the reason this plain office mouse has stayed on sale for so long. iFixit dates the M705 to 2010. Few computer accessories last that long in a catalog, and few promise that you can forget about them for three years.
Owner feedback is thin, and I will be clear when something is only my reasoning.
Product image from the Amazon listing.
The Battery Claim Seems Honest
Most battery promises fall apart when real use begins. This one seems to hold. A reviewer at GeekNite, writing after more than two years of use, gives battery life a full 10 out of 10 and says it lasts as advertised. That site carries affiliate links, so read it with that in mind, but the experience matches the reputation.
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Think about what that claim means in practice. A mouse that runs on two AA cells and sleeps when idle has no cable to find, no charging habit and no battery sealed inside. When it dies, you swap two cells and carry on. Compare that with a rechargeable mouse: a built-in battery may be fine for years, then it fades and takes the whole product with it. That is my general view and not an owner report, but it is the quiet advantage of this design.
After a year or two of silence, it is easy to forget the batteries are there at all, so keep a spare pair of cells in a drawer.
Two Scroll Modes, and the Reason People Stay
The wheel is the feature I would pay for. It has a ratcheted mode that clicks line by line and a free-spinning mode that keeps going after you flick it. The GeekNite reviewer says the fast mode “is genuinely useful, not a gimmick,” and that is the sort of thing I expect: if you live in long documents, spreadsheets or log files, a flick that takes you down hundreds of rows beats dragging a scroll bar. If you mostly browse a few pages, you may never need the fast mode.
The wheel also tilts for horizontal scrolling and works as a middle click, according to Logitech. Together with thumb buttons, that gives five customizable buttons in all.
Product image from the Amazon listing.
Who It Fits
The shape is the other thing to check. GeekNite says it suits medium to large right hands, and is “sorry, lefties” about the sculpted right-hand design. It is too large for some small hands. Long sessions are the mouse’s home ground, according to that review, and it calls the mouse suitable for all-day work.
The feel will not win prizes. The same review says the plastic “feels utilitarian rather than premium.” Its summary is the line I would use too: “the Honda Civic of computer mice.” You buy it because it starts every morning.
Gamers should move on. The sensor is a fixed 1000 dpi, with no way to raise it, and that long-term reviewer calls it poor for competitive play. On a large or 4K monitor, 1000 dpi can also mean more hand movement than you like, though your computer’s pointer speed setting will help. That is my reasoning, not a report from an owner.
The Receiver Is the Real Compromise
Everything about this mouse goes through a small USB receiver. There is no Bluetooth. GeekNite calls that a drawback, and for a Mac owner it is the main thing to think about.
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Logitech says the mouse works with macOS, Windows and Chromebook, through a Unifying USB receiver with a range of up to 10 meters. The Unifying receiver can hold up to six compatible devices, which is handy if you have a Logitech keyboard on the same system. One retail reviewer found the mouse was picked up straight away by software they already had for a keyboard.
Do not assume that any Logitech dongle will work. Another buyer found that none of their existing USB receivers were compatible. It needs a Unifying receiver in particular, and Logitech’s later Bolt receivers are a different system as far as I know.
Three practical things follow. A MacBook with only USB-C ports needs an adapter or hub, which rather spoils the tidy look of a tiny receiver. You also have a small part that can go missing. The iFixit page shows forum posts about a lost dongle, and another about a receiver whose metal shell got stuck in a USB port. Third, you lose the option of moving between devices with no receiver, so a tablet or a laptop with no spare port is a poor match.
Product image from the Amazon listing.
The Software Question
Software is the open question here, and for a mouse this old it matters.
Logitech’s product page still talks about customizing buttons through Logitech Options. The Options+ page points to a separate list of supported devices and does not name the M705. So I cannot promise that the newest software will handle it on your version of macOS.
Here is what I would do. The basic functions, moving, clicking and scrolling, should work with no software at all, since it is a standard USB mouse to the computer. The custom buttons are where you may need software. Before you buy, check Logitech’s supported devices list for your own system. If you depend on custom buttons, confirm that first. If the extra thumb buttons are not important to you, the question goes away.
What Fails After the Battery Outlasts Everything Else
A mouse that lasts for years will wear out in other ways. iFixit’s page shows the kind of faults that come with age. One forum thread there reads “Left click don’t work while all other buttons work properly.” The site also lists a guide to cleaning the scroll wheel, one for a button failure fix, and a teardown. The existence of those guides suggests that enough owners have had to open one up, but it does not tell me how common these faults are.
Double-click problems are a complaint that follows many mice, and I found no useful report of them on this model. So I will not claim that it has this problem, and I will not claim that it does not.
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The good news is that this mouse can be opened and cleaned. If the wheel gets sticky after a few years, iFixit’s guide gives you something to try before you throw it out.
My Verdict on the Marathon
I would recommend the M705 to anyone who does long office work on a computer with a spare USB-A port and simply wants a mouse that never needs charging. It is dull in the best way. The free-spinning wheel adds real value for people who scroll long pages all day.
Skip it if you are left-handed, have small hands, or game seriously. Skip it too if you want Bluetooth, or if your laptop has only USB-C and you hate adapters. For a mostly-Mac desk with a modern laptop, a Bluetooth mouse will be less fuss.
If you fit that office worker picture, the Logitech M705 Marathon is an easy choice, as long as you check that the current Logitech software supports it if you need the custom buttons. This is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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