SteelSeries - Aerox 9 Wireless Optical Gaming Mouse with Ultra Lightweight Design - Black

I have been using the SteelSeries Aerox 9 for a couple of days now. This isn’t my first MMO/MOBA mouse, but it is my first SteelSeries mouse. I have had a Logitech G602 and currently use a G604. Neither of these mice had as many assignable side buttons as the Aerox 9 – 12 buttons vs 6. I also use a Logitech G Pro Wireless regularly. It has 4 assignable side buttons (2 on each side), but its main draw is that its lightweight and has a high def sensor and polling rate. With the Aerox 9 I get the best of both - the buttons of the G604 and the high end features and lightweight build of the G Pro. With that in mind I was very interested in testing out the Aerox 9. I have used it for work in a productivity role and used it to game. Specs on the Aerox are pretty solid and for the most part justify the price tag. The excellent battery life of 180hrs on Bluetooth (productivity oriented mode) and up to 80 on 2.4GHz (dependent on your lighting and polling rate settings). The mouse also charges rather quickly – 15 min nabs you another 40 hours of game time. The 400 IPS and 1ms polling rate is right on par with my G Pro and G604. The 18k DPI is certainly up there (and plenty) but gets overtaken by the 25k DPI Hero sensor. First impressions of the mouse – it’s a bold looking design. The square-honeycombed shell is a very cool design to look at – it also sheds weight while maintaining the integrity of the mouse shell. The bottom of the mouse carries the LEDs - keeps it looking cool without shining upwards and blinding you. The mouse feels pretty good in the hands and the side buttons have a nice contour that retains the ergonomics. The center scroll wheel is grippy and easy to rotate. It also has well defined and smooth rolling bumps as you scroll it. The left and right buttons have a solid/robust click to them. You can press almost anywhere on the button and still achieve a smooth down/up click motion. Right behind the scroll wheel is the CPI (DPI) toggle button that lets you quickly change between 5 different pointer speed settings. You can customize your CPI settings in the SteelSeries GG software utility (download from their software page). The bottom of the mouse continues the honeycomb, but also has 2 large PTFE pads to keep the mouse sliding along with ease. There is a also a toggle on the bottom to set the mouse to Bluetooth, Off, or 2.4GHz (via included dongle). I mentioned how light this mouse is – it clocks in at 89 grams. That’s only 9 grams more than my G Pro, and it manages to add 8 more buttons in the small weight difference. My G604 is chunky in comparison – 135g. Due to the honeycomb body you are able to see all of the internals. I assume this necessitated the IP54 rating that this mouse carries. As an engineer currently testing/certifying some equipment to IP54 I can attest to what this mouse went through to get this rating – it should survive a spilled drink and any amount of crumbs that fall down inside. Included with the mouse is the 2.4GHz dongle, a 7ft USB-C sleeved cable, and a USB-C coupler. Ergonomics of the Aerox 9 are pretty good. However, there are some drawbacks. Size-wise the it is similarly dimensioned to the G604 – the G Pro is smaller in all directions. I have medium sized hands (maybe trending a little smaller), but the G Pro and 604 fit my hands well in a palm grip. I like to rest my palm a bit on the pad as I move around because that is most comfortable for me. With all of that taken into account I physically cannot reach buttons 1-3 on the side without full shifting my hand forward and keeping my palm off the mousepad. This isn’t a comfortable grip for me. I have to basically ignore those buttons when I look to assign functions, and limit their use to low frequency/low risk convenience settings. This mouse has a plethora of settings I am just now working through to see how I like them. Angle snapping, acceleration/deceleration, and polling rate. I have messed with polling rates on my other mice, but I have never done anything with accel/decel or the snapping. Just fiddling with the settings I can see the usefulness in the accel/decel when it comes to my play style. I like a higher sensitivity when gaming but it bites me in the butt when I have to deal with finer movements and the pointer speed is too much. Angle snapping smooths out/predicts your mouse’s travel path based on your movement. If you are very accurate with your mouse movements you can dial this setting down. I maxed it out and found how inaccurate my movements were – I had trouble moving perfectly back and forth on a line. Using the mouse has been a joy. For productivity work I took advantage of the side buttons and the different mouse profiles/configurations. I currently work heavily in Solidworks, but I my company is transitioning to CREO. I created a config to work with Solidworks, and another one to work with CREO. Each modeling function’s shortcut is different between the two programs. I did the initial work to bind these functions to the buttons (e.g. an extrude is button 7 for both programs now), and now I don’t have as steep of a learning curve with CREO (less hunting through the ribbon/menus). Comfort-wise using the mouse for a full day of work with a lot of clicks didn’t fatigue me or give me any wrist/palm issues. The only area where I like my G604 more is the hyperscroll wheel – it’s a feature I rely on for sure. I mainly stick to adventure/platformer games on PC, but I dabble in some FPS and classic RTS (Command & Conquer series). My partner’s son also plays a lot of PC, so he used the mouse for Minecraft and Grounded. Having all of these buttons to map was very useful (I had previously done this with the G604). It has taken me some time to get the muscle memory down, but I can foresee not having to take my left hand off WASD or my right off the mouse. I didn’t fully utilize all of the buttons in my games – there’s only so many things to map for what I typically play. However, my partner’s son fully mapped for Grounded and Minecraft by creating/recording Macros in the SteelSeries GG software utility. He likes to do build battles and Bedwars/Treasurewars. In those modes he has his inventory slots bound to the buttons, which he has really used to his advantage. For Grounded it was useful for inventory management and weapon toggling as well as some macros he recorded. For me the speed and accuracy of the mouse was most crucial. In this sense the Aerox 9 was excellent. Dialing in the DPI settings and being able to toggle between modes easily was a benefit. I have to flip over my G Pro to change the DPI settings, which is not something to do mid firefight. I have used a higher DPI for running and gunning, but dropped down to a lower DPI to snipe/scope tracking. The fact that this MMO/MOBA mouse also works really well in a FPS role is awesome. There’s a reason I have used both the G Pro and the G604. I can really see using the Aerox 9 as my daily driver since it does just about everything. There are only a few areas I can throw criticism on the Aerox. The difficulty in reaching those front 3 side buttons is the biggest (I measure 7” from wrist to fingertip). Another area is the USB-C dongle – my work laptop has limited access to its USB-C port, and so does my gaming tower. Both only have 1 port and they are only a 3-4 years old – more recent machines have more priority given to USB-C. The dongle is also pretty large (not as bad as some wireless dongles), and it sticks out a good distance. Its also kind of thick so if you have a crowded I/O panel on your PC then you might run into issues. This can be alleviated with the included cable and coupler, but that is a clumsy solution for this situation. The last area has to do with the software – switching between configs seems to mess with the lighting profile. I seem to have to reengage it every time I switch profiles. Overall, I really like the Aerox 9. It makes a compelling argument to justify its premium price point. The multitude of programmable buttons, lightweight design, and wireless capabilities really sets this mouse apart. Like I said it really combines the best areas of my other 2 mice with only a few drawbacks. If you are looking for a solid wireless MMO/MOBA mouse but don’t want a paperweight, then the Aerox 9 is really in a league of its own.

THE BREAKDOWN: I wasn’t sure what to expect with the steel series as I have never used any of there products before. I have seen there headsets and some of my friends to have and swear by the headsets so I decided to give this Aerox 9 Wireless Gaming mouse a try. Generally, I don’t really care about all the programmable lighting effects that peripherals have these days and in truth that sometime detracts me from products. The setup was easy. I just switched the slider to Bluetooth on the mouse and went to my computer Bluetooth setting and added the device. It was simple and quick. There is also a wireless USB-C dongle method and a USB-C to USB-A cable (the length is 2 meters) method. So, in short you can connect by wired, 2.4G/Bluetooth. This mouse is the lightest mouse I have ever used. This thing feels like a feather in your hand. It has a TrueMove Air sensor system with a sensitivity of 18,000 CPI, maximum speed of 400IPS, Maximum Acceleration 40G and a polling rate of 1,000Hz/1ms. It has 18 programmable buttons and a switch rate of 80 million cycles. It is compatible with PC, Mac, Xbox and PlayStation. I love the honeycomb shell, but I think it will catch a lot of crumbs if you eat at your desk. So, I tested this mouse using the 1200DPI setting and found to be a great speed for me. I found that moving just a few of the buttons from the keyboard to mouse freed up some space and helped to improve my gameplay. It did take some time to learn the side thumb buttons as I only had 2 before. I felt like the responsiveness was great with all the buttons and the left and right click to be very crisp. Even the mouse wheel seems to be perfectly calibrated, not too much spin at a time and not too little. I have a fairly big hand and this mouse fits it perfectly. If you are looking for a solid wireless MMO/MOBA mouse, then this is your item! PRO’s: - Ultra lightweight - 18 programmable buttons - 180-hour battery life - Crisp and well-made buttons - Several ways to connect it CON’s: - The 1, 2, 3 side buttons are just a touch too far forward SUMMARY: Overall, this product worked as intended, and I would recommend this to a friend if they were in the market for item like this.

I've only used this mouse for a day so consider that. The left and right mouse clicks are, imo, perfect. Clicky and not overly sensitive that you accidentally click when you didn't mean to because your fingers are resting on the clickers. They are also not too difficult to click which can cause accidental mouse movement when trying to click. So I'm happy with the clicking :) The side buttons are easy enough for me to click. They have a good tactile feel to them when clicked. They don't wiggle like some other MMO mice that have wiggly side buttons. They are easy enough to click but not too easy that you accidentally press a side button when moving the mouse. I can actually pickup the mouse with my thumb on the grid of buttons and not press one. So A+ there. My only gripe about the side buttons is the entire array of buttons is too far forward imo. I have large hands and even when using a palm grip my thumb does not reach the very front buttons. The side buttons do not illuminate. The scroll wheel does have a tilt function for left and right. Middle mouse button is super easy to click. The mouse glides super smooth right out of the box. This mouse is incredibly light for being a wireless mouse that is rate for 200 hours of battery life. The Logitech G604 is heavier than this. Imo the weight is perfect. A+ for weight and feel. Speaking of battery life. There is no battery level indicator for the system tray. You have to open the GG software to view the battery level BUT the battery level is right there on the main page where it lists your Steelseries devices. I typically use a Corsair Scimitar for gaming which is a wired MMO mouse. The input lag on th Aerox 9 is nonexistent. There is literally no discernable lag. At all. Using the G604 I can feel a very tiny bit of lag but this mouse is incredibly responsive. I played a few rounds of counterstrike and couldn't tell the difference in responsiveness versus the Scimitar mouse. A++ for responsiveness and accuracy. This thing charges super quick. It came with 65% charge out of the box. I used it for about 2 hours of counterstrike and it went down to 60%. I got busy with other things and plugged it in for about 1 hour and it was fully charged. That's impressive. The build quality is top notch. With some mice I can pick it up and shake it and the buttons rattle. Nothing rattles with this mouse. The side buttons don't wiggle and don't feel cheap. Clicking is perfect sensitivity. A+ build quality. I have 2 gripes. 1. is the software does not allow you to assign the "back" command to a button. It just doesn't exist, which is weird because the back command has existed on mice ever since thumb buttons were on mice. 2. The CPI or DPI switching button nor the DPI levels let you can create or allow for assigning a specific lighting scheme so you can easily tell which CPI setting you're on. It just switches colors at random as you press the CPI button. It's a very small gripe for me since I only have 2 levels programmed with one at 1800 and the other at 2600. Higher sensitivity makes flying in Battlefield easier for me. These 2 grips cause me to give 4 out of 5 stars. If they can make these changes then it is easily THE best MMO NAY! THE best wireless gaming mouse on the market All in all, so far this is the wireless MMO mouse I've been waiting for. - Wireless - 12 buttons on side - Good battery life and charges fast - Super dooper responsive and accurate - Good build quality.

I'm a very light gamer but my kids are pretty hardcore so we all tested the aerox 9 and we pretty much came up to the same conclusion. When you unbox the mouse, I liked that it was minimalistic. Mouse, cable, usb-c dongle, an extender and a small instruction booklet. I gotta say I really like that cable. It feels soft yet sturdy. There are 3 ways to connect the mouse, bluetooth, 2.4 ghz with a usb-c dongle or wired. We tried all 3 connections. I personally didn't notice any lag, maybe a little bit with the bluetooth but the kids hated the bluetooth connection. My daughter and I didn't think 2.4 connection affected the gameplay and really liked that it was wireless. My son, intense gamer, did not like it as much. Said it was ok for most uses but not for competitive gaming. The kids didn't have a problem with the shape of the mouse but for my hands, it didn't fit the way I liked it. But that would be different for each user. The mouse itself was light and moved easily. Response time for me was really good, my son thought otherwise. We all liked the design and rgb lights. The buttons had a really really nice click and feel. The mouse wheel had a tilt and click feature which was really good and felt good on the fingers. Everyone really appreciated all the button options on the side of the mouse, but my son tells me that for his gaming it was way more than he needed. I agree. But it is nice to have the option if you ever do. The only real complaint for me is, and why the 4 stars, maybe it's just the way I hold the mouse but I hit those side buttons by mistake a couple of times. My kids did not have this problem. The mouse did not fit my hands great, got uncomfortable after awhile. The price is just a little too high for what, I think, you get. It's a really good gaming mouse and we all liked it, but, the price needs to go down a bit.

Over the COVID years I got back into MMOs, specifically Star Trek Online, Neverwinter, and The Elder Scrolls Online. They were/are a great way to still connect with people and to keep entertained during all those long days at home. How I wish I had this mouse back at the start of that time! The SteelSeries Aerox 9 should be in the arsenal of any and all MMO players. When working I like a mouse with a bit of 'heft' to it and I always assumed that was best for my gaming as well. Some of these ultra light mice just felt so flimsy that I was afraid I would fling them off my desk with the flick of a wrist. Boy was I wrong. Over the last two years of using a professional work mouse to play games, I have found that even on my expansive desk pads I was moving the mouse and moving the mouse and that got tiring really quick. The Aerox 9 is so light and I can set the DPI exactly where I want it so that now I can move the mouse to where I want it with just a tap almost. I used the Engine software to set up my profile with set DPIs for different parts of each game and it works perfectly for when I'm on ground missions in STO or flighting off Klingons in space. The Aerox 9 is so smooth moving on my desk pad, that it almost feels like it is on ice or has antigravity built in. I hope that keeps up as the pads wear down, but fortunately you can buy replacements pretty easy from SteelSeries. Speaking of the Engine software, it is incredibly easy to use. Fortunately the default profile with the side buttons mapped to the number row actually works perfectly for almost all of my needs but I was able to reconfigure the last row for very specific call outs like scanning, while not losing out on the power of having all of my ability hotkeys under my thumb. Those 12 side buttons and all 18 buttons in total make it so that I hardly ever have to take my left hand off of the move key quadrant. (Note to SteelSeries: Please make a left hand controller with a thumb-stick; I will be unstoppable with that combo!) The side keypad is pretty tightly grouped but I got the hang of the feel/location of the buttons pretty quickly. Very minor quibble: I wish they were numbered from the top instead of the bottom. My thumb tends to rest higher on the side than where I think SteelSeries assumes most players will place their thumb. It is easier to have my prime power keys go 1-3 down from the top and I reconfigured them in the software to be that way, it's just if I look at them I see the numbers and sometimes it messes me up in the heat of battle. Again, once I got used to it I rarely have to look at the buttons. Maybe even just getting rid of the numbers would be better. The responsiveness of all the buttons is great but especially those of the primary left/right mouse buttons. They are nice and crisp. The wheel also has a good amount of resistance to keep from rolling all over the place but not so much as to make you fight it. The left/right lean to the wheel is also nice and responsive. Overall the Aerox 9 just feels good in your hand, though it is big. I have what I consider to be medium size hands and it fills my hand completely. If you have small hands, you might want to check a demo model out in the store before buying it. The accessories that SteelSeries provides with the Aerox are also top notch. The USB-A to USB-C cable is outstanding and has a really nice fabric covering. The USB-C to USB-C extender has heft and a nice grippy bottom to keep it in place. Finally the Type-C wireless dongle is great now that a lot of computers are making USB-C the default plug. Again, only a small quibble here but the mix of USB-C and A can be a little weird. My laptop only has USB-C plugs that aren't taken up with another dongle/adapter. When doing the firmware update, you NEED to use a cable and I don't have a place to plug in the A-to-C cable. I grabbed a C-to-C cable but the port on the mouse is almost fitted to included cable and I couldn't get it to fit. Granted, firmware updates are few and far between (hopefully), but it was just an awkward experience. Also, you have to be connected via the wireless dongle or corded to change the profiles, it does not work while in Bluetooth mode (which is what I primarily use). That is only for changing the profiles not for using them in play. Overall, I'm pretty geeked with the Aerox. I don't care about the lights (I turned those off), but man if it ain't the best mouse I have ever used for MMOs. If you love playing MMOs, do yourself a favor and pick up the SteelSeries Aerox 9, you can thank me later via the comments below.

Ok, it may be a little sarcastic, but it was the first thing I thought of when I saw this. What in the crumb catching tarnation is this? A mouse gets pretty grimy as it is, but now it is open and ready to catch everything on the inside. The picture below is an exaggeration, but I can only imagine what this will look like after a year's worth with someone that eats and or smokes while playing. It does however make that mouse feel much lighter and it is IP54 rated, so the main components inside should remain safe. It makes for an interesting mouse too, especially since the LED lights are at the base and shine through. With the connection options, you can technically connect this mouse to 3 different computers, but not all used at the same time. Wired overrides the switch on the bottom, so no matter where it is flipped, if it is connected USB to a PC, it takes priority. The other two options are the 2.4Ghz dongle or Bluetooth. With the dongle and wired you get to customize all the options with the SteelSeries GG software. This includes sensitivity, assigning different functions for all the buttons, illuminations, polling angle snapping and acceleration/deceleration. However, in Bluetooth mode you don’t get to adjust all those settings even with the software installed. Another strange thing, if you assign buttons on the wired/dongle computer with the software, but have the software on the Bluetooth connected computer as well, nothing is retained between switching devices. However, if the software is not on the Bluetooth connected device, some button bindings, provided they are normal keyboard/mouse buttons, will remain assigned to the mouse. As for the software GG, it really feels bloated and has lots of excessive advertising of other products. Plus, the Sonar application just takes over your audio input/outputs without you even knowing, so you might want to turn that off unless you are using something other than a mouse. Really would have been nice if I could just have the “Engine” tab and remove everything else. The mouse is pretty responsive on all three connection types. There is however a bit of delay in it reconnecting from it having fallen asleep, a timer that can be changed as well. Besides being lightweight, the main thing about this mouse is being able to have 12 assigned buttons at your thumb. Great for those games that have assignable task bars. I personally found myself constantly trying to feel around which button I was using as only the 5 button, like a number pad, had any tactile feel to it. They also take a little force to push, but are good to prevent accidental pushes. The spacing does feel a little long, like you may really have to move your hand just a bit to go from 1 to 12, but I found myself using the inside knuckle of my thumb to catch the last couple buttons. Besides a weird bug when I first connected this mouse over Bluetooth, which the resolution is to unpair it and pair it again, it has done me nicely. The computer I used it for while on Bluetooth I don’t ever really game on, so losing some of the settings when switching connections didn’t bother me. I just found it odd that the software doesn’t carry over the settings between devices even when logged into the same account on both. Overall, if they could release just the ‘Engine’ part of the software and retain all the settings between wired/dongle and Bluetooth, it would be even more amazing. Otherwise, it is still a nice lightweight customizable mouse that will collect crumbs over time.

The Aerox 9 is the absolute macro champ! The amount of customization available is absolutely wild. Not only are all of the usual mouse buttons present and customizable, but there are 12 additional buttons on the left side all ready to do your bidding. Unfortunately, SteelSeries seems to have made almost no effort to make the 12 extra buttons easy to use. The button labeled 5 does have a raised bump similar to the “F” and “J” home keys on a keyboard - but distinguishing between 12 tiny keys (which are laid out in 3 rows of 4) is very difficult for the thumb. Learning where each button is takes an incredible amount of practice and I struggle to find the appropriate keys at a snail’s pace - and even more so during game-play. …Perhaps instead of 12 buttons lined up in rows - a better option would have been a D-Pad layout with extra buttons in the diagonal space. This way the thumb could rest on the D-Pad and easily rock to press Up, Down, Left, Right, or Center. Then additional buttons could easily be found Up & Forward, Down & Forward, Up & Back, and Down & Back. This option would, however, only provide 9 additional buttons - But, nearly anything would be better than the current layout. The mouse is impressively light weight - especially considering the 12 extra buttons. The USB-C port is placed appropriately in the front and the super-mesh charging cable is wonderfully flexible. I do wish, however, that the sides of the mouse had texture or rubber grip - fortunately the ergonomic shape does aid in grip and maneuverability. The glide skates are smooth and appropriately functional, but the 2.4G USB-C Wireless Dongle does not store inside of the mouse - so if you take it on the go, make sure you don’t lose it. But, compatibility is not an issue as Bluetooth is also an option. The customization is so good that the Aerox 9 is also an excellent option for productivity. Thankfully, several profiles can be saved so the mouse can be used for work and gaming. I appreciate all of the customization options, but if I were to guess - most users will probably not utilize all 12 side buttons as they are just too difficult to locate with the thumb. Also, be aware that the Aerox 9 is specifically designed for use in the right hand. If you use your mouse in your left hand, the Aerox 9 is not for you. Overall, I do feel that the rather high cost is justified by the build quality, the comfort, and - of course - the customization options.

SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless gaming mouse is one of the lightweight of its class. Weighing at 89g this honeycomb mesh design is very comfortable to work and play without having any stress for complex games on your arm/wrist. It has total of 18 programmable buttons with 12 buttons on the side numbered from 1 to 12 for quick access to macros, left and right click button on top, scroll wheel, tilt click button for right and left and a DPI button. This mouse features dual wireless connection of both 2.4GHz (Quantum 2.0) connection and Bluetooth 5.0 with just toggling the switch at the bottom. To use the 2.4GHz connection, you will need to use the dongle that comes in the package. You will also need the 2.4GHz to update the firmware of the mouse. In the box, you will find all the accessories needed to get connected. It comes with a long super mesh USB-A to USB-C cable, wireless dongle, USB-C extension adapter. Aerox 9 is rated at IP54 and uses AquaBarrier technology to protect the mouse from dust, oil, dirt, and debris. Battery life is advertised at 180 hours, but this can be achieved only with the RGB lighting turned off. It does come with fast charging capability allowing to quickly charge for 15 minutes to get 40 hours of gaming use when required. I have been using this mouse for few days now for editing videos/pictures, gaming and its very responsive and smooth. Smoothness is due to the SteelSeries Truemove air sensor that delivers great tracking, precision, acceleration, and tracking. RGB lighting provides crisp colors for great gaming experience. Pros • Well-Engineered light weight honeycomb shell design with excellent build quality • 2.4GHZ and Bluetooth option • Sturdy switches • Customizable mappable buttons with competitive feature sets • PTFE Glide skates for smooth swipes and controls Cons • High price point • Button grid on the left is little cluttered and takes time for adoption Overall, this ultralight fast wireless mouse is a great gaming mouse for anyone who is in the market for a new MBO/MOBA mouse.