Getting back/forward mouse buttons to work

Tech Support
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My Logitech Performance MX mouse is still running strong but after my transition to MacOS the back/forward buttons (side buttons) no longer work. Neither does the thumb button (which in the MacOS word would probably be called the Exposé or Mission Control Button.

If I weren’t on Big Sur, I could install Logitech Control Center (LCC) and things would work (I suppose) But Logitech is no longer supporting LCC on Big Sur. Instead, you’re supposed to use Logitech Options, but that doesn’t support the Performance MX. :frowning:

Any chance of solving this? (without buying a new mouse).

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I’m answering my own question since I found it difficult to find clear (and correct) information on this elsewhere. Hope it helps someone.

The easiest solution for me was to install SensibleSideButtons:

  1. Download
  2. Install
  3. Launch.
    4, Done (It doesn’t open a window, just puts a little mouse icon in the menu bar.) No need to fiddle with any settings. The side buttons just work, both in finder and in various browsers.

What about the thumb button? Would be great to launch Mission Control with it, right? Well, at this point that doesn’t seem to work. But, hej, on Windows I never used that button either, so I won’t complain.

BTW: the story about how the developer behind SensibleSideButtons solved the problem of missbehaving side buttons is also an interesting quick read. (Scroll down to “Technical Notes” on SensibleSideButtons (archagon.net).)

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Apologies for “necro-posting”, but this still seems the right place to ask…

Recently I bought a cheap vertical wireless UGREEN mouse for my Windows laptop at work, with this feature:

Connect via 2.4G wireless or Bluetooth with up to 10m range, and switch between up to 3 devices with ease

This means that I can connect it to my MacBook (Air M1) as well. I tried that yesterday, but noticed that buttons 4 and 5 don’t work as back/forward in macOS (they do in Windows). This mouse comes without drivers/software. When searching for a solution I found this SensibleSideButtons app (not via this MPU post). I tried it and this app does indeed fix the issue, but it’s an “Intel app” that will no longer be supported in macOS “soon”.

What’s a good solution in 2026?

I have a lifetime BetterTouchTool license, so that’s probably my preferred solution. Are there actions to do what I want? (Map button 4/5 to back/forward - in browser, Finder and apps)

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I use Mos for this purpose. You have to add the mappings but it’s really intuitive. It’s also free :sunglasses:

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I could not find any back/forward actions in BetterTouchTool, but it turns out that you (just) need to map these mouse buttons to the “Send Keyboard Shortcut” action:

  • back: ⌘[
  • forward: ⌘]

Works in both Safari and Finder!

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I’m using BetterMouse, works well.
BTT I found didn’t have access to all the buttons, but that’s likely mouse specific.

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