HP appears to be trading blows with Logitech in the arena of affordable yet capable productivity mice. The HP 400 Quiet Wireless Mouse ($31.99) is a simple, versatile peripheral available in a handful of muted yet pleasing pastel colors. Its capabilities and performance aren’t particularly impressive, but the HP 400 is nevertheless a reliable option. It's a solid alternative to our top recommendation for budget mice, the Logitech Signature AI Edition M750.

Design and Features: A Lovely Accent Piece

Outside of the fun color options (blue, pink, and purple, in addition to white and black), the HP 400 is a fairly standard wireless mouse. The modest ambidextrous design features ribbed grips on either side, making it easier to pick up. The mouse has a typical five-button layout. A small button situated just below the scroll wheel is the only non-standard addition to this unassuming piece of hardware (more on the button later).

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The bottom of the mouse slides back to reveal the battery and a slot for storing a 2.4GHz wireless dongle. While the HP 400 doesn’t come with the HP Unifying Dongle required for a 2.4GHz connection, it’s capable of sharing the dongle of another HP peripheral if you have one. If you don't (HP doesn't sell it separately), the HP 400 can also pair with a number of devices via Bluetooth, including mobile devices running Android or iOS.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The frame of the mouse itself is slightly smaller than average, measuring 1.5 by 4.6 by 2.3 inches (HWD), and weighing a total of 3.8 ounces when loaded with its included AA battery.

The silicone rubber exterior makes the mouse easy to clean, but I personally find the soft, grippy texture to be a little off-putting. It feels a bit uncomfortable in the hand when you first grip it, but otherwise, the HP 400 is comfortable enough to use for prolonged periods. It’s not going to replace a full-size ergonomic workhorse clicker, but it's a fine candidate to become your laptop’s new travel buddy.

Soft pastels typically aren’t my cup of tea, either, but it’s refreshing to see some color in peripherals that isn't the RGB lighting common on gaming gear. Logitech started doing this with its POP series of accessories (including a mouse and a keyboard), and I hope that HP continues the trend with a future keyboard.

Performance: Capable and, Indeed, Quiet

As the name implies, every input on the HP 400 is virtually silent. While the buttons lack an auditory click, the feedback accompanying each input still feels responsive and satisfying to use. The 6,000dpi sensor is a far cry from what you’ll find in most flagship mice, but it is more than capable of whipping around spreadsheets and tackling emails.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

While I typically prefer built-in rechargeable (rather than disposable) batteries in wireless mice, I’m willing to give HP a pass for the HP 400, which is supposed to be able to stretch a single AA battery over 24 months. I wasn’t able to confirm this exceptional battery life rating in testing, but if the battery even lasts a year, the minor hassle of replacing it would be a small price to pay for keeping another stray USB-C charging cable off the streets.

As I pointed out earlier, the HP 400 features a small button below its scroll wheel that would typically be used to switch DPI settings on similar productivity mice, but that function is reserved for a small button on the underside of the mouse. After some thorough trial and error, I haven’t been able to deduce what this button is intended to do.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The product listing on the HP website mentions that it’s intended to “access Microsoft Wheel settings for easy shortcuts.” I tested this input with several common Microsoft applications, but nothing happened. However, the wording suggests a similarity to the Action Ring function in Logitech's Options software, which enables summoning application-specific radial menus to execute various tasks.

Having this kind of accessibility built into the HP 400 would be amazing—if it worked. And the fact that this button doesn’t do anything out of the box is exacerbated by the mouse's lack of software support.

Software: Marked Absent

Normally, you'd adjust the settings of a mouse like the HP 400 using the HP Accessory Center (HPAC) utility, a piece of software I’ve lauded previously for its lean, productivity-first layout. However, at the time of writing, the HP 400 isn't compatible with HPAC, forcing you to rely on the basic mouse settings available in your OS of choice.

I made sure the drivers of the HP 400 were updated, in addition to the HPAC software and the firmware for the HP Unifying Dongle, prior to testing. Typically, HPAC allows you to customize the more granular aspects of your peripherals, like making profiles that automatically swap among settings based on application. HP is aware of the issue and will likely address this in a future update, but this feature should have been included at launch.