MX Anywhere 3S on Mac — Portable Mouse, Full Mapping

The MX Anywhere 3S is the travel-sized cousin of the MX Master 3S — no Thumb button, no Wheel Tilt sensors, but the four inputs it does have get every LinguaX gesture type. Push-to-talk on a side button, Space switching by swipe, per-app input-source switching — all fit on a mouse you can slip in a laptop bag.

Pair in-browser (requires Chrome or Edge)

Or install LinguaX for macOS — first-time pairing handled natively, no browser required.

Download LinguaX for macOSLearn more about pairing

Not affiliated with or endorsed by Logitech. “Logitech”, “MX Master”, “Bolt”, “Unifying”, “Lightspeed” are trademarks of Logitech International SA, used descriptively for compatibility.

What you can actually map on the MX Anywhere 3S

LinguaX exposes four configurable inputs on the Anywhere 3S, plus Left / Right which macOS handles directly:

• S1 / S2 (side buttons) — the two thumb-side buttons (default Back / Forward). Full four-gesture layer: click / double-click / long-press / directional swipe.
• M (wheel click) — the middle button.
• SM (Scroll Mode) — the small button behind the wheel that toggles MagSpeed between ratchet and free-spin. LinguaX lets SM carry a second action while still toggling wheel mode.

The Anywhere 3S has no dedicated Thumb button (that is exclusive to the MX Master line), and no Wheel Tilt — the wheel presses down for a middle-click but does not tilt sideways.

Named-slot vocabulary reference: Button & Side-Button Mapping.

What Options+ can't do on the Anywhere 3S

Even with fewer buttons than a MX Master, LinguaX still gives you what Options+ leaves on the table:

• Push-to-talk on a side button — long-press with a 200 ms threshold as a physical PTT switch.
• Four-direction swipe on the side buttons — Options+ fires on press; LinguaX distinguishes swipe-left / -right / -up / -down as four independent actions.
• Per-app overrides by bundle ID — same side button, different action per app. See App-Scoped Overrides.
• Modifier-hold — treat a side button as "held Cmd" while pressed.
• No account, no cloud sync, ~10 MB native.

Broader writeup: Logi Options+ Alternative for macOS.

Three ready-to-copy setups for a portable mouse

1. Push-to-talk on S2

Since the Anywhere line has no Thumb button, use S2 (Forward) for PTT — Forward is less muscle-critical than Back for most browsing habits:

• S2 long-press (200 ms) → Hold the shortcut your voice tool uses (Superwhisper Fn, Wispr Flow ⌥, Zoom Space)
• S2 click → keep Forward for browsing (short click still fires the default)

Details: Push-to-Talk Voice Typing on macOS with a Mouse Button.

2. Space switching with S1 swipe

• S1 swipe-left → ⌃ ← (Space left)
• S1 swipe-right → ⌃ → (Space right)
• S1 click → keeps default Back action

Two or more Spaces reachable with a thumb flick, no reach to the trackpad or keyboard.

3. App-scoped side-button behaviour

Same button, different action depending on the frontmost app:

• Global: S2 click → Forward
• In Zoom: S2 click → Mute toggle
• In your browser: S2 double-click → Reopen closed tab (⌘ ⇧ T)

Configuration reference: App-Scoped Overrides.

Setup in three minutes

1. Install LinguaX from Installation.
2. Pair the mouse. For travel, Bluetooth is usually better — no dongle to lose. Pair via macOS System Settings; the Anywhere 3S supports three Easy-Switch slots so you can also pair a Bolt receiver at a permanent desk.
3. Open Mouse+. LinguaX recognises the Anywhere 3S via VID:PID and shows the S1 / S2 / M / SM slots.
4. Apply a recipe. Start with push-to-talk on S2 — it is the biggest productivity win a portable mouse can offer.

The First Run guide covers accessibility-permission prompts on macOS.

MX Anywhere 3S vs the MX Master line

	MX Anywhere 3S	MX Master 3S
Weight	Lighter, pocketable	Full-size desktop
Configurable slots	4 (S1, S2, M, SM)	7 (S1, S2, M, T, SM, WL, WR)
Thumb button	No	Yes (T)
Wheel Tilt	No	Yes (WL / WR)
Portability	High	Desk-only

If your workflow is mostly stationary, the MX Master 3S gives you three extra mappable inputs. If you carry a laptop bag, the Anywhere 3S trades those slots for portability — the four it has still cover push-to-talk, Spaces, and per-app overrides.

Compatibility notes

• HID++ 2.0 — recognised natively with full profile support.
• Battery — shown in the tray for both Bluetooth and Bolt connections.
• Sleep / wake — auto-recovers.
• Three Easy-Switch hosts — LinguaX keeps a separate profile per host.

FAQ

Does the MX Anywhere 3S have a Thumb button? No — the Anywhere line drops the Thumb button that MX Master models have. Four configurable inputs: S1, S2, M, SM.

Can I still do push-to-talk on the Anywhere 3S? Yes — bind long-press to S2 (Forward, less-used than Back). Same 200 ms threshold as the Master line.

Bluetooth or Bolt receiver for a portable mouse? Bluetooth for travel (no dongle to lose), Bolt for a permanent desk. The Easy-Switch button toggles paired hosts.

Does LinguaX show battery for the Anywhere 3S? Yes, via HID++ over Bluetooth or via the Bolt receiver.

Get started

LinguaX is a free download with a 30-day trial — no account, no telemetry. If it fits, it is a $9.9 one-time purchase covering 3 devices (no subscription).

Download LinguaX and set up your MX Anywhere 3S free for 30 days.

Related pages

• MX Anywhere 3 — the previous-generation model; same slot layout.
• MX Master 3S — the larger desktop-first sibling with T, SM, WL, WR.
• MX Master 3 — desktop, older generation, same seven-slot mapping surface.
• All models: Compatible Mouse Models overview.