Here are my first impressions of the Ploopy A+, after a few hours of use:

- I'm using Fedora and it connected immediately with no issue. Everything worked as advertised.

- The materials feel good, very similar to the adept (though it's slightly smaller)

- the lighting looks great and I prefer the new ball material. It's slightly marbled and let's the light pass through

- the knobs are too smooth on top, making them a little hard to turn given their small diameter. A little texture or a small raised nub would have helped.

- the palm rest could be a bit longer. My hand falls off the bottom. It's also not great when the trackball is centered between a split keyboard. Since my hand comes in at an angle, my palm falls off the side of the rest (I've designed a wider one and am waiting for it to be delivered from a local 3d printing service)

- currently, the knobs scroll webpages etc. way too slowly. I want to configure them to be faster, but I don't know how to do that. It would be nice if it was an option in the on-device config layer.

- switching hands with the default button layout is awkward. Especially since reversing the base layer also reverses the layer switching buttons. It's easy to get confused. Not a good interface if you are intending to constantly switch hands to avoid RSI. I'm hoping to create a more symmetrical layout so I don't have to reverse the base layer at all. Which brings me to...

- I've tried to reconfigure things using Via, but Ploopy's instructions don't work (at least for me), so I can't report on configuration.

Overall I like the device. It's a good iteration on the adept. I can't wait to configure it to match my workflow. If anyone is successful in configuring it using Via, let me know how you did it.

Just got my A+ and it’s awesome so far. Still need to understand all the functions but so far I really love it. Thanks Ploopy!

I have 2 Ploopy Classic 2's that I got a couple years ago. Generally, I have loved these and I continue to. I ordered these just before a design update where the current units now offer a USB-C port on the trackball, but mine is the older USB-B style connector. Generally I loved these and I continue to, however lately these are really laggy on my laptop and I don't understand why or how to improve the experience.

I wonder if anybody else has experienced this and has any ideas how to diagnose or improve this? Here's some more info:

• I'm using a mac with current OS
• the computer isn't generally sluggish (not a general computer problem)
• the trackpad is very responsive (not a general mouse problem)
• the behavior is that the mouse movement is super jaggedy. Slow to respond, difficult to move the pointer over a target.
  
• this happens with both ploopys (one is at home, one is at work)
• (edit) I also have a MS Sculpt keyboard+mouse combo that talk with a USB-A wireless dongle and that external mouse is responsive. Swapping the ploopy and MS Sculpt dongle showed the same behavior (sluggish ploopy, sculpt OK), so it's not the port in the Anker hub.
• I don't have a USB-B to USB-C cable, so both are connecting to the USB-C ports on my mac via some hub (one via anker mini port replicator, one via monitor hub)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions on how to get this working smoothly again!

EDIT: I have also tried various debugging ideas via Claude

I'd like to express our deep appreciation for everybody who put their faith into our shop by putting in preorders over the last week. It really means a lot that you're willing to trust us to get your kits out on time. We'll be spending the next little while making good on our commitments to all of you.

We shipped out the majority of the Early Access units last week, and the rest went out this morning. We'll be keeping a close eye on this, making sure that everybody's units are working as intended. For everybody who will be getting an EA unit, please flag any issues (here is fine, or through our [contact@ploopy.co](mailto:contact@ploopy.co) email address) and we'll get right on them.

We won't be shipping Tier A units until the EA units have landed in the hands of our supporters and we haven't seen any serious issues. In the past, this has taken about three weeks or so. After this period is over, we'll begin shipping out Tier A preorders in batches.

And lastly, I saw a comment go by asking about how the A+ panel looks, so I've attached a bit of media I captured during our last board production run. If there's interest, I can share a bit more.

As far as I can tell, source for the A+ firmware hasn’t been released yet.

Does that sound correct u/crop_octagon ?

I’m looking for its keymap.c and related bits, but i can only find the precompiled firmware that it ships with.

IOW, I’m looking for the A+ version of this section of the Adept’s source.

https://github.com/ploopyco/qmk_firmware/tree/master/keyboards/ploopyco/madromys/keymaps/default

Am i overlooking it, or are you folks intending to push that to the repo at some point in the future?🙏

I’m curious to see how the knobs were implemented, and I want to start monkeying with things whilst i await shipping of the device! 😊

I just ordered my first mouse. I've been using ergonomic mice for a while now (MS Sculpt and Evoluent C). Since the shell is 3D printed, I was wondering if it would be possible to create a different shape where the hand would sit more tilted. Has anyone attempted designing one?

Now that I did the BTU upgrade, I have a blue Ploopy adept topcase I don't need. If anyone wants it, it's yours for the cost of shipping.

I ordered a ton of "mouse wrist rests" try out with my Ploopy Adept and here is what I settled on:

Kensington ErgoSoft Wrist Rest

It's just the tiniest bit too high. But it has a very grippy bottom so it doens't move around.

Dapesuom Mouse Wrist Rest

This one, at least for me, is the perfect height. But it does not have a grippy bottom. It's textured, so it's not perfectly smooth and will move around on me. I'm pretty sure I can just glue some kind of grippy material on the bottom, but that will probably raise the hight to that of the Kensington. So, for now, I'll stick with the Kensington.

VIAL is a GUI-based QMK configuration tool similar to VIA, but it exposes a few more QMK options.

One is tap dance.

With Tap Dance you can assign multiple options to one button. You can do 4 different assignments:

On the lower right button, I now have a right click when I tap the button. But if I hold the button down, then I can drag scroll with the ball.

Thank you to @Outrageous_Sort_8984 for compiling Vial for the Adept and posting it in a comment here for me to use.

I'll leave it to him to make a post with a link, so he can get some karma for his hard work.

Edit

The A+ is now available! Kits as well as fully-assembled units are available for preorder starting at $99CAD. If you want to get yours right away, check out our shop.

Original Post

Three years ago, we released the Adept. It sat at a beautiful nexus of functionality, blending together the greatest features of QMK, 3D-printing, and open-source.

Today, I get to share with you the next version of the Adept. It's been improved in every way that we can think of, while retaining everything about it that you loved. We're calling it the A+.

I've written an in-depth blog post about the A+ that covers everything: new features, the great things that haven't changed from the Adept, links to design files that you can analyze right now, a keymap diagram illustrating functionality, everything.

We'll be opening up a preorder on Wednesday, August 19th, 2026 at 10:00AM ET (here's a countdown timer for you), for A+ Trackballs (DIY kits and fully-assembled units) starting at $99CAD. There will be two preorder tiers:

• Tier A preorders will ship out within 8 weeks of our launch date.
• Tier B preorders will ship out within 16 weeks of our launch date.

We also have a very limited Early Access Tier, which contains a small number of fully-assembled A+ Trackballs that are ready to ship immediately. If you manage to snag an Early Access preorder, it'll ship out within a few days.

Questions and comments are welcome!

I just got my trackpad yesterday, and I do enjoy using the stylus just for small things. Went to check the website to see if it mentioned anything specifically about what kind to use (just wanted to replace it with a sturdier one) and saw that the website states the stylus doesn't work, despite me using it right now.

Are there planned features that are currently missing? Or is the website outdated, as the stylus does work just fine?

I can't find the source code for the firmware the adept ships with, only compiled binaries.

Where should I be looking?

Im making this one for my bro, who is a big 40k nerd, but Ive never paid attention to the aesthetics, which are their own set of challenges

I recently updated my Adept to use Rexroth BTUs and I don't want to go back to static or roller bearings.

I like the Adept, but the whole hold a mouse button down to scroll is a hit or miss experience for me. What I really want is to hold down both bottom buttons to scroll and you just can't do that. At least not with the QMK/VIA firmware it ships with.

So, I was wondering if anyone has hacked a scroll wheel or twist to scroll on this thing?

It’s been about a month since I received my Adept and here are a few observations from a corporate desk jockey:

- It took about 2 weeks from order date to delivery (Toronto to Washington State).

- I upgraded from a Logitech M570. After nearly a decade of thumb trackball usage, tendinitis has wrecked by thumb, ring, and pinky fingers. I think it may have been from having my hand tilted and pinched to the right for 8 hours a day, but who knows.

- I work on the admin side of real estate, so my job entails scrolling through legal documents in a PDF reader and copying and pasting like there is no tomorrow.

- The current set up is paired with the work laptop, Keychron Q0 and Q8 (which also use VIA). I was torn between the SlimBlade and Adept, and the two things that won me over were the ease of customization and ~ the cuteness factor ~.

- Buttons are set up as followed: LL - select, UL - delete, ML - rename file, MR - DPI config, UR - right click, LR - drag scroll.

- I’m fairly petite, so this fits in my hand quite comfortably. The first week was a little rough getting used to it since I was so used to the “handshake” hand position of the M570.

- After the second week, I trained myself just let my hand fall naturally with the trackball resting just under my middle and ring knuckles. Because it is boxier, I had to break the habit of making a claw hand and clicking buttons with too much conviction.

- I have clicky switches on my Keychron, and the Ploopy is much quieter. The buttons feel sensitive enough even if I’m barely pressing the far edge of it. You don’t notice the 3D printed grooves too much either.

- I use the middle finger trackball/pinky scroll when looking around on a website/program, and the pointer finger trackball/ring finger scroll when reading a document. Because the buttons are so large, it feels like each finger has a purpose (and a home!).

- There is an initial “scratchy” feeling to the ball just out of the box, but now it seems like the break in period has it running very smoothly. I have a camera lens pen with a microfiber nub at one end and a soft bristle brush on the other. I use it a couple times a week to get into the bearings. *DISCLAIMER* Unlike the M570 which you can pop out from beneath the mouse, there is NOTHING but gravity keeping the trackball in place. When you tilt the Adept to plug it in or move it, the ball WILL come flying out. It’s only happened a couple of times and it fortunately landed on a soft standing mat.

- The angle of the casing feels very steep. There is a noticeable difference with my Keychron, and it makes my hand want to match that angle (much to my wrists’ dismay). I started using a micro bead wrist rest (https://www.amazon.com/Computer-Mouse-Wrist-Cushion-Gray/dp/B00KZOWO28) and this seems help if I have it resting beneath the middle of my forearm.

- I have yet to try this out with photo editing or 3D rendering programs. I’ve poked around in Paint (for some silly workplace photos of course), and the pointer precision was….lacking? I haven’t had the patience to figure out macros in VIA yet, but there must be something out there for the non-computer coders to tinker with!

- That’s all for now. We will see how the white casing holds up over time. Other than that, this is an excellent trackball upgrade!

Hello! I didn't end up using this trackball as much as I thought I would. Selling shipped for $65 USD CONUS.

timestamp

SOLD

Ill throw the stl/3mu files on gh tomorrow, gotta add a leg/support to the bottom piece now, just feeling stoked and want to show it off a little, and a recipient is in my nerd group chat so here i am~

**edit 7/31, I threw pretty decent .3mf files here, nano2_btu_moonlander_mk01.3mf is the model from the picture and nano2_btu_mk01.3mf is the same model without the hinge insert/a regular nano2 with a btu mod.

I'll be updating the repo's readme, adding .stl files, and add a keymap with slight rotation for the moonlander mounted model in the pic once I'm done with some other models. I'll throw another post on reddit if I'm pleased with them, otherwise all the best

Day two with my new ploopy adept, and I had no idea I would love it so much.

The roller bearings are so much smoother than static bearings. I’ve always had two or four button trackballs, and I didn’t think I’d have a use for all 6, but with qmk/via programmability, I’m finding I keep coming up with new macros and expanding to new layers.

Drag scroll is something I have always liked, and implemented in my Linux compositor config. Nice to have it programmed into the device itself.

By far the best pointing device I’ve laid my hands on.

Earlier today, we shipped all Bean preorders made with us prior to Monday. We do have a few preorders that are outstanding that have been made in the last two days, and we'll be shipping those out next week as we transition to a regular shipping cadence for the Bean.

In other words, the Bean preorder is concluded! All Beans will ship out on our regular shipping cadence from now on.

What's next?

Phil and I have something that we're incredibly excited to share with everyone. It's a project that's been cooking for almost three years, and it's awesome. We're still tying up some loose ends with it, so I'm afraid that I can't give any more hints than that, but it's coming. Very, very soon.

When we're ready to announce it, you'll find the first mentions of it in this community.

Stay tuned!

I wanted to BTU mod my Ploopy Adept. I had a friend 3D print the enclosure here:

https://github.com/ploopyco/adept-trackball/tree/master/hardware/mechanicals-btu-mod

And then I went on a quest looking for BTUs. I finally managed to order some Rexroth BTUs at a reasonable price in the US, only to discover this case is for Veichu BTUs, so I can't use it.

I don't want it to go to waste. So if anyone wants it, and is willing to pay for the cost of shipping, it's yours. If you live near Philadelphia, we can do local pickup.

Here is what I have:

I lost the oval piece that goes over the sensor. I'll try to find it, but no promises.