FIX: Mouse cursor jumping around in Windows 10
- The mouse jumping around on a Windows 10 device might be a matter of a few settings.
- Similarly, mouse skipping might not be necessarily connected to a hardware issue.
- So instead of replacing your mouse on the spot, see if the device works on another PC.
- Note that sometimes, the antivirus might interfere as well.
When working on a Windows 10 device, the impossibility of properly using your mouse, especially when you depend on it, can seriously affect your productivity.
And one annoying issue with respect to mice is noticing that the cursor jumps randomly and is unresponsive to your moves.
So in this troubleshooting article we’ll approach some easy-to-follow ways to fix this problem.
How can I quickly fix mouse jumps issues?
- Check for hardware issues
- Check the associated drivers
- Adjust the touchpad delay time
- Adjust the settings from Control Panel
- Scan your computer
1. Check for hardware issues
First of all, you need to check if there isn’t a hardware problem involved. Maybe you’ve already tried this, but it’s the first thing that you should verify. So, connect your mouse to a different computer, if available.
Also, if you connect your mouse through a faulty USB port, try to use another USB socket and see if from there the problem still persists.
If everything works as it should, then there’s nothing wrong with the actual mouse; of course, otherwise, just replace the mouse, and the problem is solved.
Looking for a reliable mouse to replace the old one? This list can help.
2. Check the associated drivers
- Enter Device Manager in the home screen search box and open the program.
- Navigate towards Mice and other pointer devices.
- Right-click on each driver and select Update.
- Also, eliminate drivers that are not currently in use.
- Then, restart your Windows 10 computer and see if that resolved the mouse jumps in Windows 10 problem.
If after updating the driver the issue is still there, try to perform this operation manually. Go back to Device Manager and uninstall the driver associated with your mouse. Then, access the official web page of the mouse manufacturer and download / install the drivers manually.
To avoid damaging any system settings, our strong recommendation is using a dedicate software such as DriverFix to search the web and suggest appropriated drivers to update the old ones.
Not only will DriverFix ease the job for you, but you can also use the tool for further monitoring the essential system drivers and processes to optimize and update them accordingly.
DriverFix
Avoid mouse issues caused by outdated drivers and keep your system up-to-date with the latest tools.3. Adjust touchpad delay time
- Press Win+I hotkeys on your computer.
- This will bring System Settings; from there click on Devices.
- Next, select Mouse & touchpad tab.
- Pick Touchpad from the next window.
- Change the delay time by using the dropdown menu.
- Set the delay to different values and test your mouse; if the random jump disappears it means you just found the right fix for your problem.
- Disable touchpad
Due to the same reasons as explained during the previous troubleshooting solution, you need to also try to disable the touchpad.
- On your home screen, click on the arrow located near the clock and then right-click on the touchpad icon.
- Select Property of Touch-Pad and from the next window switch to the tab associated with your own Touchpad.
- From click the Stop Device button or check the Disable when external USB pointing device plugin checkbox.
Avoid your touchpad interfering with your mouse with the help of this guide
4. Adjust settings from Control Panel
- Access Control Panel on your device.
- Access Pointer Options and from there click on Mouse.
- Make sure you uncheck the box next to Enhance pointer precision.
- Apply and save your changes.
For further advice on dealing with mouse pointer issues, also read this comprehensive article.
5. Scan your computer
- Press Win+R hotkeys and in the Run box enter msconfig.
- In the window that opens, switch to Boot tab.
- From there, click on Safe Boot, located under Boot Options.
- Also, check the Network checkbox.
- Click OK and then Apply.
- Restart your Windows 10 device.
- Resume the scanning process for removing possible malware.
Malware or viruses can be the reason why the mouse jumps so you need to remove the malicious program accordingly.
On this note, here’s a list of the best tools that you can use to remove malware for good.
There you go; that’s how you can fix the mouse jumps in Windows 10 problem.
Do tell us which troubleshooting solution worked for you by using the comments field from below. Of course, stay close and check out our tutorials for learning further Windows related tips and tricks.
2 comments
I have been having the problem of my cursor jumping around on the screen of my laptop and also clicking on something that I did not want. I took all of the above steps and more. I worked with various tech services and no one could figure it out. I finally thought through what could be the problem and relaized that there was something wrong with the touch screen(not the touch pad or the mouse). I disabled the touch screen three weeks ago and I have had zero problems since then.
You forgot to mention a Windows bug after Fall update – MSDN forums and 7-Zip forums have it mentioned.