Why is my Mouse Lagging – Every possible solution!

Mouse lagging can be downright unpleasant. It can hinder productivity while completing tasks like creating documents or doing fun activities like playing a game on your system. 

Why is my mouse lagging? Mouse lagging can happen due to several factors like a new driver update, incorrect mouse settings, or faulty wireless mouse batteries. You can identify mouse lag when your mouse is taking longer to move or perhaps stopping altogether.

The quickest approach to fix this issue is by starting with the hardware itself (your mouse). After that, check all of the parts and apps that make your mouse function smoothly. Let us guide you through the entire troubleshooting process – Why is my mouse lagging? 

Mouse Lag: How to Fix

The mouse lag issue can slow down your work performance, prevent you from playing specific video games, and create other issues. Fortunately, we have several solutions for this nuisance. Some of these approaches entail changing hardware, while many others address system-wide problems.

Try out the troubleshooting methods below to fix mouse lag, mouse stuttering, mouse freeze, and more. 

Check The Mouse Itself

First, check your mouse. Replace the batteries if you have a wireless mouse. If you have a wired mouse, then unplug it from your computer and replug it. If that doesn’t work, try another mouse or an alternative port on your system. 

Unplugging and replugging your mouse will sometimes reboot the driver and make it functional again.

Check Batteries

Ensure that batteries aren’t dead or nearing expiration on your wireless mouse. In either case, the mouse may act strangely. Mostly your mouse will be sluggish.

Clean IR Sensor

The sensor on a wireless mouse is the shining, red light on the mouse’s base. A small dust particle or fiber can interfere with its performance. 

Gently clean the sensor with a dry microfiber cloth and blow air over it twice for additional cleaning. Repeat the cleaning as the microparticles clogging the sensor are too tiny to detect, but they may remain. In any case, try this method of troubleshooting. A little cleaning can solve big problems. 

Try Another USB Port

Try another USB port for the mouse. If you were using a USB 3.0 port, switch to a USB 2.0 port. To fix a non-working USB port, you must first troubleshoot the USB port itself. Get it working again, or simply plug your mouse in a different port.

Make Sure You’re Using A Mouse Friendly Surface

Assemble a mouse-friendly surface. If you’re unsure, purchase a mouse pad and use it on a level surface. If you are in the habit of using your mouse on your bed, it might have worked for some time over your bedsheets, but it may have stopped working now, which is why you need a flat surface to sway it smoothly. 

Your bed is not a flat surface. And although mouse technology has advanced, there are still settings where they will not function well.

Update Mouse Driver

Many users claim that downloading the mouse’s official driver or upgrading to a newer version successfully addressed their mouse lag issues.   

You can fix mouse stuttering Windows 10 or mouse lag Windows 7 issues with this fix. Your OS will generally install the default driver, which works, but might occasionally cause difficulties. 

If you have a branded mouse, go to the company’s website and install the newest driver for your mouse’s model. 

How to upgrade mouse driver

1. Right-click Start and choose Device Manager
2. Double-click on Mouse and other pointing devices
3. Click Update Driver in the Driver menu
4. Select the option to search for drivers automatically
5. If any new drivers are found, they will be installed automatically, and then you will have to restart your PC to apply them system-wide
6. If Windows Update tells you that you already have the best drivers for your device, click Search for updated drivers
7. Choose Optional Updates under Windows Update  
8. Expand the Driver Updates section to find any mouse drivers
9. If you find one, tick the left box and click Download and install

If updating the mouse driver does not work, then move to the following method.

Check Mouse Speed And Sensitivity Settings

Examine your mouse speed and sensitivity. A new Windows Update may have reverted the settings to default, and presets may cause mouse latency, especially if you’re used to modifying settings and speeds. 

If you think a recent Windows Update is affecting your mouse speed, uninstall it and see if it fixes the mouse lagging issue.

Turn Off Advanced Visual Settings Like Aero

If your PC or laptop is older than Windows 7, consider disabling sophisticated visual options like Aero. These may affect the performance of your wireless mouse. 

Right-click across your desktop and choose “Personalize” to disable Aero Options. 

The latest Windows version comes with the “Basic and High Contrast themes” that can use up your system’s energy and cause mouse lagging or mouse stuttering. 

Enable/Disable Inactive Windows

You can activate or deactivate the inactive Windows scroll by following the steps below. This method may help fix the mouse stuttering Windows 10 issue.  

1. Click on the Windows icon
2. Open Settings 
3. Go to the Devices section > Mouse & Touchpad 
4. Look for Scroll Inactive Windows and disable/enable it to check if any option can fix your mouse lagging issue 

Note: Try this approach several times to see if it resolves the Windows 10 mouse lagging problem.

Disable Realtek Audio

Your mouse may be lagging because of interference from your Realtek audio card. Here’s how to correct it: 

1. Start Task Manager by pressing the Windows key and X simultaneously, pressing Tab until Task Manager appears
2. To find Realtek audio.exe, use the down arrow key. To finish the project, click on the End Task option

If none of the above options work, open your Task Manager and check any indications of which programs are to blame. The more disk space they take up, the more of an issue this becomes. To verify if the mouse lagging problem has been fixed, right-click any questionable apps and select End Task.

Change Palm Check Threshold

Additional options are available for those who use a touchpad. You might want to experiment with the Palm Check Threshold slider. Verify that there isn’t any hold-up. Clickpad users may also change the filter to 0 in the Clickpad settings > Advanced > Smart Sense.

Set Touchpad To No Delay

Trackpad users can eliminate the wait before the pointer travels by changing the delay value to zero instead of one. To prevent your cursor from unintentionally moving as you type, Windows 10 included this function. However, this feature causes much more damage in the long run for many users. 

How to set touchpad no delay on Windows 10

1. Select Settings from the Windows menu in the bottom-left corner of your screen. Alternatively, you can also open the app by pressing Windows key + I on your keyboard
2. Select Devices tile
3. Select Mouse & Touchpad from the Devices drop-down menu on the left side of the screen
4. Ensure that it is set to No delay under Touchpad (always on)
5. Check to see whether your mouse is functioning properly

Turn Off Cortana

Many users have blamed Cortana for causing mouse lag. Disabling Cortana is an excellent step in resolving the problem. If this works, you should spend some time troubleshooting Cortana to identify the root of the problem.

Here’s how to turn off Cortana on Windows 10

1. Click on the Cortana icon > Settings (click the gear icon)
2. Check if you’re in the Talk to Cortana tab
3. Turn off each Cortana option to turn off every service
4. You can choose to hide the Cortana button from the taskbar by right-clicking > Hide Cortana button option
5. Check if your mouse lagging issue is resolved after Cortana is turned off

Disable HD Audio Devices

The High Definition Audio process used by NVIDIA may create mouse lag difficulties. Therefore, you must disable it to fix your mouse lagging issues. 

1. Right-click on your desktop and choose Task Manager
2. Click on the More details button in the bottom left 
3. Check if you are in the Processes (default) tab
4. Now, under Background Processes, find and click Realtek HD Audio Manager.
5. Click the End task button 
6. Check if your mouse still lags

Connect Mouse Receiver To A USB Port

Even though the problem isn’t with your mouse, the USB port it is linked to may be faulty. 

You could have connected your mouse to the incorrect port. Not every device will work properly with a USB 3.0 port; try inserting it into a USB 2.0 port first. 

The USB port you’re connecting may also be faulty. Don’t forget to test it with a keyboard and a flash drive.

Adjust USB Power Management

Poorly adjusted power settings are causing mouse lag for some Windows 10 users. The next few steps will show you how to fix this quickly.

1. Press and hold Windows + R keys to launch the Run utility
2. Type “devmgmt.msc” and click the OK button to launch the Device Manager
3. Open Universal Serial Bus controllers by clicking the arrow icon
4. Right-click the USB Hub option and choose Properties from the menu
5. Now, switch to the Power Management tab
6. Ensure to untick the Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power option
7. Click OK and restart your PC
8. Check if your mouse lag issue is resolved

Disable Fast Startup

Disable Fast Startup and see if it helps. Although many users take advantage of this Windows 10 feature to speed up the startup time, disabling it is a recommended first step in correcting the mouse lagging issue. The feature is capable of causing unpredictable mouse movement.

Change Clickpad Settings

You only need to modify your Clickpad settings to resolve mouse lag issues on your PC. To accomplish this, simply follow the steps outlined below. 

Note: The Clickpad settings option will not be available if you’re using a desktop PC setup.  

1. Open Control Panel > Mouse option
2. Click on Clickpad settings
3. Go to Advanced, select Smart Sense  
4. Now set the Filter to 0

Roll Back Your Drivers

If you’re having issues with mouse lag, try reverting your driver settings. Both the mouse and Realtek Audio drivers have been causing problems for select users. However, you could fix it by doing a rollback.  

Check to see whether the problem persists after reinstalling the affected drivers. It’s important to know that Windows may attempt to update your driver software on its own.

1. Press and hold Windows key + X > Device Manager 
2. Find your mouse driver and double-click on it
3. Go to the Driver tab 
4. Now, click on the Roll Back Driver button if available

Note: If you find the Roll Back Driver button grayed out, this solution is not for your system.

Mouse Stuttering or Lag: Common Issues 

Many mouse lag issues can surface on Windows 11 and Windows 10, or any OS for that matter. Let’s take a look at the types of mouse lags that occur on your system.

Mouse lag in games

The game stops reacting seamlessly to your cursor movements while you’re playing it.

Mouse stutters

Your mouse is moving at a slow speed and is sluggish when doing the easiest of tasks. 

Mouse freezing

Having your mouse cursor stop and not move is probably the most frustrating thing that can happen. The cursor freezes and does not move even after repeated attempts.

Wireless mouse lag

Your wireless mouse keeps losing connection and affects your productivity. This could happen due to a faulty connection.

Mouse input lag

On your mouse, you are providing input by clicking any of the mouse’s buttons. If these buttons don’t function properly, you may experience decreased productivity.

Mouse lag when scrolling a word document

A Word document’s scroll bar suddenly stops moving even if you’re continuously scrolling. In such a case, you have to disable Update document content while dragging. Open Word, click File > Options > Advanced > Display, and Disable the option.

Mouse lag when using PowerPoint

Presenting in PowerPoint, you may experience frequent mouse cursor freezing. To fix this, you have to disable the hardware acceleration within Powerpoint. Go to System Properties > Advanced > Performance settings > turn off animate controls and elements inside windows. 

Mouse Lag: Why is My Mouse Lagging

Mouse lag is the time it takes for the pointer on the screen to follow the range of motion of the mouse. Several factors might be at play here, but we’ll focus on the most critical issues, so you have a better understanding of the mouse lagging issue.

Connection Problems

A variety of issues can cause mouse lagging, but connection issues are the most prevalent. When using a wireless mouse, you may run into this issue, but it could also occur with a wired mouse. 

Long distances, twisted cables, and USB port/cable issues can cause lag when using Bluetooth with a mouse. 

Problems like these might also occur if your wireless mouse connection is disrupted by another wireless connection, such as a wirelessly connected speaker. 

Bad Battery

If your wireless mouse stops working, it may be as simple as the batteries need to be changed. A light on the device usually shows the battery level. 

Even without indicators, it’s still advisable to check and replace the batteries, as worn-out batteries can easily cause mouse lagging issues.

Outdated Drivers

If you’re using a high-end gaming mouse, this will be a significant issue. Specialized drivers may be required to keep the device’s performance optimal, which necessitates regular updates. 

Although the mouse will work with the installed default driver, you will experience lagging and be unable to utilize the mouse’s full capability.

Recent Driver Update

If the mouse lagging issue began happening after a fresh mouse driver update, you might want to revert to an older version and see if it fixes the issue. Driver upgrades often can introduce problems like this because of flaws in the most recent versions of the drivers.

Misconfigured Mouse Settings

The term “reset” refers to the action of going back to the mouse’s default settings. If mouse lagging issues started showing after you modified the settings, you must reset them to default to fix the latency issue. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Let us answer some of the most asked questions about mouse stuttering Windows 10 or mouse lag Windows 7 issues. 

Conclusion

If you’re still asking, “why is my mouse lagging” after attempting all the methods listed above, then the problem might be with your device itself. It could have completed its lifecycle or succumbed to an internal hardware fault. You should check the same mouse on a different system and see if it works. If it does, then you should consult an authorized technician and get the mouse lagging issue corrected. 

We hope our guide helps you accurately troubleshoot the issue and understand – why my mouse is lagging. Let us know in the comments.